WestBam is the production alias of German producer and DJ Maximilian Lenz.  Producing and DJ-ing since the mid 1980’s Lenz is one of the founding fathers of the German dance music scene and has been hugely influential throughout his musically diverse career.  Lenz also runs Low Spirit Recordings.

Early Years: 1984 to 1997

Maximilian Lenz started DJing at a small club in his home town of Münster in 1983 aged just 18.  The following year he moved to Berlin – still at that time divided by the Berlin Wall – and became a resident DJ at the Metropol.   In 1988 he set up his long running and influential record label Low Spirit Recordings.

Under his stage name WestBam he began to produce and went on to release a number of singles in the mid-to-late 1980’s. He also released his early studio album ‘The Cabinet’ (Low Spirit Recordings 1989).

During the early 1990’s dance music culture began to boom in Germany and WestBam soon became one of the scene’s pivotal figures.  In 1991 he organized the first of the long running and now-legendary May Day parties in Berlin. WestBam has - as part of Members of Mayday - become the long running producer of the annual anthems of the event.

Throughout his early years Westbam’s style had  been electronic dance music more broadly than any specific genre.  As the 1990’s he become increasingly more associated with Techno but he continued to be something of a musical chameleon, embracing styles such as Electro and Breakbeat as seen on the track ‘Hardtimes’ (Low Spirit Recordings 1997).

Later Years: 1998 to present

By the late 1990’s, with dance music culture arguably at its peak, Westbam’s profile and influence continued to grow, with his diverse musical styles and workaholic production and touring schedule helping him reach wide audiences. 

At the peak of his popularity Westbam released the Breakbeat / Techno / Hip Hop cross over track ‘Beatbox Rocker’ (Mute 1999).

In 2005 he released his latest studio album to date: ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld’ (Low Spirit Recordings 2005) which included the Electro-Pop track ‘Bang The Loop’. 

By this stage Westbam’s  production output was beginning to slow. Since ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld’  Westbam’s only album release has been the 2010 Members of Mayday retrospective ‘A Love Story 89-10’ (Kontor Records 2010). 

He does however continue to perform regularly and still produces tracks such as the driving Electro-House track 'Elevate' in 2011.

Without Maximilian Lenz German dance music would quite simply not have been the same.  Along with the likes of Sven Väth and Paul van Dyk, WestBam helped shape the German dance music scene not just through productions and DJ sets but by playing an active role as a club and party organizer also.  And the impact of this was felt far beyond Germany, with the early 1990’s German dance scene rippling influence out across Europe and beyond.

Lenz chose his stage name WestBam is reference to his idol, the pioneering Hip Hop DJ Afrika Bambaata, with West referring to his own state Westphalia and Bam to Bambataata.