TRACKLIST 01. RONDO ACAPRICIO 02. HEIDI BRUEHL, Vocals – Samia Farah 03. SU… Read Full Bio ↴TRACKLIST
01. RONDO ACAPRICIO
02. HEIDI BRUEHL, Vocals – Samia Farah
03. SUPERROB, Vocals – Earl Zinger, Valerie Etienne
04. JOHN LEE HUBER, Vocals – Chris Eckman, Diana Lueger
05. PYJAMA
06. THE BIG SLEEP, Vocals – Stephan Graf Hadik Wildner*
07. DAMENTAG, Vocals – Farda P.
08. NASCHKATZE, Vocals – Anna Clementi, Stephan Graf Hadik Wildner*
09. ZÜRI
10. SALA
11. FORTE
12. NO MORE OLIVES

Released in 2005, the album is named after Joshua, Arthur, & Conrad, sons of Richard Dorfmeister & Rupert Huber, respectively. The 1st cut is a humorous reference to Ludwig van Beethoven's Rondo a capriccio in G major, Op. 129, aka Rage Over a Lost Penny, which was unfinished & unpublished at the time of his death but later became a fan favorite.

http://www.popmatters.com/review/tosca-jac/ described the album like this:
The Viennese G-Stone sound is alive and well, and the label’s trademark luscious basslines, funky jazz breaks and infinitely deep percussion are in full effect on J.A.C. The album plays well as a cohesive unit, beginning slowly before ramping up to a more energetic middle section, and finally sliding into a relaxed denouement.

The album begins with the chilled groove of “Rondo Acapricio”, which hews as close to the classic G-Stone template as imaginably possible—lushly restrained funk beat, spacey dub atmospherics, odd vocal samples floating in the ether. After a sleepy exercise in regrettable lounge-worthy cheese that comes in the form of “Heidi Bruehl”, “Superrob” features !K7 stalwart Earl Zinger doing his best Maxi Jazz impression over a mid-tempo funk-house beat.

“John Lee Huber” introduces a harder sound, with an uncharacteristically deep trip-hop shuffle-stomp. The jazzy elements return on the vigorous “Pyjama”, built off a frenetic snare pattern and tasteful jazz guitar licks. It’s got some thumping bass as well. “Damentag” is almost straight disco, complete with cheesy new-wave synthesizer flourishes and a spry, melodic bassline. This could conceivably be a club hit with the right remixers.

The last third of the album introduces a far more somber and melancholic tone. After a string of relatively up-tempo numbers, “Naschkatze” introduces a note of ominous dub, with backward guitars and strangely mordant synthesizer riffs. When the beat picks up on “Zuri”, the mood is less hedonistic than whimsical, almost romantic. “Sala” and “Forte” continue the trend until the album finishes with the meditative, almost psychedelic minimalism of “No More Olives”, which consists of undulating waves of synth noise offset against disconsolate guitar and sketchy, barely accentuated percussion.

There can be no doubt that Tosca is very good at what they do. While it is true that there are precious few surprises on J.A.C., there is also a satisfying professionalism that leaves the listener with a refreshing cosmopolitan buzz. If it lacks the gravity of past projects, settling for a pleasant conviviality over a more pressing urgency, well, such is life.