Cosmos: Kruder & Dorfmeister

Covering a wide range of musical genres, from minimalism to the great singing voices and from classical music to the music of tomorrow, the Cosmos series has hosted a diverse array of big names at the SNFCC.

In February, the sounds of Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister electrify the Stavros Niarchos Hall in a unique live audiovisual show.

In the early '90s, Europe was going through its electronic dance music revolution, dancing away at clubs to the beats of techno. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister saw it happening all around them, embraced it, but - like they've done throughout their career - chose to take the opposite path. They chose to make the music that clubbers would listen to off the dance floor. They united over a quip about their similarity to Simon & Garfunkel, combined influences from the Afro-jazz scene of the '60s and '70s, from Pink Floyd and hip hop, and created a distinctive sound of their own that was consolidated in their historic debut album G-Stoned and their defining K&D Sessions, giving meaning to the concept of downtempo.

Based in Vienna, Austria, the city of the great classics, they evolved into sought-after remixers (from Roni Size to the classic "Useless" of the Depeche Mode), created compilations for rare tastes, collaborated with artists such as DJ Hell and Madrid de los Austrias, formed parallel bands such as Tosca, and went several times around the world to present some of the most eclectic DJ sets.

Their music and DJ sets are odes to hearing, feeling, sensing music and tonal language, which does not function like the many spoken languages of the world, but rather as body language: universal, global, unifying.

They are now returning to Athens for a highly diversified performance, inspired by smokey modern jazz tunes, the breaks that have always characterized them, and Balearic anthems that make up the soundtrack of a year-round summer.

Watch Kruder & Dorfmeister videos

Photograph: Max Parovsky

This event comes under a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Alongside the majority of its events, which are free thanks to a series of SNF grants, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center also organizes a number of events with affordable tickets, thus enriching its income sources and securing its long-term financial integrity.