Kruder & Dorfmeister

Austrian producers and DJs Kruder & Dorfmeister helped shape the sound of the after-hours electronic music genre known as downtempo during the 1990s, and their presence has loomed large over the scene ever since, despite their relatively small discography as a duo. First appearing with the 1993 EP G-Stoned, the first release on their similarly titled record label, the pair established a relaxed, organic sound influenced by acid jazz, dub, and mellow hip-hop. Two mix albums, both released in 1996, additionally embraced atmospheric drum’n’bass. The duo built up a lengthy résumé of remixes for a diverse array of artists, including Roni Size, David Holmes, Depeche Mode, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Several of these were collected on the continually mixed The K&D Sessions (1998), which was met with acclaim upon release and continues to be one of the best-selling downtempo/trip-hop releases. The two producers have since remained active with solo work and additional projects (most notably Tosca, Dorfmeister’s duo with Rupert Huber), and have continued touring as a live act as well as a DJ team. 1995, a full-length studio album of material that had been shelved for 25 years, was unearthed in 2020.
Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, both born in Vienna in the late ’60s, formed their eponymous duo in 1993, the same year they founded G-Stone Recordings. The cover art to G-Stoned, their debut EP, paid tribute to Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends and gradually became iconic in its own right. The pair soon became prolific remixers, earning notice for their chilled-out takes on Bomb the Bass (“Bug Powder Dust”), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (“1st of tha Month”), Alex Reece (“Jazz Master”), and many others. Conversions: A K&D Selection, their first mix CD, appeared in June 1996 and was quickly followed by their seminal volume of !K7′s DJ-Kicks series. 1998′s The K&D Sessions, focusing on the duo’s remixes for other artists as well as two original tracks, was an even bigger breakthrough, earning gold certifications in Austria and the United Kingdom, and remaining a chill-out staple throughout the following decades.
While the collection’s success escalated demand for a proper K&D full-length, the pair remained elusive and kept busy with individual projects. Dorfmeister became much more active as half of Tosca (along with Rupert Huber), and Kruder released solo singles under his own name and a 1999 full-length as Peace Orchestra, later founding Voom:Voom with Christian Prommer and Roland Appel. The G-Stone Book, packaged with a retrospective label compilation, appeared in 2000. Occasionally surfacing for club and festival appearances, the duo embarked on a full K&D Sessions Live tour during the early 2010s. Following a series of 25th anniversary gigs, Kruder & Dorfmeister released 1995, a full-length of previously unheard early material, in 2020. ~ Paul Simpson