The sun is shining, summer is here and it's time for the tennis season to start. As a rule all G-Stone tournaments are played on grass and the Austrian Open is no exception. The first match of the day is Dorfmeister Vs Madrid De Los Austrias and what an exciting match it promises to be. The first rally shows the different styles of the players involved, the sensual latin stylings of MDLA's Pogo and Heinz providing the perfect backhand to counter the sultry funk and deep dub that makes every beat Richard Dorfmeister serves an ace.
The album "Grand Slam" is suitably titled for the summer Season and pulls together the key productions and remixes of Sunshine Recordings Madrid de Los Austrias and G-Stone's Richard Dorfmeister who have in recent years combined to form a crack production team. Sunshine Recordings label man Heinz Tronigger and multi-instrumentalist Pogo form the core of Madrid De Los Austrias and together with their friend and production partner Richard Dorfmeister they have been working on their own productions as well as providing hot remixes for the likes of Zero 7, Koop, Groove Armada and Pressure Drop. 2004 saw the pairing release Valdemossa, a tightly programmed summer jam that moved the Dorfmeister Vs MDLA doubles team up to the top of the world rankings.
From their own productions on the album, boogie no more tightens up a disco classic and introduces it to a new audience while make dis real and schnitz bring out the party sensibilities of the players involved. On the moon maybe shows another style for the band mixing jazz chords with a bass heavy electronic groove for a sublime disco moment. From the remixes the Dorfmeister Vs MDLA mix of back 2 back is an instant classic with its spoken word commentary on cultural diversity. The mix of Groove Armada's my friend is probably the best known of the remixes bringing dub and funk elements to GA's honeyed vocal while the mix of Willie Bobo's spanish grease allows MDLA's latin stylings to flourish in a sunshine groove.
With the match nearly over we caught up with the players during the end change for a few quick words - "The international pressure was huge from the very beginning" says Pogo with a big smile - and asks for his towel. "Working on those remixes, we discovered a lot of common ground on the court. We realized fast that we responded quickly to every strategy, yet we had to come up with our own game plan." Taking a sip of the ice cold isotonic drink from the cooler, Pogo rises from the deck chair to walk back onto the court.
Advantage Dorfmeister - Serving for the game, a relaxed Dorfmeister sends another sizzling ace down the line before turning to offer some words of wisdom to the gathered members of the sporting press. "This looks like it's going to be our game. I know my playing partners too well to lose. The Prize Money is coming to Vienna again."Text about the album