Change is a constant in life and it’s this key factor that has informed the recent adventures in sound for tosca. With their fourth artist album, j.a.c., the theme of fatherhood is the tie that has bound these two men together in a newly recharged musical kinship. Fatherhood is also the reason why three male names (albeit abbreviated) form the title of the album. j.a.c. stands for “Joshua, Arthur, Conrad.” These are the names of the new sons of the two master Viennese producers Rupert Huber and Richard Dorfmeister, also known collectively as tosca. Between the release of their last acclaimed album dehli 9 and their new masterpiece, the two became fathers. Rupert Huber has even fathered two sons! As all tosca albums relate to biographical events in the life of Huber and Dorfmeister, the birth of their sons proved naturally to be the most appropriate series of events to dedicate an album to.

Fatherhood has garnered in both of them an ability to lessen control, to be more present in the moment and to produce music from within an increasingly similar mind frame. This album is the most consistent formulation of both the carefree and the melancholic aspects of tosca. The melodies quicken, the grooves are both fun-loving and laidback. Huber and Dorfmeister have found both a fresh understanding of the art of understatement and a newly reformulated breathtaking musical authenticity. Like the new life around them, j.a.c. similarly breathes new life into the characteristic sound of Tosca.

In 2003 and 2004, tosca performed their debut shows as a live band with Huber and Dorfmeister on sampler, piano and guitar, supported by a drummer, bass player and a percussionist. On the microphone, the singers of tosca: Earl Zinger, MC Farda P and Graf Hadik gleamed. The audiences lucky enough to witness the live shows went nuts. Sadly the show did not make it stateside, but that is set to change in 2005.

It’s this live experience and an increased interest in the digitally untouched sound of real instruments that marks the sound of the new tosca album most significantly. Besides the ever-present and celebrated tosca mood, this new sound resonates with the vibrations of live sound making translated with a liveliness that captures the immediacy of creation and improvisation at its peak. In the digital age, improvisation has become an almost forgotten form of musical interplay, yet Huber and Dorfmeister have decided to cultivate this art form more than ever.

As well as looking at their new families, Richard and Rupert both looked outward to create this album. This can be seen through the wide array of instruments brought to play in the creation of the album. The sampler moved from its role as the central instrument, set aside and replaced by the more flexible, and open to the organic techniques of hard-disk recording.

Along with daring instrumentations, the duo brought in a cast of new artists to perform vocals on the songs. The Egyptian-French singer Samiah Farah sings enchantingly, with her Billie Holiday-esque voice, on the wonderful stand out cut “Heidi Brühl“ [which is dedicated to the famous Austrian actress who made it big in Hollywood]. Chris Eckman, lead singer of Seattle based band The Walkabouts, sings on a song that has Huber paraphrasing a tune by legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker. Additionally – as heard on their last album, regular collaborators including former Rockers Hi-Fi MC Farda P, Londoner Earl Zinger of 2 Banks of 4 and Austrian rock legend Graf Hadik all appear on the microphones.