The careers of both Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister have enough caveats tossed in to keep even the most passive music fan enthralled by the wide ranging endeavors that these Austrians have gotten themselves into.

Beginning in the early '90s, the duo deejayed clubs and the like in their native country mixing together an ethereal composite of dub, hip hop, electronic elements and some stray bossa nova grooves. Soon enough, this mixture ensured that the burgeoning European and British electronic music movements embraced these wayward producers amidst not just their work as a duo, but in their individual endeavors.

Kruder and Dorfmeister have actually spent less time in a group together than with their respective, outside projects. With that being said, though, the scant discography that count both men as contributors has been as influential as any other in electronically based music. That's not to say that these folks have as much sway as DJ Premier or the popularity of Paul Oakenfold (outside of the States, of course). But the work from Peace Orchestra and Tosca seem to have received the same sort of accolades afforded the K & D Sessions as well as its forerunner G-Stoned, which eventually served as the name for the duo's joint label excursion.

The pair's early single - the twenty three minute, 1996 G-Stoned­ - possesses a few notable oddities for the time and the genre. First off, while these Austrians surely have a different perspective on American music than anyone living in the States, the cover image should still be considered laughable. Simon and Garfunkel, to anyone with musical taste buds, have a few moments that aren't ridiculous. But this cover and what it represents might not be what's in mind. Of course, the start black and white image in which both producers pose as their folksy counter parts is pretty consistent with the (American) notion of what Austrians - or German's for that - matter are like: simple, black and white machines. But moving beyond stereotypes, the music on G-Stoned seems as clearly represented by the album's cover imagery as anything else.

Everything here is pretty stripped down - but in addition to the odd cover art, check the pervasive dub influence. It's not as bare bones as the Scientist got, but in comparison to the frenetic sounds that most associate with electronic musics, this is a vastly different interpretation of the medium. The whirring echo placed at the end of "Deep Shit Pt.1 & Pt.2" expertly displays this Jamaican fascination. But of course, that's not the only place where the music is distilled. Over the scant four tracks here, Kruder and Dorfmeister strip the music down to drum and bass pretty frequently as at the head of "High Noon" and sporadically throughout the rest of the track.

A few folks might consider this to be the group's masterpiece. It's a sure shot, succinct collection of beats that could honestly serve as the backing to any grade school emcee who has the balls to go in over this. The breaks, array of different instrumentation and the brief inclusion of a vocal snippet from "Blue Moon" all point to the fact that. And while this may still sound stunning, thirteen years ago, it made jaws drop.