Booka Shade

Occupation

Musician

Faithless - 2.0 Album Review

By Adam Holden in Music Reviews on 23 October 2015

If you didn't think Faithless could get any more big room with their music, then think again. They just did. Regarded as producing some of the biggest nights in electronica before the recent revolution and dominance of EDM, Faithless are back to celebrate 20 years since their nascent, now allowing the names in the industry to remix their classics into the songs that will satisfy the biggest electronic festivals around the planet.

Calling in A list names such as Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Avicii, Above And Beyond, Eric Prydz and Axwell among others, the album has been given a contemporary make over, using the highest quality DJ's from house, trance and dnb to return Faithless to the masses.

The album at first seems to be about the numbers. The group are celebrating 20 years, the album is entitled 2.0. It's 2 CDs long - one remix album, one greatest hits. And all the remixed tracks are considered second generation, entitled 'insomnia 2.0' for example.

Continue reading: Faithless - 2.0 Album Review

Coachella 2013 Lineup Announcement

Posted on29 January 2013

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Booka Shade, More! Album Review

By Natalie Kaye in Music Reviews on 19 May 2010

Booka Shade (pronounced: 'shah-day') are a formidably respected duo in the world of European dance music. Their label, Get Physical is no slacker in providing quality House, Techno and Electro, and these guys have around on the club circuits since the early 1990s.

Producers, DJs, and efficient Germans to boot: Booka Shade have never been sloppy when mixing it up. 2006's Movement was a resounding success and they found themselves with a club smash on their hands, 'Body Language.'

If they had ever strayed into the forays of pop, More! Sets up camp on the dance floor and refuses to budge. The beats are back to basics, the breakdowns and build ups are seamless and euphoric. It's just about varied enough to avoid sounding stale, but saying that, More! tows the line rather than surpassing expectations completely.

'Havannah Sex Dwarf' kicks proceedings off in a hailstorm of bleeps, underneath which lies a filthy, distorted back beat. This immediately drops off into the minimal techno abyss of 'Donut (Interpretation)' and all revelry is suspended. 'Teenage Spaceman' is an interesting little anomaly, a perfect bubble of Balearic bliss inside an album that is otherwise rigidly straight faced.

The thing is for Booka Shade is that, though is album is solid, precise and shows their prowess, things have moved on a bit in the couple of years since their peak. There are lots of good moments on this album but somehow it fails to excite the adrenal glands in the way dance music should. More! Is easy to appreciate aesthetically, but alas, hard to jiggle around to.

Natalie Kaye

2.5/5