Artist "Tosca"
TOSCA – TLAPA – THE ODEON REMIXES
It’s something of tradition for Tosca to get their albums remixed. Indeed, they once released a record comprised entirely of 13 mixes of one song, 2002’s ‘Different Tastes Of Honey’, variations on ‘Honey’ from 1999’s ‘Suzuki’. It’s a way of keeping things fresh, injecting some uncertainty into proceedings, knocking things out of balance in order to check how they should be re-aligned.
Richard Dorfmeister (he of Kruder & Dorfmeister fame) and Rupert Huber’s most recent album ‘Odeon’, released last year, was darker and more ambient than its predecessors. It tapped in to the Mittleuropean melancholia than runs like a river through their hometown of Vienna. “We’ve always had a darker, ambient side,” says Dorfmeister. “We really wanted to emphasise that aspect of music with ‘Odeon’.”
That’s their take on it. The idea now was to get other people’s. “I like the idea of seeing what comes out of people remixing our music,” says Dorfmeister. “I prefer it when the result is unusual. Dance mixes can be formulaic, y’know, the most important element gets highlighted or there’s a harder beat. It’s difficult if people deliver something that’s a bit formulaic because you have to have an awkward conversation, but 80 percent of what I got was good the first time. Going back to people and saying, It’s not quite right is not my favourite situation. But I never give them directions of what I want, I just let them get on with it.”
The first person the pair approached was New York producer Brendan Moeller, who remixed ‘Bonjour’, turning it into a muted soundscape of drifting synths and keening strings that slowly warms as a bubbling riff fades in. “He does more techno, experimental stuff,” says Dorfmeister. “He has a different approach to things, whether it’s his music or in interviews. He did his remix while Hurricane Sandy was happening in New York. I guess it’s his hurricane mix. He’s got a talent for putting things in different perspectives, you know this spark that makes him unique.”
The choice of remixer for ‘Stuttgart’ was a case of obvious connections. The track already had a bit of a Latin feel thanks to guest Lucas Santtana from Brazil. Dorfmeister is longterm friends with Rainer Trüby, king of the latin-leftfield sound. Plus Trüby lives in Stuttgart. It would have been weird not to ask him. “Rainer always has an affinity for Latin stuff,” says Dorfmeister. “I thought it might fit and it fitted. Gilles Peterson as played it on his show already.”
Of course, Dorfmeister is an accomplished remixer himself, so it would have been remiss not get involved. “I remixed ‘In My Brain Prince Eugen’ with the Madrid De Los Austrias guys, who are friends of mine,” he explains. “We used a sample by a ’70s rare groove band called FPI Project, a track called ‘Talking About Love’. It used to be a rare groove collectors item. I didn’t know it before the guys used it on the mix, which was good because it was really fresh for me.”
Other reworks come from Silver City, two guys from from Buenos Aires who live in London. They apply an ’80s twist to ‘Johnny Waters’. LTJ Experience, an alter ego on Italian producer Luca Trevisi from Bologna, turns in an atmospheric interpretation of ‘Meixner’. Perhaps the most unusual remix is AFG’s version of ‘Cavallo’, which sees spoken word passages thrust to the fore. “That’s definitely the most leftfield,” agrees Dorfmeister.
If ‘Odeon’ was the sound of a band at the top of their game, still relevant after two decades, then the remix album shows they’re still on top of the music scene, pulling together well-judged names, old and new, to give their distinctive sound an equally distinctive twist. Talking about the Tosca mindset, Dorfmeister says: “It sounds like a cliche, but we’ve never really thought about other people’s music when we’re writing our own. We try and create our own sound. We really have always been like that. And I think we’ve developed a trademark sound because of it.” It’s equally true of the remixers they assembled here. The result is an album that’s full of twists and surprises. Even if you know the original back to front, there’s something for you here.
CD ALBUM (K7310CD)
- Tosca – Bonjour (Beat Pharmacy Escape)
- Tosca – Meixner (LTJ Xperience Mix)
- Tosca – In My Brain Prinz Eugen (Richard Dorfmeister vs. Madrid De Los Austrias Ybbs Version)
- Tosca – Bonjour (Brendon Moeller Reshape)
- Tosca – Heatwave (Rodney Hunter Bounce-A-Thon Version)
- Tosca – Johnny Waters (Silver City Remix)
- Tosca – Ende Mai (Joyce Muniz Remix)
- Tosca – Stuttgart (Marlow and Trüby Refix)
- Tosca – Cavallo (AGF Version)
- Tosca – Jayjay (Stefane Lefrancois Version)
- Tosca – Jayjay (Makossa Megablast 80ies Remake)
12″ VINYL ALBUM (K7310LP)
- Tosca – Bonjour (Beat Pharmacy Escape)
- Tosca – Meixner (LTJ Xperience Mix)
- Tosca – In My Brain Prinz Eugen (Richard Dorfmeister vs. Madrid De Los Austrias Ybbs Version)
- Tosca – Bonjour (Brendon Moeller Reshape)
- Tosca – Heatwave (Rodney Hunter Bounce-A-Thon Version)
- Tosca – Johnny Waters (Silver City Remix)
- Tosca – Ende Mai (Joyce Muniz Remix)
- Tosca – Stuttgart (Marlow and Trüby Refix)
- Tosca – Cavallo (AGF Version)
- Tosca – Jayjay (Stefane Lefrancois Version)
- Tosca – Jayjay (Makossa Megablast 80ies Remake)
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TOSCA.live at odeon
recorded september 19th 2012 at odeon ,vienna
TRACKLISTING:
1. GREULICH 7.23
2. PARALLEL 2.21
3. APPLE PIE 3.07
4. BRIAN VIRGINIA 2.15
5. HARRY HOLDEN 2.03
6. FINAL CALL 3.10
7. BRENDEL 4.52
8. BUONANOTTE 6.39
9. BYPASS 3.31
10. APPLAUS 0.43
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Tosca’s new album Odeon is slated to be the first release of 2013 on the duo’s longtime home of !K7 Records. Featuring collaborators from Tosca’s creative inner circle, including vocalists Callier and JJ Jones, the album is darker than their previous five albums, more downbeat, at times ambient. It’s unlike anything else out there at the moment.
“There’s a feeling in Vienna that is very special,” explains Tosca’s Richard Dorfmeister. “It’s grey a lot of the time. But there’s something exciting and inspiring about it as well, something very colourful. That contrast has definitely had an effect on our music. You know, a mixture of a downtempo vibe with something that is very positive.”
Tosca’s Rupert Huber takes up the thread. “The album is definitely a little darker than anything we’ve done before. It’s mainly male vocalists. There are the moodier ambient tracks and then some songs with downbeat bluesy feel.”
The album’s name comes from the venue in Vienna where the duo debuted the new material in October. The performance went so well they decided it would make a fortuitous name — the music/place interface in action once again. The performance features as a bonus disc on the deluxe version of the album that will be available exclusively via the !K7 webstore. Odeon is the sound of a band at the top of their game, still relevant after two decades. “It sounds like a cliche,” says Dorfmeister “but we’ve never really thought about other people’s music when we’re writing our own. We try and create our own sound. We really have always been like that. And I think we’ve developed a trademark sound because of that.” They certainly have. It’s been called ‘the Vienna sound’. And, in updated form, it still sounds like nothing else.
Tosca – Jayjay (From Odeon, out February 2013)
More information: www.k7.com/Toscaodeon
Read MoreIf you’re looking for the meaning of it all, better not try to decode this record: “Somewhat absurd… like, ‘Pony'”, says Richard Dorfmeister about the conceptual side of “Pony – No Hassle Versions”.
No meaning might have a meaning here. A certain lack of meaningfulness describes the nature of Tosca pretty well; on their equine record even more so. Releasing an album of remixes of their most recent work stays in tradition with the Tosca modus operandi. There’s been at least one remix album for each ‘original’ Tosca album to date. In the case of “No Hassle”, Tosca’s 2009 longplayer, this might make even more sense than before, since “No Hassle” was an introspective work. “Pony” brings the more club-oriented face of Tosca to the forefront. To put it simply, Tosca, the project of the two Austrians, Richard Dofmeister and Rupert Huber, combines bass-heavy downbeat music with abstract soundscapes of found sounds and material from numerous studio sessions. When these recordings are handed over to remixers like Smith & Mudd, Grant Phabao, Nicola Conte, Stevie Kotey & Robin Lee, Rodney Hunter, Bottin, Spirit Catcher, Pete Herbert & Phil Mison, Kalabrese and the KuK Streichquartett everything changes; texture, dynamics, structures. Still, “Pony” is a true Tosca album; the sound signature of Dorfmeister and Huber cannot be superseded by a remix.
Read MoreText about the album.
Read MorePicture a comfortable room filled with smoke, some burning candles and two guys sitting, waiting: Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber, hosts of the evening. They have invited their artist friends to bring their versions of the Tosca J.A.C. album tracks.
Excitement is in the air – the output of this session is still uncertain: The first guest to show up is definitely a special one: Burnt Friedman, well known for his works as Nonplace or Flanger, a man who musicwise lives on a whole different planet. He is smiling knowingly as he enters the room in his striking purple polyester suit. The man’s got style. We start listening to his great version of John Lee Huber and it’s clear that this is an excellent opener for the Souvenirs album. The party has just begun…
Frost & Wagner from Germany arrive. They deliver a dub-infused mix of Superrob feat. the legendary Earl Zinger – we like it like that! Suddenly the phone is ringing. It’s Plantlife’s Jack Splash, who is calling to let us know his Heidi Bruehl mix is on the way. A lush downbeat homage of the original track. Better make it a fedex express …no way we can wait for that tune much longer! Just about time for DJ DSL to join the gang. Big applause for him and his splendid version of Rondo Acapricio! No doubt, this guy always stays focused on his hip hop roots but reliably adds some extra flavours the very special DSL way. Who is next: It’s the man in a sharp suit called Senor Coconut with his interpretation of The big Sleep in that typical latin-bigband style. Hey brother, pour the wine…Dean Martin once sang. Brilliant idea. Big toast to Senor Coconut!
All guests are well entertained, the vibe is still relaxed, but there is much more to come: Hans-Peter Lindstrom, remixer of the moment, has put his hands on Zueri, elegantly translating the original track into a space disco session – simply wonderful! The place gets quite crowded now, time to put on the fancy dancing suits and shake a leg as Henrik Schwarz takes us by surprise with his harmonica style version of Superrob.
We party wild as Mr. Stereotyp comes up with his two mixes of Pyjama – one closer to the jazz beat original, the other a bass-heavy dub rocker. No cooling down once Makossa & Megablast take over. This new signed G-Stone duo is in top-form, demonstrating true producer potential when delivering Heidi Bruehl in an up-tempo beat version. Good old friend Rodney Hunter instinctively nods his head to the beat. He opens the window to let some sunshine in while we are enjoying his version of John Lee Huber. Yeah, he’s a cool cat. We relax a little bit again along with the elegant dub version of Superrob feat. Ras Donovan by Felix and Daniel Haaksman. Both have been part of the family since the very beginning. Good to have them here.
Berlin female singer, lyricist and poet AGF steps up to take a leftfield approach on Naschkatze. Just about time to eat some candy and get ready for Monsieur Urbs as he puts his delicate touch on Forte. Deeply cinematic! Finally our boys from Madrid de los Austrias spice it up once more with Damentag, rounding up this unforgettable session.
”J.A.C.” stands for “Joshua, Arthur, Conrad”. These are the names of the sons of Rupert Huber and Richard Dorfmeister, a.k.a. Tosca.
Between the release of their last album “Dehli 9” and their new masterpiece, the two became fathers, Rupert Huber even twice. As all Tosca albums relate to biographic events in the life of Huber and Dorfmeister, the birth of their sons was naturally the most appropriate for an album dedication. Thus, “J.A.C.” is not music for babies. Rather, music for ladies. Moreover, the album is perhaps the most consistent formulation of the both carefree and melancholic sound of Tosca. The melodies quicken, the grooves are funky and laidback and the variety of musical styles are marked by a wide choice. The album breathes the characteristic sound of Tosca, yet it is shaped by a fresh understatement and a breathtaking musical authenticity. Moreover, there are new voices on “J.A.C.”.
The Egyptian-French singer Samia Farah from Paris sings with her Billie Holiday-esque voice on the wonderful “Heidi Brühl”. Chris Eckman, lead singer with Seattle based band The Walkabouts sings on “John Lee Huber”, a track for which Eckman paraphrised a John Lee Hooker-Song on Rupert Huber. Additionally – as heard on Dehli 9 – the former Rockers Hi-Fi MC Farda P, London´s Earl Zinger and the Austrian rock legend Graf Hadik appear on the microphones.
Dehli 9, the album’s title, is confusing for a start – as it has nothing to do with New Delhi, the Indian capital, but a piece of Tosca’s biographical history. Dehli 9, was the name of Richard Dorfmeister’s and Rupert Huber’s former band.
Founded long before Rupert Huber started his studies at the Viennese Institute for Electroacoustic Composition and Richard Dorfmeister began his globetrotting career as one half of Kruder & Dorfmeister. During their years in school together, Dehli 9 was the laboratory in which Dorfmeister and Huber took their first musical steps, explored simple electronic equipment, and enjoyed their earliest, hippiesque live appearances in a quarry near Vienna. In Dehli 9, Richard played guitar, flute and keyboards and Rupert played keyboards and a saz, a turkish string instrument.
For Dehli 9, Dorfmeister and Huber recaptured the spontaneity of their earliest collaborations. Their direct but freeform approach is quiet obvious. The sounds are drawn less from well-sorted sample banks or refined VST plug-ins, but from a range of live instruments that Richard and Rupert played during the two-year long sessions. After recording, the music was arranged on the computer, leaving room for some formidable vocal contributions. Anna Clementi, who also sung on the Tosca album Suzuki, lends her voice to “Oscar”, “Me And Yoko Ono” and “Rolf Royce”. The polymorphic hipster Earl Zinger, a.k.a. Rob Gallagher from London, sings on “Wonderful”. “Gute Laune” is sung by MC Tweed of Birmingham’s Different Drummer Sound System, “Every Day Every Night” is hushed by Viennese super MC Sugar B. and “Rolf Royce” features a contribution from the legendary Viennese New Wave vocalist Graf Hadik.
Dorfmeister and Huber’s signature repetition of themes and musical ideas is not to be found on Dehli 9. For their new album, they allowed their emotions to take the lead rather than working from compositional concepts or high-minded ideas. Consequently, one shouldn’t pay too much attention to the titles of the tracks, they have more a symbolic character and illustrate feelings, not overt messages. “For example, we came up with the title Dave Dudley as it reminded us of truck driving”, Rupert Huber says. Dehli 9 is a “sonic photo book” in which musical and emotional snapshots of Dorfmeister and Huber’s lives are the driving force behind the music.
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After the successful release of the Tosca «Suzuki» CD earlier this year, Tosca return with some extra-fine dubs from the original tracks.Burnt Friedman, who is famous for his work as Nonplace urban field and his legendary series on Scape records, opens the album with his typical rhythms that are his very trademark. Alex Kid`s work with Dubphonic was featured on the Subtitled releases on Guidance records, he delivers a highly funky and danceable stormer, that will rock every dancefloor around.
Walkner.Moestl had 2 EP´s (Bluish/ Heaven or hell) out on G-stone so far, they have developped their own sound full of groove and tasty electronics, their dub turned out to be deep and hard. Uko, out of the Klein record label, is dubbing the Annanas track to highest effect, a smooth and mellow version is the result. Sasha from NYC, who is known for his releases for Codek records/NYC has released high-profile stuff under Organic Grooves and Cosmic rockers. He very much knows about groove+dub. The austrian duo dZihan+Kamien are coming through this year due to their superb production on their couch imprint. Their interpretation of Busenfreund is simply class.
Philippe Lussan did some fine stuff as choc electronique on his Invincis label, he is specialised in deep uptempo stuff. Baby mammoth doing it again with a dreamy dub while the Deadbeats-guys are hitting it harder with some tougher mid-tempo beats.
The final mix of Groove corporation is again a good example of what it`s about here: dub. Dub be good to you.
What they say: Stunning compilation of remixes of tracks from Dorfmeister and Huber’s stark ‘Opera’ album by the likes of Fila Brazillia and Patrick Pulsinger.
Stars of the show are Pork’s Baby Mammoth who contribute no less than three mixes of ‘Duck dub’, each one building on the basic theme of funked-up backbeat and Kraftwerkian industrial melancholy. (Toby Manning – mixmag 11/97) 
Opera is the first album of Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber`s Tosca project. After three 12″ releases on G-Stone Recordings, this CD sums up 2 years of their collaboration. Considered a milestone of the downtempo genre Opera features stand-out tracks and classics like Fuck Dub and the famous Chocolate Elvis, who guides you through the different Tosca highlights. By now these tracks have been released on countless compilations and been remixed by Boozoo Bajou, Fila Brazilia, Uptight, Fauna Flash and many more. Shake it don`t break it…
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