T.Raumschmiere

Anti-hero refusenik Marco Haas adopted his surreal moniker T.Raumschmiere from the William S. Burroughs story The Dreamcops. His cranky electro-punk, as showcased on brash, unruly albums like 2003's Radio Blackout and 2008's I Tank U, combines everything from industrial rock to hip-hop into one fuzzed-out, danceable, post-apocalyptic assault on the cortex. Even when his work is at its most abstract and minimalist, venturing into ambient techno and downtempo on releases like 2015's T.Raumschmiere and 2017's Heimat, it still has a brash, unsettling edge to it. A former member of German hardcore band Zorn, Haas released an EP by his indie rock band Stormbow on his own Shitkatapult label in 1997. He also formed Shrubbn!!, an experimental improvisation project, with Ulli Bomans. After moving to Berlin in 1998, he began releasing brash and damaged electronic music under the T.Raumschmiere handle on Shitkatapult as well as on Kompakt and Hefty Records. He referred to his sound as "gnarz," named for the crackling sound of the runout groove of a vinyl record, which he would sample and construct tracks from. Debut full-length Stromschleifen appeared on Shitkatapult in 2000, followed by the near-simultaneous 2002 release of the brutal and experimental The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle on Shitkatapult and the rusty and abrasive manifesto Anti on Hefty. Radio Blackout, T.Raumschmiere's most accessible album to date, was put out by Novamute in September 2003. With guests like Miss Kittin and seductive female MC Soom T., the nervy record scrapes its way through destructive and metallic Euro-dance gravel and slinky virtual-sex-soundtracks-gone-haywire. The singles, like the minimalist but menacing Monstertruckdriver and the wailing and anarchic Rabaukendisko, featured remixes by such luminaries as Dabrye and the Bug. 2005's Blitzkrieg Pop went in a similar direction, and featured guest vocals from Ellen Allien and Quasimodo Jones. However, Random Noize Sessions, Vol. 1, released by Shitkatapult in 2006, was a detour into downtempo ambient glitch. Following a 2007 album by Haas' hardcore punk band the Crack Whore Society and a techno single by Shrubbn!!, T.Raumschmiere returned in 2008 with I Tank U. Featuring guest appearances by Warren Suicide, Barbara Panther, and the Puppetmastaz, the album had more of a song-driven live band sound than any of the project's other releases. Following guest appearances on 2010 singles by Warren Suicide and Yasmin Gate, T.Raumschmiere released the party-ready The Rave Is On EP in 2011. A dark experimental dub album by Shrubbn!! titled Echos appeared in 2012. In 2014, T.Raumschmiere released a split 10" single with Cristian Vogel on Record Store Day, and released a collaborative EP with D-R-U-N-K, a solo project of MOTOR's Olivier Grasset. After establishing the Albumlabel imprint, T.Raumschmiere released a self-titled full-length in 2015, coming closer to the more experimental Random Noize Sessions than his more song-driven albums. Shrubbn!!'s second album, Europa, appeared in 2016, and T.Raumschmiere collaborated with Caspar Brötzmann on a 10" EP released by Shitkatapult on Record Store Day in 2017. Also that year, T.Raumschmiere made an unexpected return to Kompakt with Heimat, a lush yet propulsive ambient techno album. A split 12" with Reinhard Voigt, as part of the label's Speicher series, followed in 2018. ~ Charles Spano & Paul Simpson, Rovi