Father's Day

Q: So how does one of the electronic world’s most mellow individuals become even more mellow? A: He has a kid, that’s how. Yep, since we last saw him, Richard Dorfmeister has entered the supermarket aisles with nappies in them for the first time. Hell, his buddy Rupert Huber has done it twice since the pair’s last outing as Tosca three years ago. So how has that affected the previously prank prone pair? Well, for a start, their excellent new album J.A.C. stands for ‘Joseph, Arthur, Conrad’… the names of their kids…

“We have changed a lot,” admits the effusive Dorfmeister. “Becoming a father is a beautiful thing but it means you have more responsibilities. I think that`s good for you – somehow it makes you better in many ways...”
As half of Kruder and Dorfmeister, Richard has been vocal about his appreciation for jazz cigarettes – have the recent arrivals changed your studio habits? “Maybe it gets you closer to the point where what you do is more important for you. Because there are not so many possibilities to be like, 'Oh, I’ll do this later or I’ll stay another hour and get drunk.’ So you like what you do more – and then you enjoy it more. And this is what music really loves. So it gives you a lot back. And because you’re more open to trying new things you actually have more fun doing it. The limitation is somehow the key to the extension, in a way.“
Spoken like a true stoner. But he’s right – the new album is a move on and up from the previous offering, Dehli9. It’s the pair’s fourth studio album together and took three years to make. The record is more eclectic than any material the duo have hitherto produced – with uptempo and downtempo numbers nestling together like a happy, funky family.
"We're trying to do something different within our style. We aren’t that influenced by trends at the moment – we are not trying to do an electro album or a rock album... we stay with our thing. It has to be this way – even if we tried something else, it would still be our sound. We’ve known each other for such a long time (Richard and Rupert met in school in Vienna) – it’s something that we have developed by playing together, by jamming together in the studio and by making jokes together.
"This approach of having a good time together may sound a bit cheesy – but we like to have fun in an absurd way. This can be seen in the titles of our songs, and it shows that our approach is not completely serious. It’s more like an internal fun thing that nobody else might understand. But it works for us. That weird approach that not everybody may get is key to a good production. It’s sort of a guideline for us."
Do a quick Google and you’ll see sites describing Tosca as Dorfmeister’s side-project’ from K&D. Is this still really the case?
"Well, I think Tosca has its own identity now. In the beginning it was always a bit confused with the K&D project. But now, after a few releases, more and more people have become aware of Tosca. Of course the success of K&D helped but it’s pretty much our thing now because it is us two. That’s why Tosca is working. The hype may have helped us a bit but it is definitely us and that can’t be replaced. We probably took the hard route and it would have been easier to release more music as K&D and sell millions of records. Tosca is still in a working process. Perhaps that's what makes it so challenging."
Are you planning on working with Peter Kruder again as K+D?
"Top secret!"
We’ll take that as a yes.

Richard Dorfmeister plays the Temple Bar Music Centre tonight, Thursday June 2, as part of BudRising. Tosca’s J.A.C. album is out now on K7.