Kruder & Dorfmeister

Biography

Kruder & Dorfmeister are a pair of Austrian musicians who blend a wide array of genres to get their own distinct sound. Comprising Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the duo first got started in 1993 and was active from then until 20 years later in 2013. They then took a seven-year hiatus before returning in 2020.

The sound of Kruder & Dorfmeister is primarily influenced by genres like electronica, breakbeat, nu-jazz, downtempo, and trip-hop. They’ve been signed to G Stone Recordings, their own personal label, since the early 1990s, and their first release was the G-Stoned EP in 1993, which is known for its instantly recognizable album cover. The cover for that first EP was heavily inspired by the cover for Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends album, and it features the two musicians standing next to each other in black turtlenecks.

instruments played

Electronics

Associated Acts

Tosca, Peace Orchestra, Voom:Voom, Zero 7

Genres

Electronica, trip hop, downtempo, nu jazz, breakbeat

Labels

G Stone Recordings

Origin

Vienna, Austria

Years Active

1993 - 2013, 2020 - present

Wiki Link

Early Releases From Kruder & Dorfmeister

The duo’s first release, G-Stoned, features four songs – “Definition,” “Deep Shit (Parts 1 and 2),” “High Noon,” and “Original Bedroom Rockers.” The sound of the EP has been described as raw and intense, and it was recorded at Tic Music Studios in the duo’s home city of Vienna, Austria. Kruder & Dorfmeister’s second release was a DJ mix album that came out on August 19, 1996. Titled DJ-Kicks: Kruder & Dorfmeister, the project features mixes of songs by Thievery Corporation, Aquasky, Shantel, and numerous other DJs from the US and Europe. Their next release came two years later, and it was another DJ mix compilation album titled The K&D Sessions. That project earned positive reviews across the board, including Pitchfork, NME, Spin, and more. The K&D Sessions features mixes of songs by Depeche Mode, Bomb the Bass, Count Basic, Rockers Hi-Fi, and numerous others. After the project became a major success, numerous bands and artists approached Kruder & Dorfmeister to get authorized remixes from them. However, every single request that the group got was met with a “no.” Dorfmeister explained in an interview that their decision to avoid remixing for anyone who asked was based on a desire to go all-in on the music they made. “I’d rather release something that is half and half,” Dorfmeister said, continuing, “Perhaps we don’t have so much output, but at least then we don’t release some bullshit.”

K&D in the 2000s

The group’s next release and their first of the new millennium was The G-Stone Book, a compilation album that was released by their label. After 2002, the duo took a break for several years before releasing their Shakatoakadoodub EP as an online exclusive. In 2010, they released a label compilation titled Sixteen Fucking Years of G-Stone Recordings.

Who Is Peter Kruder?

Peter Kruder was born in 1967 in Vienna, Austria, and he’s gone on to be the most prolific of the two halves of Kruder and Dorfmeister. Kruder, along with Dorfmeister, became co-head of G-Stone recordings shortly before the release of the first Kruder and Dorfmeister project. Kruder is considered a pioneer in the electronic music industry, largely due to his work with Dorfmeister. Apart from K&D, Kruder has released several solo projects. His most recent, Boxer 100, was released via Boxer Recordings in 2016. That project was preceded by “Xenomorph/Vespertilio” in 2012, as well as several other singles during the years that K&D was temporarily inactive. In addition, Kruder has released official remixes of several artists’ songs as a solo DJ. His remixes include songs by Bebel Gilberto, Gotan Project, Zero dB, Hell, and many more, and they date back to 1997.

Who Is Richard Dorfmeister?

Richard Dorfmeister, the other half of K&D, has been an active force in the electronic music industry since the 90s. Born in Vienna, Dorfmeister is a renowned DJ and producer who is also proficient in flute. In addition to working with Kruder, Dorfmeister also started a side project called Tosca, which also features classical composer Richard Huber. During the 2000s, Dorfmeister paralleled his work with Peter Kruder with collaborations with Madrid De Los Austrias, a Viennese DJ duo.

The Duo’s Return

After several years of radio silence, Kruder and Dorfmeister began collaborating again in 2020 with the album Johnson, which was followed by 1995 the same year. The project is considered a lost album due to it consisting of tapes that the duo discovered from years before. These tapes were polished and refreshed to comprise the tracklist for Johnson. The following record, 1995, has been hailed as a return to form for the group after years of absence. One highlight of the duo’s most recent release is the song “King Size,” which sounds like a callback to the earliest releases that K&D put out in the 90s. The album’s title, as well as its blast-from-the-past tracklist, are both inspired by the group’s early years, and fans are certainly glad to have them back after so long.