Arno Kammermeier is psyched to play Red Rocks, don’t get him wrong. But from talking on the phone with Kammermeier, who makes up one-half of German electronic duo Booka Shade, it seems he’s more excited to learn about this uniquely American creation called “the jam band.”
“People tell us this show will work out, and they gave us the recommendation to play it,” Kammermeier said earlier this week from New York, where his group began its North American tour. “But we don’t know too much about them, these jam bands. It’s an American phenomenon. I listened to some stuff on the Internet to know who we meet and play with, and it seems to be very . . . not strange, but exciting. And we play in between two of their sets, which is quite remarkable.”
Kammermeier is referencing the Disco Biscuits, the jamtronica group throwing its second annual Bisco Inferno festival at Red Rocks on Saturday. As if the Disco Biscuits weren’t already elusive enough to music fans who want their music in a neat little box, the band throws this party each year that celebrates anything with a killer dance beat.
Joining the Biscuits this year are the Glitch Mob, the Crystal Method, Pnuma Trio, Aeroplane and Booka Shade — the latter being the most potent (and banging!) German electronic export since Paul van Dyk first broke in the mid-’90s.
While electronic music and jam-band culture have long been kissing cousins in the states, Booka Shade comes from the more traditional school of European electronic music. That said, Kammermeier likes the idea of inter-genre play — and open-minded audiences.
“I find it great when people open up and are not too rigid about their music,” Kammermeier said. “And I believe our music works well in this combination. The best festivals we play are oftentimes those where you have the rock stage and also the dance stage and other stages — not pure dance festivals.
“I believe that our audience is open-minded. Our music isn’t one thing all the time. It’s quite diverse — a lot of atmospheres and different emotions in an album and in the live show. The audience we always have likes and appreciates this.”
Booka Shade blew up on the worldwide dance music scene in 2005 when its bouncy single “Body Language” broke wide open — first in the U.K., then Europe and then the U.S. And regardless of the electronic music community’s reliance upon singles — via digital downloads from Colorado- based and white-label vinyl releases alike — the Booka boys are very respectful of the full-length album.
All that said, it’s not always a pretty process.
“Making an album, as I’m sure every artist can tell you, is always horrible,” Kammermeier said. “It was rather enjoyable this time, but still you go through all these ups and downs and it’s the best thing you’ve ever done and then the next day you hate each other and can’t talk to the other person. There’s all this emotion. But the concept of an album still means a lot to us.”
Because the group first became popular outside of its home country, Booka Shade had never properly toured Germany until earlier this spring. But after playing six or seven dates in their native country, Kammermeier and his bandmate feel as if they have a better understanding of Germany and its music.
“Germany is a big market for music — for selling music, not so much for creating music,” Kammermeier said. “There aren’t many bands that have reputations outside of Germany, especially in America and England. And so it was exciting for us when the first album came out and then ‘Body Language’ in 2005, that we were invited to these exotic places. And then you think, ‘I’d rather play somewhere in South America than in Germany.’ “
Now that Booka Shade is in America, Kammermeier is interested in seeing who shows up to its sets. When the duo played London recently, the audience felt much younger than for their previous visit to that same nightclub, he said. New York will have a different audience than its appearance at the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, Wash. And it’s fair to say that the Bisco Inferno kids will be a wholly unique entity.
“We’re very much looking forward to playing Red Rocks with those other bands,” Kammermeier said. “It will definitely be interesting.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@ ; @RVRB on Twitter
BISCO INFERNO.
Electronic/jamtronica. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, with Booka Shade, the Glitch Mob, the Crystal Method, Pnuma Trio and Aeroplane. 4 p.m. Saturday $39.75-$45. ,
