WestBam, alias Maximilian Lenz, was born
on 4 March 1965 in M¸nster, Westphalia. Not only is
he Germany's most successful and most popular DJ and avantgardist
of the Raving Society, he is also the most innovative producer
and co-founder of Berlin's Indie Dance label, Low Spirit.
WestBam is in fact the abbreviated form of Westphalia BamBaataa
and derives from this artist's home state in Germany and his
role model Afrika Bambaataa.
1983 marked the beginning of his DJ career in the Odeon Club
in M¸nster. In 1984 he made a permanent move to Berlin
which was still divided by the Wall. WestBam started as DJ
at Berlin's famous Metropol and his sophisticated mixing techniques
brought him fame far beyond the borders of the divided city.
In 1985 WestBam worked with Klaus Jankuhn to produce his
first 12" entitled "17" which was inspired
by Paul Hardcastle's "19", one of the first sample
hits of the time. One of the climaxes of those early years
was undoubtedly his performance at the 1988 Olympic Games
in Seoul (South Korea) where he gave a German cultural contribution
at the invitation of the Goethe Institute.
In 1989 he made his first album "The Cabinet".
This was the first DJ-concept album to be launched on the
German market. This album included the number "The Roof
Is On Fire" and brought the breakthrough for DJ WestBam
as well as Low Spirit Recordings.
After that things really started moving. "Monkey Say
Monkey Do", "And Party" and "No More Fucking
Rock 'n Roll" are just some of the titles known to everyone
who danced not just in German discos at the time. 1991 saw
the arrival of his second album entitled "A Practising
Maniac At Work". The first Mayday also took place in
1991 (14 December) and WestBam was decisively involved in
the artistic concept of this and the following Maydays. WestBam
and Klaus Jankuhn teamed up under the name "Members of
Mayday" to produce an anthem for each Mayday event. These
Mayday anthems are so popular that they have now reached cult
status.
WestBam's fourth album "Bam Bam Bam" appeared in
1994 containing his most successful single until now "Celebration
Generation" (21 Media Control Charts). The album "Bam
Bam Bam" even reached fourteenth place in the German
LP charts and sold over 140 000 times in Germany.
In 1995 WestBam again entered the charts with the remix of
the Yello classic "Bostich". The first "Members
Of Mayday" LP entitled "Members only" appeared
with all the "Members" hits. In the same year "Westbam,
Koon and Stephenson" cut "Always Music". For
this production the two famous studio stars WestBam and Jankuhn
joined forces with the Belgian DJ, Axel Stephenson" (Bonzai
Rec.).
The highlight of 1995 was unquestionably the tenth anniversary
of the Low Spirit label commemorated by the double CD "The
Age Of The DJ Mixer - 10 Years Of Low Spirit" which included
ten titles with WestBam.
DJ WestBam's success story continued through 1996. In January
Maximilian Lenz received the highly esteemed cultural award
from Berlin's biggest daily paper (BZ) and took his place
alongside other award holders such as Mario Adorf, Bernhard
Minetti and Otto Sanders.
In mid-1996 he released "Terminator", a clear-cut
electronic track that rose quickly to the accustomed popularity
in the club scene.This was followed by "Born to Bang"
which once again clearly demonstratcd Max Lenz's musical versatility.
But 1997 puts everything in the shade. It all started with
his first book "Mixes, Cuts & Scratches" (Merve
Verlag). In "Mixes, Cuts & Scratches" WestBam
presents a collection of his own texts from an interview with
the poet, Rainald Gtz, about art, work and life as a DJ,
and anecdotes, thoughts and discoveries. This book publication
was accompanied by his successful remix of the 70's Can classic
"... And More ...".
Then "Sonic Empire" hit the market. The most recent
Mayday Anthem (30 April 1997), written and produced together
with Klaus Jankuhn and released under Members of Mayday, rose
to number one in the German Media Control Singles Charts and
was highly praised throughout the entertainment industry.
"Sonic Empire" passed the 500 000 mark in July while
WestBam was already producing some new hits like "Sunshine".
"Sunshine", the official Love Parade Hymn was the
next coup which stormed the dance and singles charts during
the summer and was in the meantime crowned with a golden award.
But the year's final highlight will doubtlessly be the long
expected new WestBam album "We'll Never Stop Living This
Way" (release date 10 Nov. 1997). The title, or even
motto, reflects WestBam's way of defining and producing music
which, especially in the beginning of his musical career,
was sometimes strongly critized. It contains 14 smashing tracks
like the new chart single "Hard Times" or the Hip
Hop influenced "Free Me". Beside these current hits
the fans will find more experimental tracks, e.g. "Die
Dunkelsequenz" a very puristic, slow and heavy track
or "Crash Course" which generates a danceable groove
without using the the typical house schemes.
As a DJ, Maximilian Lenz is now known and in demand around
the world. He already looks back on many successful tours
of the USA, Japan, Australia and Africa.Without exaggeration,
WestBam has had a decisive influence on the techno house cultural
movement and his creative impulse is still very much alive
and kicking.
