| 1983 marked the beginning of his DJ career in the Odeon Club in Münster. In 1984 he made a permanent move to Berlin which was still divided by the Wall at that time. 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 sampling 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 marked the breakthrough for both, WestBam as well as Low Spirit Recordings.
After that, things really started moving. "Monkey Say Monkey Do", "The Roof Is On Fire" 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 (14th 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 album "Bam Bam Bam" appeared in 1994 containing his most successful single until then "Celebration Generation". The album "Bam Bam Bam" even reached fourteenth place in the German LP charts and sold over 140 000 times in Germany.
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 Sander.
1997 surpassed everything previously achieved. In February WestBam's first book was published by Merve. Under the title "Mixes, Cuts & Scratches" WestBam talks about art, life and work as a DJ - interviewed by Rainald Goetz and adding some of his own prose - anecdotes, clips and finds.
June 1997: The Members of Mayday hit the top of German sales charts with "Sonic Empire" on June 10th. WestBam has made it: Number one in Germany, and with more than 700.000 copies sold "Sonic Empire" was awarded platinum.
Just one month later he managed what only a few artists ever achieve. On July,22nd WestBam, together with Dr. Motte, entered the top ten of the German Charts once more. Their anthem for the Love Parade 1997 "Sunshine" was noted number ten - but at this time "Sonic Empire" was still among the ten bestselling tracks of the country. So WestBam had positioned himself with two tracks among the Top Ten!
The climax of the year 1997 was definitely marked by the album "We'll Never Stop Living This Way", notably not only the title of this record but far beyond that WestBam's key note towards music and record art. A concern that especially during the beginning of his musical career has frequently been misenterpreted or misunderstood.
In August 1998 it was time for - WestBam meets Afrika Bambaataa! Calling the project I.F.O. the two sound-authorities produced - "Agharta, The City Of Shamballa (Subterranean World)". With "Agharta" the founder of German DJ-culture, WestBam, and the living ancestor of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa, presented their first collaboration. The result was one of the best New-Electro tracks of the year. We call it Technolectro!!!
The highlight of the year 1999 was Maximilian's cooperation with Afrika Islam, calling their project Mr. X & Mr. Y. The partycrowd was quickly convinced by the brilliant show of the two turntable activists. English magazines from Melody Maker to ID were in a flap and also the German audience was able to satisfy themselves by investigation of the live qualities of Mr. X & Mr. Y, especially during their Electric Kingdom club-tour.
2000 WestBam released the track "U", that he produced for the European soccer championship Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. With "U", Maximilian managed to combine Latin rythms with kickin' electronical beats that will certainly delight not only the fans in the stadiums.
During spring 2001 Mayday was celebrating its 10th anniversary. This was the start for one of the most lavish and great Maydays and the first Album of the Members of Mayday. Anthems of the Decade combines the original "Mayday-Anthem", "Sonic Empire", "Enter The Arena (Rave Olympia)", "We Are Different (Raving Society)", and "10IN01". This Album shows the history of a legendary event as well as a part of the German rave culture.
Long awaited was WestBam´s new Album "Right On" that was published in September 2002. After working with artists such as Can, Afrika Bambaataa, Dr. Motte, Yello or Takkyu Ishino WestBam in 2002 took over the studio with the German legendary singer Nena and produced the fist Album single release "Oldschool, Baby" that busted the charts after its release.
In 2003 WestBam released his first DJ Mix compilatation in Germany called "WestBam Super DJ Mix Elektropogo Jam 133.3". A 70 minutes mixing earthquake under the influence of Punk Rock, Hip Hop and Techno.
His next strike was another cooperation with Afrika Islam called "Dancing With The Rebels". This trend-setting and endless powerful pushing track of modern Technolectro Culture was WestBams effectually contribution for Germanys preliminary decision to the European Song Contest 2004.
In 2005 he released his album "Do You Believe In The Westworld". On the occasion of this release he was suprising his community with a brand-new project: WestBam - Live in concert! Meanwhile he is a successful DJ for more than 20 years but you never saw him as a part of a complete band. Until now... Drum kit instead of a record case - guitars instead of a crossfader. This Westworld Tour in 16 cities was another demonstration of WestBam's miscellaneousness. Furthermore he started his abiding monthly two hour radio show on germanys most popular radio station WDR Eins Live.
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. WestBam is by no means a dedicated follower of fashion but a genuinely creative trendsetter. |
