On April 8th, Ben Böhmer’s Bloom Live Tour landed at Mission Ballroom in Denver. Mile High house music fans have enjoyed many Böhmer performances in recent years, including his 2024 Regenerate Festival set and his 2023 Red Rocks co-headline with Bob Moses.
But this recent performance allowed Böhmer to show off in a fully live environment. At Mission Ballroom, Ben Böhmer showcased the eclectic, new sound that he developed on his third studio album.
Ben Böhmer’s Third Album
German producer Ben Böhmer was introduced to the public largely through Above & Beyond’s secondary imprint, Anjunadeep. He first started releasing with the label in 2018, eventually dropping his first two studio albums Breathing (2019) and Begin Again (2021).
In 2024, Böhmer went in a novel direction, releasing his third studio album Bloom on Ninja Tune, the independent, London-based label known for promoting boundary-pushing electronic artists (and much more). During his Reddit AMA, Böhmer said of the shift: “I love dance music and always produce songs for the dance world but sometimes I need to write music outside of that world… I love Ninja Tune and their artists and felt this is the perfect home for this Album.”
On Bloom, Böhmer tests waters outside his standard deep house fare. He leans into indie electronica with cuts featuring Lykke Li and Oh Wonder. In other places, he opts for a 2-step beat like “Evermore,” or he eschews dancing altogether with a downtempo track like “Blossoms.”
Bloom Live
Opening the stage for the Bloom live show was Quebecois producer CRi (real name Christophe Dubé). Similar to Böhmer, CRi is known for vocal-focused progressive and deep house, primarily released on Anjunadeep. CRi played tracks off his recent laid-back Hold You EP but also got the crowd dancing with warm and euphoric beats.
In the true form of a live album tour, when it was time to start the show, Böhmer opened with Bloom’s first track. Böhmer, who has played piano since he was young, sat down at the keys to play the soft melody of “Martin.”
As the show ramped up, we got a great taste of the live show’s mostly textural visuals. They often incorporated camera work of Böhmer’s live mixing on the Ableton Push (with some psychedelic effects on top).
While the set primarily showed off his new productions, Böhmer made good use of his older material too. He incorporated his two signature tracks, “Breathing” and “Beyond Beliefs,” to the crowd’s great excitement.
The climax of the live show was when Böhmer returned to the upright piano to play the triumphant track “Evermore” live. He then blended into the equally hopeful “Rain” as raindrop visuals graced the screens.
To close the show, Böhmer ended with an encore of “Best Life” with JONAH (a clear standout from the new album) and 2021’s “Erase” with lau.ra. On stage, Böhmer was a man of few words. He nonetheless stopped to remark that Mission Ballroom is the best indoor venue in the US.
Beyond Dance Music
In an interview with Sterofox, Ben Böhmer discussed how his new album diverts from standard dance music. “I initially planned to write a functional dance album, as the stages were getting bigger and louder, and I felt I had to cater to that. But that attempt failed… The result is a very diverse album with various facets that don’t just cater to the big stage.”
This eclectic sound is a blend of indie electronica, pop vocals, and slow piano ballads — all of which coalesce under the expansive umbrella of house music. While Bloom is not a pure dance album, Böhmer has found an excellent way to adapt it to a large stage (like Mission Ballroom) with incredible success.
Photos by Tyler Ingalls
