Album Review: Construction Sounds by Schneider TM

During the six years that passed between Schneider TM's third album, Skoda Mluvit, and its follow-up, Construction Sounds, Dirk Dresselhaus concentrated on other projects, including soundtrack work and noise projects. Those extracurricular activities, along with the frequent renovation projects surrounding his East Berlin apartment, provide the backbone of Construction Sounds, a suite of tracks built from field recordings of the construction sites around his home. These pieces are a far cry from Dresselhaus' previous Schneider TM work, which was as indebted to contemporaries like Mouse on Mars as it was prescient of the sound of Morr Music's playful electronic pop throughout the 2000s.

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Upon hitting play on the new Schneider TM disc the following thoughts rose to my mind: “Good Lord, why are they doing construction in my neighborhood at this hour of the morning?! And what are they doing to produce such heavy, trundling sounds? And why hasn’t the Schneider TM record started playing yet? Is there something wrong with my CD player? Oh wait, those grinding, humming, and banging sounds are not local construction workers, they are, in fact, my old friend Dirk (Schneider TM) Dresselhaus. ” But my confusion is understandable, because I have been having some difficulties with loud, early morning construction and maintenance around my neighborhood in the last few months, and Herr Dresselhaus knows exactly what I have been going though. Apparently, Dresselhaus’ Berlin neighborhood has also been less than peaceful lately; it seems that the vaguely annoying smashing and bashing in my neck of the woods was a bit more intrusive in Dresselhaus’ corner of urban Germany, and it took its toll on his state of mind.

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