Kruder & Dorfmeister - 1995
A review of 1995, a 2020 album of “lost” recordings from the legendary Vienna duo Kruder & Dorfmeister.
Artist: Kruder & Dorfmeister · Year: 2020 · Rating: ★★★★½
1995 is aptly named, if misleadingly so: released in 2020, it is supposedly the product of the duo finding old unreleased tapes in their studio and revamping them to modern standards. …But should this be in the playlist?
Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister are legends. The K&D Sessions (another MR favorite) is required listening when it comes to chillhop, and that’s setting aside the duo’s excellent efforts with Tosca and Peace Orchestra, respectively. So a new release from the pair of them is worth celebrating.
The provenance
That date is the source of my consternation: it’s after Monkey Radio went offline. The album is listed via the Spotify fan-created playlist, making the provenance less than certain—but as the original station was renowned for having hard-to-acquire or unreleased material, and the tapes existed, it is feasible that early versions of some of this material might have landed on the air. As such, I’ve left it in place on the station; it certainly fits the aesthetic.
The sound
This album is like a snapshot of 1995. The work fits cleanly alongside other K&D standards—it features multiple layers and thick reverb and ping-pong delays, alongside strong beats and jazz instrumentation. In particular, “Ambiente” is a highlight for me, with its smooth jazz shuffle and rasping melody.
So it sounds Monkey. Users have attributed it to Monkey. It might even be Monkey—so lacking the evidence, it remains in our playlist. Enjoy.
Monkey Radio Tracks: 14/14
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Johnson
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Love Hope Change
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Swallowed The Moon
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Spring
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Dope
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - King Size
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Holmes
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Don Gil Dub
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Morning
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - White Widow
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - In Bed With K&D
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Ambiente
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - One Break
- Kruder & Dorfmeister - Lovetalk
