COVER STORY — AMELIE LENS: RAVER AND GAME CHANGER
Known as the Queen of Techno, Amelie Lens certainly is a ground-breaking superstar DJ. By bringing a whole new sound to the techno scene, she has established herself as a trailblazer in music and an idol to many. As an Antwerp-based magazine, it’s a pleasure to introduce our first digital cover with a creative from our home city. Someone who has the same mindset of uniting people: Amelie Lens.
The Belgian artist doesn’t do a lot of interviews. When Amelie is on tour, she tries to focus on her shows and wants to keep her head cool. But due to the ongoing uncertainty in the world surrounding COVID-19, Amelie is forced to do something she isn’t used to doing a lot … staying home. We used that opportunity to invite Amelie to a studio next to her birthplace for her first big shoot since she stopped modeling. We were pleasantly surprised by her laidbackness. One thing is clear: Amelie Lens is incredibly down to earth and radiates a sense of security and comfort.
FIRST SUCCESS
The first steps are always hard, but things get easier when a lot of passion is involved. After being ignored by labels, Amelie took fate into her own hands and listened to the advice fellow DJs gave her. “They told me that I sounded too generic, and I was doing what everyone else was doing as well.” Motivated to discover her sound, she created her first EP Exhale. “The idea came from the long breakdown with my own vocals, I tried to make it hypnotizing, and then there was a harsh kick.”
“They told me that I sounded too generic, and I was doing what everyone else was doing as well”
Her newfound musical glory brought her a record deal and tons of praise by big acts from the scene, which is rare for an upcoming artist. “As a beginning artist, you get filtered out a lot. But I was lucky because a lot of people accepted my tracks and played them. As a DJ, I get a lot of demos and there are so many emails to go through that I often skip a lot and stop when I find an artist who I already know is good.” Exhale was the start of an unseen journey and launched the career of the ambitious artist that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.
LENSKE
Four years later, Amelie Lens isn’t signed to a label anymore but runs her own music label Lenske. She’s in charge of everything that she puts out but that isn’t always easy: “I struggle with knowing when a track is done and can keep working on a track forever. If you run your own label, you do not get a lot of feedback because you are the one in charge. I have to decide whether or not my track is finished and whether or not it’s good enough to release it. Of course, it also gives you a lot of artistic freedom. You get to do whatever you want,” she tells us.
Lenske grew and became the home of four other artists with the same passion for raves. For Amelie, Lenske goes further than just being a label. It’s most of all a group of friends that send their tracks to each other and give feedback. “I try to support them in all facets: it’s more than just releasing their music.” Amelie talks so passionately about Lenske, the label feels like a family business to us: she’s the caring and loving matriarch, encouraging and supporting every member.
RAVING
Amelie lives and breathes techno, which translates into a massive fascination and adoration for raving. When asked whether she prefers her DJ-booth or the dance floor, she says, “There’s nothing I love more than playing music. It’s my number one favorite thing to do in the world. On top of my passion for music, there’s the dancing and the mood in the club. That feeling of freedom and equality is something special. And the fact that I can play my favorite tracks as a DJ on an incredible sound system — yeah, that’s raving multiplied by a hundred.”
“There’s nothing I love more than playing music. It’s my number one favorite thing to do in the world”
While talking about this next-level experience, she’s beaming with excitement. Raving is in her DNA, so whenever she can, Amelie heads into the crowd to join the dance floor. “At first, it’s a bit challenging because everyone wants a selfie, but after a while, they get used to it, and we all just dance together. I need to be in the audience and feel that feeling, that’s how things started for me. It’s going back to my roots.”
THE FUTURE
It’s truly inspiring to talk to such an ambitious and heartwarming person like the Belgian DJ-goddess that is Amelie Lens. Her passion and drive translate in every sentence that leaves her mouth, especially when she talks about her future plans. COVID-19 forced her to stay home and take a break from touring, but she’s taking the time to work on different projects. “I’m currently making music, I’ve got a few projects open, but nothing is finished yet. Normally, I start from an idea and test it out by playing it in my sets. After seeing the reaction of the crowd, I change things up again. But now I can’t test these things out, which is important to me. So, I don’t seem to succeed in finishing music.”
Despite that, she’s kept herself busy by starting with practicing sports. “I was never the sporty type, for real, I never took my bicycle or went for a run. But I wanted to feel better in my skin, become stronger and healthier. So, I started working out with a personal trainer three times a week.” Apart from that, Amelie Lens occupies herself with designing merch for Exhale and looking for new artists to sign on her label Lenske. She is also starting a new label with EXHALE with a very exciting first release coming up: “The project focuses on a new generation of artists, and all the tracks are quite strong. The first artist compilation is finished and will be released digitally on November 13th and a vinyl release is set for January.”
