About

A TAV Essential Listening Album. 

Originally released on Studio !K7 Records in 1998, Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister's groundbreaking release, 'The K&D Sessions' reset the bar for what could be achieved in a compilation. Across an array of original tracks, dubs and infamous ‘K&D Session’ remixes, the DJ and producer duo took the listener on a smoke-filled blunted journey that flowed flawlessly. Often compared to DJ Shadow's 'Endtroducing' for it's similarly deft craft of rhythm and quoted by Allmusic as "the most blissfully blunted music the world has ever heard", the album has sold over 1,000,000 copies to date and was included in Spin’s ‘Top 20 albums of 1999’.

The album has long since been deleted on Vinyl with original 4LP sets changing hands for €300+ on the collectors market and even a bootleg vinyl copy will set a buyer back over €100.16 years later, this legendary album will be available as a long overdue 5LP reissue remastered by Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.

“Just who do Kruder & Dorfmeister think they are? Well, basically just two guys from Vienna whose dub plate melting DJ sets, vinyl releases and remix work has kept them in the minds and hi fis of the world's discerning music lovers since 1993. Creators of a trademark sound, blending bass heavy downbeat tracks with epic soundscapes, double-time breaks and deep, deep Viennese feeling. K&D roam in a unique musical wonderland that draws on classic funk, electric jazz arrangements, the feeling of deep soul, hip hop, dub, drum 'n' bass and a multitude of other influences that grab the attention of these musical magpies.

At a time when hip hop beats began to emancipate themselves from the MC, and every head was turned to the UK's nascent breakbeat scene, K&D came from nowhere with a single 4-track EP - G-Stoned, featuring the hypnotic beauty of 'High Noon' and a cover depicting the dj-duo in Simon & Garfunkel form. The impact was massive, and the K&D phenomenon gained momentum as they gathered support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Wall Of Sound's Mark Jones and William Orbit. Richard's spin off project Tosca began to take shape, and K&D together remixed the likes of Bomb The Bass, Alex Reece, Lamb, Depeche Mode and DJed in more clubs than you would care to count.

Be it their self produced tracks or their finely tuned remixes, the K&D feeling of lush loungecore dub transcended the trip hop hype and survived as a highly personal expression that found itself equally at home in the worlds of the ambient experimentalists and the soulful drum 'n' bass pioneers.

Their regular presence on the club circuit saw them become welcome guests on the international beat circuit, taking them from Vienna to London, to the American west coast, to Germany and back, tightly packed DJ bags full of exclusive dubplates following every step of the way. A mix CD compilation, DJ Kicks, for German label studio K7 marked a major change in the world's perception of K&D. The quality of the selection, and the power of the mix, which takes you seamlessly through ambient beats, instrumental hip hop, drum 'n' bass and back again, made for a mix-CD of unmatched quality. From being respected underground heroes, they emerged as fully fledged media celebrities, attracting new fans across the globe, and selling close to 100,000 copies of their album in the process. You can find parallels to K&D's work in the British breakbeat or American illbient scene, but their musical blueprint is truly international anyway. They have achieved a special global reputation that makes them neighbours to the likes of DJ Shadow, Howie B, Thievery Corporation and Fila Brazilia in a virtual community of sonic explorers.

The package you now hold in your hand is your ticket to the wonderful world of Kruder & Dorfmeister. Gathering together the cream of their remixes / sessions from the last five years, K&D have been immersed in the studio blending these individual parts into a mesmerising body of music, creating two brand new tracks and numerous other musical sections to hone the album's flow to perfection. The fact that many of the tracks featured here have previously been unavailable on commercial formats, only adds to the desirability of 'The K&D Sessions TM'.

A K&D interpretation of another artists record has always been more than a remix in the traditional sense; these Austrian perfectionists spend weeks on each 'Session', breaking a track down to its elements and reconstructing it in a way that is uniquely theirs. While their CV of production work contains some of the greatest names in contemporary music (as a glance at this album's tracklist confirms), K&D have also had to turn down offers from the likes of U2 and Elvis Costello due to their refusal to become a remix production line. With 'The K&D Sessions TM' ready to drop, a host of international DJ dates in the pipeline and a remix for Madonna's next single 'Nothing Really Matters' forthcoming, it seems K&D will be unavoidable over the coming months. But stress not and just roll with the G-Stone... (!K7 Records)” – Richard Dorfmeister Official Website

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