A sublime collection of music, the 2003 CD by Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber is full of uptempo beats with a downtempo feeling, grooves in soft satin, spliff tunes with lyrical extravagance, & piano-pieces in... more » a dub style. There's musical diversity galore on Dehli 9, CD 1 contains the classical Tosca sound infused with lush instrumentation, & CD2 features twelve dubwise piano compositions. Deluxe digipak. G Stone.« less
A sublime collection of music, the 2003 CD by Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber is full of uptempo beats with a downtempo feeling, grooves in soft satin, spliff tunes with lyrical extravagance, & piano-pieces in a dub style. There's musical diversity galore on Dehli 9, CD 1 contains the classical Tosca sound infused with lush instrumentation, & CD2 features twelve dubwise piano compositions. Deluxe digipak. G Stone.
"Tosca's newest effort almost seamlessly continues their last effort, Suzuki, which is a good thing. The sound is very similar, the most notable change being a wider range of vocal accompaniment, but other than this, there wasn't enough to make this album higher on my list than Suzuki. If you liked their last, you'll most likely be happy with this purchase; but if you haven't heard the former, pick it up first.Moving on, the packaging of Dehli9 is great: it has a very nice canvas cover enveloping two CDs of music. The first is the actual CD, and the second is filled with minimalist piano music that really doesn't ever pick up, but works well as haunting soundtrackish background music. I wouldn't pay for this CD alone, but it's a welcome addition. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the last track of the CD ("La Vendeuse des Choussures des Femmes part 1") doesn't end with part 1. Tosca leaves you with a nice thank-you gift, letting you pick up part 2 online.The music really hasn't evolved much since Suzuki, but it hasn't fallen, either. Just pick it up and chill."
Buy it for the Ambient Disc
Eric | California | 08/09/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The vocal disc is pretty good, although maybe not quite up there with the K&D Sessions. The other reviews sum it up just fine.
But if you like ambient music (and some of the comments below prove that not everyone does) then by all means give the second, ambient disc a shot. These piano pieces are haunting, chilling, moody, dark and downright gorgeous. I play the vocal disc maybe once for every twenty times I play the ambient one.
As others say here, it's the perfect music for a cold dark afternoon or evening; a wonderful soundtrack to a brooding mood. An absolute must-have, in my opinion. I'm a hard-core Enophile, but this is right up there with Eno's Ambient 2 (the Plateaux of Mirror), and that's saying something."
Second best Tosca
Mike | Trumbull , CT USA | 02/27/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this cd yesterday and have listened to it about 6 times already. It was well worth the wait for another cd from them. I think Suzuki is there best offering to date. If your a fan of tosca, K & D, peace orchestra then you will really like this cd, if you are more inclined to be a fan of Tosca alone then you might go either way. The second cd is mostly piano. It flows like one long song of smoked out, chilled piano sessions. I think the second cd is cool on its own but would not recomend it if it was sold seperatly. The main cd has a good live vibe to it and sounds more like a band than previous cds. There is a good amount of vocal work by a variety of featured artists that really work well with the Tosca formula. There are a few songs that sound like they could have been written from the Suzuki sessions. I think anyone waiting this long for a Tosca cd will be pleased with the cd, despite the wait..."
Lovely, again. Lovely, again. Lovely...(just one small nit)
Mike | 10/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"ye who have listened to tosca or k&d before will be happy to see another from dorf and huber to gobble up. the first of two cds is lovely - the third of the tracks especially so. just amazing - play it again sam! I can't say enough about how incredibly talented these two are working together. so i will leave it at that - the first cd alone is worth the purchase.and now a very small gripe(do NOT let this prevent you from buying this CD by any means - it is a definite "must have"). but don't think of it of two cd's of toscawhy? because the second cd is piano experimentalism. I thought I was in for two Cds of electronic lovely dubs...nopein comparison to the first cd, I have to admit that the second cd was quite frankly a disappointment for me as I was EXPECTING two cds of beautiful tosca tunes and instead I got one, but then a second cd of "piano shorts." while i loved the piano tastes in the previous album suziki I have to admit I found these compositions in the second cd a bit lacking...possibly even ridiculously dull. not to mention the piano needs to be tuned guys! i would have to say - leave the piano composing to herbie and keith and stick to your knitting! BUT AGAIN - don't let the second cd deter you - just consider this a great CD with a bonus CD ( i think that's what they intended)I will listen to CD 2 again but wow I have to admit that i was really surprised that the Whole second cd was arid piano stuff. There is not one electronic beat in the whole thing - it's like george winston on valium in a cold winter dissonant mood = geez, just not that intriguing....oh well, hope I don't offend anyone but wow I was hoping for two whole discs of dub. i think you will understand once you have listened to disc 1 - it falls right into place as a progression from tosca's suzuki into something more...enjoy!"
"And this Next one will be done in a Woman's voice..."
rottenjohnny | Madison, WI | 06/19/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This was a bit of a letdown for me. Having grown to love electronic music with the help of Mr. Dorfmeister and co., it's actually quite a shame to see what Tosca has been reduced to. Their first album, "Opera," had great depth in it's raw and somewhat gritty grooves. "Suzuki" was almost as good, skirting accessibility while remaining true to the deep Viennese feel. If it weren't for the second disc on this album, they would be totally lost. The first single to come off of the album, "Wonderful," is complete cheese. After the first listen, it becomes hard to take with it's cheeky keyboards, upbeat tempo, and poppy flute lines. Earl Zinger contributes his vocals to it, which doesn't help in the least. He speaks of "ketchup in his throat" and just being groovy in general, and does anyone really want to hear about that? Not really. The rest of the album is fairly blank. "Me and Yoko Ono" pulls no surprises, consisting of a straight, programmable beat and boring keys. Even the "sexy" vocals bug me. They stop making sense after a while. The rest of the tunes are mostly faster "deep house" songs that you can't really distinguish from each other. Sure, they're DEEP, but just not that good.The second disc, comprised of sparse piano arrangements created by Rupert Huber (one half of Tosca), just barely saves the whole album. The feel of Vienna that sweeps all of Kruder and Dorfmeister's work is raw and more present than ever. Dorfmeister takes control of the pieces, adding effects and dimension to every corner and curve. "Einschlaf" and "Wien In E." are probably the best, sounding very gentle but pulsing with added swoons of children's choir and intentional white noise. Very spacey indeed. It seems to me that Tosca knew their heritage and have made their electronic leanings weave pretty well with it. Lately, they have blatantly separated the two, leaving us with two discs that would sound better if they were played at the same time. I still can't wait to see what will happen next, though. Maybe they'll wise up and stop trying to impress the whole globe."