Mix to the Max

WESTBAM IS KNOWN as the face of Germany's electronic music scene, but there are few things you won't find on his jack-of-all-trades' resume. The DJ/producer is also an author, founded the Berlin Love Parade and Mayday Festival, and was Germany's cultural contribution to the 1988 Olympics.

However, the electro godfather's career had a simple beginning. 'Honestly, at the start I just wanted to be able to play my own records,' he says. 'In 1983 that was electronic new wave, electro funk, breakdance - stuff like that.

'Shortly after I started, I discovered that I could actually create new things by playing existing records; create energy, as well as visions of new styles,' says Westbam, who will bring his old-school-meets-new-school sound to Hong Kong with a performance at Lan Kwai Fong's Volar club tomorrow night.

Born Maximillian Lenz, the artist formed his moniker by merging his birthplace (Westphalia) and greatest influence (Afrika Bambaataa). Westbam prefers to be known simply as a DJ. 'It sounds less pretentious, and, to me, being a DJ means being an artist,' says Westbam, who has mastered the art of evolving with the musical times.

From his early period in Berlin playing industrial dance and hip-hop, to the transatlantic influences of Chicago house and teutonic Detroit techno, Westbam has always remained a step ahead of the pack. In a genre where trends climax and fade with ever-increasing speed, this has been vital to his success.

'I always stop doing something when it becomes routine, obvious and boring to me,' he says. 'I try to entertain myself, and over the years, if it was fun for me then it seems it was also fun for others.