Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier have come a long way since Booka Shade's inception in the 90's and its first release on Dutch label Touche. Having run a production company for over a decade, they had the foresight to set up Get Physical in 2002 together with DJ T. and M.A.N.D.Y. Subsequently, their production work for the most of the label's roster, including DJ T., M.A.N.D.Y. and Chelonis R. Jones, as well as Sunsetpeople, gave a unique perspective on house and techno, incorporation Chicago, minimal, electro and even 80's funk, and placing them in a futuristic, edgy context.

Meanwhile, Booka Shade's own redefinition of dance music is found its expression on their debut album, 'Memento' hit with velvet-coated sucker punches, its prowling, understated menace, combined with Walter and Arno's knack of penning melodies and creating evocated moods mapping out a fresh alternative for electronic music.

Now Booka Shade are about to release their second album. After crossover success of their 'Body Language' (together with M.A.N.D.Y) and 'Mandarine Girl' singles, which seduced crowds from Berlin to Ibiza, and a summer spent blowing festival audiences all over Europe away with their live performances, Walter and Arno sat down to pen a follow up with 'Memento'.

Unsurprisingly, the changes and experiences in their lives between the release of their debut album and its follow up have had a considerable impact on the evolving sound that 'Movements' captures. Taking in metallic electro, 80's funk, brooding downtempo soundtracks and jazzy, sun-kissed jams alongside their trademark futuristic, intricate electronic rhythms and love of catchy melodies and soaring hooks, it shows Booka Shade as the quintessentially modern electronic act.

" 'Night Falls' sets an atmosphere for the album, and as soon as it was finished, it was clear that it would be the first single and the opening track on the album," Arno explains. "It has an epic melody that gives it a heroic sound. We love creating atmospheres, there's no point in being dark for the sake of it." "We also wanted to present a different view of the 'Body Language' tack we did with M.A.N.D.Y, to give it something new," Walter adds, explaining why they completely re-recorded every note of their biggest track so far for the album.

Booka Shade also revisits 'Mandarine Girl', giving it an extra dose of spiky percussion. "It'll be nearly a year old when this comes out," Arno observes. "Not a lot of people have it on CD in an unmixed format and this version is from the live show, it has more percussive elements that work well. Of course, that hook is still there!"

This fascination with making the perfect track, capturing the perfect beat, is audible on 'Shimmer'. Its dark bass licks and intricate percussion became a highlight of their live sets and it's also evident on 'Darko', a pulsing electronic groove that underpins wispy, spacey melodies.

There is no shortage of melodies on 'Movements'. Although it's more laid back, 'In White Rooms', climaxes with an epic hook that's as jaw-dropping beautiful as anything Booka Shade have released. "It's perfect for that 5am, after-hours vibe," Arno believes. 'Wasting Time' starts off in moody, minimal mode before a pumping bass and a hunting vocodered vocal lend it that elusive, epic feeling unique to Booka Shade.

The beautifully plaintive piano lines and muffled chants on the interlude piece, 'At The Window', and the slow burning ambience and seductive French vocals on the album's finale, 'Lost High', means that this blissful state is recurring theme, as is, Booka Shade believe, a product of their diverse listening tastes. "'At The Window' is a transition, an interlude, the piano cords make it sound very atmospheric and cinematic, like a journey from one mood to another," Arno claims. "We listened to some DJ Shadow music and love his atmospheres, these piano-based arrangements are really our thing." " 'Lost High' is one of my favorites," Walter adds. "The music that Boards of Canada or even Sigur Ros make in a dubby, guitar based way inspired us to do something similar in an electronic, minimal fashion. This track has a lot to do with these acts and the influence that they have on us."

Further surprises are in store on 'The Birds And The Beats' and 'Take A Ride', with the duo inspired by original electro. The former bubbles along with Herbie Hancock-style heavy 80's drums and funk baselines, and is augmented by the splintered percussion that is Booka Shade's trademark.

" 'Birds And The Beats' was a departure for us," Walter believes. "Its electro funk done in a modern way and it worked out will. It's not typical of what we do, it's somewhere between 'Cha!' and 'Mr. Torrance' from the 'Memento' album. We played bits of 'Cha!' in our live shows and that's how this track came about."

The Detroit electro influences inherent in Booka Shade's work come to the surface on 'Take A Ride', which journeys to the darks recesses of Motor City to lay down a starkly foreboding, futuristic soundtrack. "It sounds like it was made for metal, there is nothing warm about it," Walter says. "It is the darkest track on the album. Our music is always melancholic but with a positive end, but in this instance, it's dark and there's no way out!"

Walter and Arno's musical journey doesn't end there: they travel to the Far East for the quirky, hypnotic 'Hide And Seek In Geisha's Garden' and the off-beat, stop-start grove of 'Pong Pang'. "We wanted to do something with an Asian flavor as some people think we are for Asia because of our name and 'Mandarine Girl'," Arno explains. "We are very interested in Asian music, its use of harmonics and its sometimes very happy nature and 'Geisha's Garden' has a happy, trippy sound." " 'Pong Pang" is the name of the kids' game in Thailand," Walter adds. "It's not a track that you could fit into a typical minimal set, but anywhere we played it, it went down well."