Whatever your take on Booka Shade's direction on The Sun & The Neon Light, one thing holds true: Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier know exactly what they're doing. The duo set out to make a pop-oriented album ala Depeche Mode and they succeeded in doing so. And like Depeche Mode, Merziger and Kammermeier have enlisted some top names for remixing duties.
Those names include a celebrated Berlin duo named…Booka Shade. Merziger and Kammermeier come with two mixes in two, each of which teases those who wish The Sun had been yet another dance floor full-length. The "Easy Way Out Mix" is the sun, complete with bouncy drum programming and tell-tale breakdowns. The "Bitter Truth Mix," meanwhile, is the harsh neon light, a deliberately paced warm-up that is the closest you can imagine Merziger and Kammermeier ever getting to DJ tool territory. Functional? Sure. But it's clear in hearing it why the duo might have been bored with the dance floor while making The Sun. There's no joy in bitter truth.
Rising Get Physical producer Patrice Bäumel turns in the first of two remixes here, revealing that he may just be Booka Shade's heir in terms of taking pop over to the dance side of things. Bäumel's previous work on Traum always had a melodic edge, but he outdoes himself here, recasting the "Sweet Lies" as a hopeful lament buoyed by an insistent melody that originally spun the track close to oblivion. Moon Harbour man Matthias Tanzmann looks to the floor with his minimal remix, cutting each element to its core aside from a steam-hiss melody and emotive moan. It probably won't be a track that you'll remember after the night is over, but it's prime "get lost" material and—along with Bäumel's remix—is worth the price of admission.
Buy Booka Shade - Sweet Lies at
  
Tracklist: Booka Shade - Sweet Lies
 A1 Sweet Lies (Booka Shade's Easy Way Out Mix)
A2 Sweet Lies (Patrice Bäumel Rmx)
B1 Sweet Lies (Matthias Tanzmann Remix
B2 Sweet Lies (Booka's Bitter Truth Mix)
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