Tosca, No Hassle

Since 1997, Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been making downtempo electronic music under the name Tosca. (Previously, Dorfmeister worked with Peter Kruder as Kruder & Dorfmeister, also creating downtempo electronica and dub music.) For Tosca's latest release, No Hassle, the duo uses soupy synth sounds with lush guitar and introspective voice-overs, similar in fashion to DJ Shadow on his album Entroducing..., particularily during the second track "Elitsa." The guitar harmonics and wavering synths in the third cut, "Springer," bring to mind Air's Moon Safari, with some world-influenced New Age instrumentation over the top, while "Oysters in May" contains synthetic swells and patterns reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre or Klaus Schulze. The rest of the album flows beautifully, with interweaving synth, bass, and beats, making it quite a relaxing listen, and perhaps the perfect soundtrack for a night drive. No Hassle also includes several live renditions following the album's studio tracks.