Peace Orchestra

Album Review

Peace Orchestra, the debut album by Kruder & Dorfmeister's Peter Kruder, suffers little for its lack of both producers. The kind of trance-state trip-hop that sounds freshly minted by God himself, these nine tracks belie the notion that trip-hop is a style scavenger, content to paste sampled jazz-funk over a few hip-hop breaks. Peace Orchestra is so lovingly crafted, so finely detailed, that comparisons with the glut of trip-hop sinking the market seems almost laughable. A languid clarinet line does a slow waltz with K&D's oft-used shuffle-beat on the highlight "Meister Petz," while "Double Drums" works a mutated tech-synth line with strong breakbeats. Kruder's musical sense comes from a variety of musical capitals, including Rio de Janeiro (the fine, delicate swing), New York (the jazz chords and shadings), East L.A. (Latin percussion), and London (acid house ). Only Kruder (or perhaps Dorfmeister) could distill so many elements into one cohesive album without risk of blandness or musical fragmentation.