From their beginnings as a trancey house duo to their more mature post-millennial work that incorporates pop, ambient, techno, and funk influences, Frankfurt, Germany, duo
Booka Shade have maintained an elegance of style that owes little to whatever current dance music trends are on the scene. However, before they were
Booka Shade,
Arno Merziger and
Walter Kammermeier had an early-'90s synth pop duo called
Planet Claire, which in the tradition of
Underworld and
Ministry mutated into something very different after their early direction petered out following two mildly successful albums. Abandoning dance-pop in favor of heavier club beats and trance electronics,
Merziger and
Kammermeier changed the name of their project to
Booka Shade, debuting with the 1995 single "Kind of Good." After several years of releasing singles on various American and European labels,
Merziger and
Kammermeier started their own imprint, Get Physical, in 2001. The original intent behind the Get Physical label was that
Booka Shade would be the shadowy producers, writers, and remixers behind other artists, but in 2004,
Booka Shade released their first proper album as artists,
Memento. Following two more club hits in 2005, "Mandarine Girl" and "Body Language,"
Booka Shade released their second album,
Movements, in 2006. It was followed by
DJ-Kicks in 2007 and
The Sun & the Neon Light in 2008. Throughout their career as performing artists,
Booka Shade have maintained a separate line in high-profile remixes, including work ranging from
Yello and
Depeche Mode to
Moby and
the Knife. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide