I met Booka Shade, a cute duo synonymous with tech house and techno at the turn of the millennium, right before their performance at the InMusic festival in Zagreb. Although they claim that they are not "Berlin", I personally find it difficult to place them anywhere else than in the bubbling cauldron of the ever-faster growing and popular Berlin techno scene, where only the best are born. I talked to them about the new Galvany Street album, on which they deviated from their classic sound, but they did not impress me any less.
It's been ten years since they released their breakthrough album Movements. What do you feel?
We actually celebrated Movements last year, the album was released in the fall. At the same time, we had quite a few major performances, including at the Sonar festival in Barcelona. It was absolutely a great experience, people have been telling us for a long time to re-release this album because it really means a lot to them. The songs from this album are still receiving positive responses. We looked at everything we had done in these ten years and did a kind of reflection. We haven't touched the music, the album is still relevant to us as it is. It is true that some very, very good remixes have been produced. It seems that we have closed a chapter, we have been working in this genre of music for ten years, it is time for a change.
Speaking of changes, Galvany Street's latest album kind of ends your love affair with techno music.
We wanted to do this for a long time. But that doesn't mean we won't play or produce techno music anymore. It's a kind of experiment that we did together with Craig Walker (op. p. ex-singer of the band Archive). We always wanted to create an album together with a music writer who is more attracted to writing a song, a real song and not just a techno sound. Therefore, it is a natural development for us. We met Craig in the studio a year and a half ago and we started creating, but our intention at first was not to make an album, it came naturally. We didn't say goodbye to techno, we just wanted something different. And that's what we did with Galvany Street.
So Galvany Street was born really spontaneously…
That's right, we didn't plan anything. We wanted a less "bookshade" sound, something completely different. When we saw what Craig was doing to make his lyrics a little darker, we naturally moved in that direction. And when at some point we saw what was created, we had an album. Of course, several songs were created, but we only decided on these ten. What can I say, we've gone over to the dark side. (laughter)
Well, you don't look that dark to me. But I believe you that this album was inevitable. Already the track Charlotte from 2008 had a bit more darkness...
It's true, that's why Charlotte is playing again after a long time. Because it just fits. As we have already said, the development was really natural. We only had two rules: we didn't want to sound the same as on the EVE album and we didn't want to sound tech/house. Even the creation of the album itself was easy and not like with EVE, where we went through a long and very painful process.
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What is the reaction from your biggest followers?
They say it reminds them of our debut, Memento. There we experimented with music and had a darker sound.
Mark Plati, a music producer and veteran who worked with David Bowie, Prince, Lou Reed, The Cure, among others, also contributed to the album... Is this also the reason for such a different sound?
We met Mark through Craig, then Skype conversations followed. What can we say, a typical American positive. He added some of his own mixing style to the tracks he worked on. And we really liked his work. It was also a nice change for us, because otherwise we always mix ourselves, we do everything ourselves, and we wanted to change that with this album. This last step in creation, which can be very painful. Before a song is really finished, it can take weeks, months, and it's incredibly nerve-racking for us.
Otherwise, Plati is not the only one who collaborates with various sounding names in the world of music. You two also collaborated with famous stars on the last album. Craig has already been mentioned, then there is the member of the Icelandic band GusGus, Urður. How did they catch them?
GusGus and I met before the collaboration with Urður, but we did not meet Urður in person until the collaboration itself. Craig has his studio in the same building as us. He moved from Dublin to Berlin. They introduced us and this collaboration was born here.
A question I simply have to ask. What's it like playing with legends like Depeche Mode? They already had this opportunity.
(Laughter). It was a great experience. We played with them twice, once in Berlin and once in Tel Aviv. We ourselves are among their fans, they are also one of the reasons why we started playing music. They were really nice, their whole team. We had a problem with our "machinery" in Tel Aviv, one small but crucial piece of equipment was missing, and they were immediately ready to help. During our performance in Tel Aviv, my wife (ap. Arno's wife) was standing by the stage and was lucky enough to see backstage where she could watch a half-naked Dave Gahan. I think you can imagine where her attention was. (laughter)
Well, I know where mine would be. (laughs) Going back to your music, what is your attitude towards today's techno scene and DJs? Do you consider yourself part of the Berlin techno scene?
We are connected to Berlin, where, among other things, we founded our label Get Physical, but we never considered ourselves a "Berlin band". We started in Frankfurt, moved around the world, and we also do not represent the typical Berlin sound. We see each other as Europeans, if we can call it that. We are not connected to one city because we are really constantly moving. But of course we are part of the DJ scene where we have a studio, which is in the center of Berlin, we meet other DJs and producers again and again, such as Martin Eyerer, so we are always up to date with what is happening. But we don't go to clubs in Berlin that often anymore.
What does the future hold? Do you continue spontaneously?
At the moment, there is a tour where we present the new album together with Craig, and a festival summer, where we will present ourselves. We are also already working on new material, which could be the new Yaruba, with which she could return to the clubs.
INFOMAT//
Booka Shade, one of the most interesting and famous electronic duos in Europe for the last two decades, consists of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, both veterans of the Frankfurt electro scene. In 2002, they founded a new dance label, Get Physical Music, creating a strong platform for their work. Three years later, they achieved world fame with the EPs Mandarine and Body Language. They further cemented their fame as top electronic masters with In White Rooms and Night Falls. After 20 years, with a dozen EPs and six albums, they have become the most prominent artists of their genre. In April of this year, they released the album Galvany Street in collaboration with Craig Walker, the former singer of the band Archive.
