Following the release of their third album, “The Sun and the Neon Light” and the start of their worldwide tour, German electronic duo Booka Shade sat down with Bodytonic to discuss the new album, their tour and balancing their work and family life.

Bodytonic- You guys are back with your third album, “The Sun and the Neon Light”; can you tell us a little bit about the title?

Arno- The whole album deals with our life during the day and the night. We don’t have the typical Dj lifestyle where we get up at 5 in the evening and play a show; we both have families now, which is very important to us, so the sun for us means the daylight and family. Then on the other hand we have the night where we work and create our soundtrack so people can let loose and forget about their problems. The album is essentially about the glorification and the condemnation of nightlife, we are not here to judge what people do. We have been on tour for such a long time so we have seen many frustrating and funny things.

Walter- Musically you could say the sun represents the more natural sounding instruments and the neon light is more the electronic.

BT- That leads me on to my next question, the new album has a more melodic and live sound to it than “Movements”, did you approach the production differently?

Arno- Yes definitely, “Movements” was mainly produced on a computer while we were on tour. For this album we wanted to go back to live recording and analogue synths and used the computer more as a recording tool as opposed to an instrument.

BT- Has the new material had any effect on the live show?

Arno- Although the CD is mainly for home use, the show is still very energetic. It is still just the two of us. We play some of the slower songs like “Outskirts” in the middle of the show, build up some energy and then bring it right down. Songs like “Dusty Boots”, “Planetarium” and “Charlotte” have also been going down very well.

BT-Does the show change much throughout the tour?

Walter- It’s changed all the time. We re-work all the tracks and develop them for different live environments. The arrangement for songs like “In White Rooms” will be changed for the show and may take a while until people recognise the song, but then the hello is even bigger and the response is just crazy.

BT-With the last tour taking in over 150 shows in 20 months and with both of you being dads, will this tour be as gruelling as the last?

Walter- We have been on tour since 2004, over three years constantly on tour. We will continue for the next 8 months and then take a break. Perhaps we will re-think everything and come up with a new concept.

BT-What do you both do in your free time?

Walter- Its not gonna be free time, we never have free time. I try to show my family that I’m still there, that my son has a daddy!-it’s not easy being constantly on tour. We are always changing the live show or working on album production. That is why we don’t do remixes, we don’t have the time. We are also going back with M.A.N.D.Y in the studio so there is a new M.AN.D.Y Vs Booka Shade record coming out.

BT-You were voted one of the “Best Live Acts” of 2006 with the “Movements” tour- do you feel under pressure to compete with yourselves to get the same response for the new tour?

Arno- You can only do your best. You don’t do it for these awards, you do it for the people and yourselves, you want to play the best possible show.

Walter- Sometimes you worry has the show sold out? But since the tour started in America every show has sold out. The shows have been starting at 8 in the evening and people are going crazy at 8 in the evening, it’s really amazing to see this.

Arno- I think every artist has this feeling, will they like me? Every night we say we are going to fail; this is always the same procedure. Still you have to rely on the fact that you like what you do. If you give the energy to the people who come to the show they will return it and then we can all have a good time together. It’s also interesting on the new tour because everything is new and you are worried whether or not people will like the new material, but we have seen people going crazy on this tour at 8 in the evening without any pills!

Walter- Unless they started really early!

BT-You have claimed you don’t want to be tied down to a major label and in effect be forced to make a “movements 2”. What are some of the advantages you feel releasing music under your own name?

Arno- We are so independent with our record label; we don’t have millions for promotion so we have to rely on the fans that they like the music and want to support it. We also have all the rights to our music, so if people want to use it, they have to approach us. This is a very modern way of working with music; it’s a great time for independence structures nowadays, forget the major labels.

BT-Is there any country or venue that you particularly like playing?

Arno- Of course Pukkle Pop which is on the DVD, it is one of the most impressive concerts we ever played. Also we just played The AB in Brussels, an old theatre with a great sound. Fabric is also a beautiful club, The Prince of Wales in Australia. We are lucky now that we can pick some of the best nightclubs and the live venues.

BT- Do you prefer the bigger festival gigs or the smaller club shows?

Arno- It’s a mixture, with the big festivals you have the advantage that the production is always professional and you have a big stage where you can perform and you always have a big crowd. Then again if you have a good club with a good technical set up, it’s nice to play a small intimate show with people around you. The only thing we don’t like is a small room with a shitty technical set up, cables and wires everywhere and a bad monitor with no security.

Walter- This doesn’t happen anymore, we have a very professional tour manger that organises everything and always tries to avoid these problems. We don’t want to work with unprofessional venues.

BT- Finally, are there any up and coming acts on “Get Physical” that you can give us a heads up on?

Arno- Loads, Heidi for example, we literally forced her into the studio, she is working with the M.A.N.D.Y guys at the moment. She has a cool house sound with an old school Chicago feel to it. Also there is Jonah from Belgium, he is a young Dj who is doing quite well on Beatport and did a great remix for the Junior Boys for Body Language. We always try to support our acts so if we play Belgium we will ask Jonah to play, its like looking after your family.

Booka Shades, “The Sun and the Neon Light” is out on Get Physical now.

Have alook at Booka Shades new trainer range for Addidas

Tayor @ 4 Jun 2008 21:11

anyone get their recent DJ Kicks album ? loved it

cushens @ 4 Jun 2008 22:44

Any see them in Tripod on Sunday? Any good? I left after about 10 minutes of them, wasnt too interested but mainly because it was too packed...