p r e s e n t s::

Westbam - Germany
DJ / Producer / Remixer

Westbam, alias Maximilian Lenz, was born on March 4^th 1965 in Muenster, Germany. Not only is he Germany’s most successful, most popular and respected DJ, he is also Germany’s most innovative electronic music producer. Co-founder of Berlin’s dance label Low Spirit as well as promoter of the world’s biggest indoor Techno music event "Mayday".

1983 marked the beginning of his career at the Odean Club in Muenster. In 1984 he made a permanent move to Berlin which was still divided by the wall. Westbam started DJ-ing at Berlin’s famous Metropol club 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 single entitled "17" which was inspired by Paul Hardcastle’s "19", one of his 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 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 track "The roof is on fire" which brought the breakthrough for Westbam as well as label Low Spirit Recordings. Songs like "Monkey Say Monkey Do", "And Party" and "No More Fucking Rock’n Roll" are just some of the hit titles known to everyone who danced not just in Germany at that time.

In 1991 the arrival of his second album entitled "A Practicing Maniac At Work". The first Mayday also took place in 1991 and Westbam was decisively involved in the artistic concept of the following Maydays. Westbam and Klaus Jankuhn teamed up again under the name "Members of Mayday" to produce an anthem for each Mayday event. There 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" . The album reached rank 14 in the German LP charts and sold over 140.000 copies in Germany.

1995. Westbam again entered the charts with the remix of Yello’s classic song "Bostich". The first "Member Of Mayday" LP entitled "Members only appeared with all the "Members" hits. In the same year "Westbam, Jankuhn and Stephenson" produced "Always Music". For this production the two famous studios stars Westbam and Jankuhn joined forces with the Belgian DJ Axel Stephenson of Bonzai Records.

The 1995 highlight was unquestionably the tenth anniversary of the Low Spirit label which released the double album "The Age Of The DJ Mixer" – 10 Years of Low Spirit which included ten titles produced by Westbam.

Westbam success story continued throughout 1996. In January he received the highly esteemed cultural award from Berlin’s biggest daily news magazine "BZ" an took his place alongside other major award holders such as international known actors like Mario Adorf, Bernhard Minetti and Otto Sanders.

In mid-1996 Westbam 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 demonstrated Westbam’s musical versatility.

1997 puts everything aside. It all started with his first book "Mixes, Cuts, Scratches". In his book, Westbam presents a collection of his own words from an interview with the poet Rainald Goetz, about art, work and life as a DJ and anecdotes thoughts and discoveries. This book publication was accomplished by his successful remix of the 70’s Can classic’s .."And More.."

Then "Sonic Empire" hit the market. The most recent Mayday Anthems, written and produced together with Klaus Jankuhn and released under Members of Mayday, rose to number one in the German Media Control Charts and was highly praised throughout the entertainment industry. "Sonic Empire" passed the 500.000 mark in July while Westbam was already producing new hit’s like "Sunshine". Sunshine, the official Love Parade Anthem was the next coup which stormed the dance 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". The title, or even motto reflects Westbam’s way of defining and producing music. It contains fourteen 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 grove without using the typical house schemes.

Westbam has had a decisive influence on the Techno house cultural movement in the world and his creative impulse is still much alive and kicking.

 >>CONTACT - E-MAIL<<

BUY ICU CDs / ICU Merchandise
!!! NOW shipping worldwide !!!
accepted

©®, ICU™1993-2005, ICU, International Club Union, ICU Records, ICU Media, icurecords.com, icumedia.com, icuwin.com, icufuture.com, icumovie.com, icubeauty.com, raveusa.com, icushop.com, icupictures.com, icuradio.com, icufashion.com, icumodels.com, ravecity.com, icuplayer.com, ravetv.com, icupromo.net, Clubnights, Generation Trance, Global Hardhouse are used by ICU and registered or pending trademark/service marks. 
All right reserved.