Joule
In the early 80’s Maximilian Lenz started DJing under the name WestBam, as an homage to Afrika Bambaataa. In 1985, he wrote “What is Record Art” which predicted the rise of the DJ as a creative artist in electronic music. In 1986, he founded the techno label Low Spirit Recordings with Klaus Jankuhn and other leading German techno producers. In 1991 he and his brother the techno DJ Fabian Lenz started the Mayday rave in Berlin. The annual Mayday rave has been hugely influential on German techno and electronic music and WestBam’s influence continues to ripple through the scene. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Iggy Pop, Kanye West, and Bernard Summer of New Order and Joy Division fame. He’s been there since the beginning of dance music and he keeps pushing the genre forward. Don’t miss him!