Peter Kruder & Richard Dorfmeister’s groundbreaking ‘K&D Sessions’ compilation from 1998 gets an overdue reissue on !K7 Records and is made available digitally for the first time ever.
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 4 LP sets changing hands for €300+ on the collectors market and even a bootleg vinyl copy will set a buyer back over €100. More big news comes in the fact that the album has never been officially available digitally until now and !K7 have spent a number of painstaking years hunting down original rights holders and clearing the licenses in order to do so. Sixteen years later, this legendary album will be available as a long overdue mastered for iTunes digital edition on 17 November 2014. Following in early 2015 will be a 5 LP reissue remastered by Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood plus 2 CD editions along with audiophile high quality lossless digital format. All new versions of the album feature 3 tracks not available on the original issue.
Below is an excerpt from the original 1998 press release unearthed from the !K7 archives that accompanied the release:
“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.
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”.
Release Date: 17th November 2014 (iTunes) Early 2015 (5 LP Vinyl, 2CD, High Quality Digital)
Label: !K7 RECORDS
Tracklisting:
Roni Size – Heroes. Kruder Bossa
Alex Reece – Jazzmaster. K&D Session
Count Basic – Speechless. Drum ‘n’ Bass
Rockers Hi Fi – Going Under. K&D Session
Bomb The Bass – Bug Powder Dust. K&D Session
Afrodelics – Rollin’ On Chrome. Wild Motherfucker Dub
Depeche Mode – Useless. K&D Session
Count Basic – Gotta Jazz
Rainer Truby Trio – Donaueschingen. Kruder Mix
Lamb – Transfatty Acid. K&D Session
David Holmes – Gone. K&D Session
Sofa Surfers – Sofa Rockers. Dorfmeister MIx
Mama Oliver – Eastwest / Stoned Together. Dorfmeister Mix
Bomb The Bass – Bug Powder Dust. K&D Dub
Kruder & Dorfmeister – Boogie Woogie
Sin – Where Shall I Turn. K&D Session Vol.2
Bone Thugs ‘N’ Harmony – 1st Of The Month. K&D Instrumental
Kruder & Dorfmeister – Lexicon
Knowtoryous – Bomberclaad Joint. K&D Session
Rockers Hi Fi – Going Under. Evil Love & Insanity Dub
Strange Cargo – Million Town. K&D Session
Knowtoryous – The Revenge of the Bomberclad Joint: The Kruder & Dorfmeister Session Pt. II (The Lost Tapes) ***
Count Basic – Strange Life (K&D Remix) ***
Count Basic – Hide & Seek (K&D Remix) ***
*** Bonus tracks