Booka Shade are bigger than you probably think. After releasing anthem after anthem from their album Movements (see Body Language, Night Falls, Darko, In White Room, Mandarine Girl), few in the house/techno/electro climbs were left unaffected by their rousing, colourful and incisive melodies (and indeed outside those climbs – Stanton Warriors doing their usual bootleg breaks thing on Body Language for instance). Album number two is here – and quality as it is, it may frustrate many listeners.
Outskirts
sets the tone beautiful – with gently caressing Trentemøller style downtempo beats married to heart-aching, mournful yet strangely uplifting strings. Like Rob Dougan but classier. The ‘møller theme continues with Duke, all womb-like plodding bass, minute slithers of electro noise and sexy shakers.
The subdued first section soon lays way to more “dancefloor” territory, with Control Me seeing the first introduction of a 4/4 beat – combined with a cutting, emotive synth hook that sounds like The Human League soundtracking an epic ‘80s arcade game, and haunting, grainy Depeche Mode style vocals. It’s not the lame pastiche that this description might suggest – more a worthy evolution of these predecessors’ work. The club vibe doesn’t last long though. There’s more beautiful downtempo moments in the fragile Solo City, and the slight, delicate string plucks and warm throbs of Redemption (the original of which appears not to have made it to the full release), showing that they’re equally happy – and adept – at providing a soundtrack for afterhours as they are for dancefloors.
Numbers
is a stunning track – made especially for their DJ Kicks! mix CD, it’s the perfect blend between the rousing melody that characterised their biggest tracks from Movements and the occasionally beautiful songs of this album, with heartfelt, yearning vocals, melancholic synth chords and soaring strings making for . For me, it’s one of their very finest moments, and has been somewhat overlooked. A true classic.
Current single Charlotte is a joy; sprightly energetic electro house effectively, but in a more gentle vein, and with some catchy pop melody in the vocals, slotting in perfectly with the summery, fizzing array of synth riffs and warming bass. Exquisite production, arrangement and structuring that reminds you why these two are so in demand. The title track shows a glimmer of cinematic skill; a brooding string interlude that bisects the album dramatically. Later on, Planetary takes another vague shot at the dancefloor – but this time in a slightly left-of-centre, kooky Italo disco kinda way, before the final two tracks of the album take us down to the most laidback realm yet. Comacabana takes things to a slumberous pace with languid double bass and Valium-light vocals, before the near-comatose lullaby of You Don’t Know What You Mean To Me lays things down to rest.
Fans of Movements who were expecting more of the same will be disappointed, with only occasionally moments of such epic dancefloor prowess. Arno and Walter said they didn’t want to do Movements Part II, for understandable reasons, and said they wanted to make something that better represented their new “band” style set up and attitude. And as gorgeous a listen as it is for the most part, it may well alienate many former fans, and could have done with more of the Numbers style gap-bridging. Still, come at this with an open mind and it could be one of your most essential discoveries of the year.
Check out our video of their recent gig at ULU in London - and listen to all the album tracks below the video player: