Booka Shade

Booka Shade

Booka Shade is a German electronic duo made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier. The pair are based in Berlin and originate from Frankfurt. Their work spans dance, electronic, house and techno, and they become known for both studio releases and live performance.

Career and releases

Before forming Booka Shade, Merziger and Kammermeier release synth-pop material in the 1990s, including a 1993 hit under the name Degeneration, “Una musica senza ritmo”. They also release records on R&S, Music Man and Tommy Boy. In 2002 they co-found Get Physical Music with M.A.N.D.Y., Thomas “DJ T.” Koch and Peter Hayo. The label grows into one of the most respected underground dance labels and releases material by artists including Samim, Lopazz, Raz Ohara, Elektrochemie and Jona, while the duo also produces releases for M.A.N.D.Y., DJ T., Sunsetpeople and Chelonis R. Jones.

Booka Shade’s debut album, Memento, appears in 2004. Their profile rises sharply in 2005 with “Body Language”, a collaboration with M.A.N.D.Y., and “Mandarine Girl”. “Body Language” becomes an underground and crossover hit and receives the Ibiza Track of the Season 2005 award. “Mandarine Girl” also becomes a club hit. The group follows these with the album Movements in 2006, which includes “Mandarine Girl”, “Body Language”, “Night Falls”, “In White Rooms” and “Darko”. That album wins Resident Advisor’s Best Album title and is widely recognised in dance music circles; “In White Rooms” is listed by Pitchfork among the year’s best songs, and Groove Magazine places Movements among its top 10 albums of the year.

The duo continue with the album The Sun & The Neon Light, which is presented as a more ambitious and diverse release. They also issue a Movements tour edition, the live DVD We Came To Dance, and the compilation Cinematic Shades, which collects more reflective tracks from their back catalogue. Their 12-inch releases “Tickle / Karma Car” and “Numbers” also perform well as club and radio tracks. In addition, they record a DJ-Kicks mix CD, which is selected as DJ Magazine’s compilation of the year and Mixmag’s second choice.

Live work and recognition

Booka Shade build a reputation as a live electronic act through extensive touring and festival appearances. They perform at events including Sónar, Glastonbury, Rock am Ring, Creamfields in Argentina, Coachella, Rock Werchter and Red Rocks. They also open for Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk. Their live work receives strong industry recognition: Resident Advisor names them Best Live Act, later places them among the top five live acts in the world, and DJ Mag includes them in its list of unforgettable Exit Festival sets. Resident Advisor also ranks them fifth among live acts worldwide, and Groove Magazine names them second best producers in 2006. The duo are later inducted into Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 Hall of Fame.

Remixes and later label work

Booka Shade become in-demand remixers, working on tracks by Moby, Yello, Hot Chip, Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, Dubfire, Tiga, Dave Gahan, The Knife and Rüfüs Du Sol. In 2013 they found Blaufield Music, a label used for their own releases as well as work by other artists and emerging talent.