Raver’s Heart

A talk with Amelie Lens.

In conversation with Amelie Lens on happiness, fashion and the sound of the future. Sense of freedom behind the DJ booth, loyalty to the rave culture, crowd engagement and her work ethics were the ideal ingredients to make her an uptempo floor-filler that granted her the title of “Techno Superstar”. Here also presenting a selection of personal highlights for our New Year’s Eve celebration Soundscape.

Listen to Soundscapes vol.79, curated by Amelie Lens.

Back in time when you were modelling you were the muse of Ann Demeulemeester, walking in many of her shows, was this an influential period in your life? How do you relate to fashion nowadays?
For sure it did! She was a huge inspiration to me, she’s always been one of my favourite designers and to work with her so closely since a young age really showed me what hard work, passion and dedication means. She has always stayed true to herself for so many years and I think that’s super important and inspiring. I always loved fashion and I still do. But I do not like to own a lot of stuff and this also counts for clothes. Whenever I get a new t-shirt I donate one. I like to only have a few clothes that I love very much.

Where are you answering this interview from?
From my home in Antwerp — sitting on the sofa with my cats and my laptop in my lap haha!

What’s your idea of happiness?
Happiness is very important to me. I want to take as much out of life as possible. Both of my parents died way too young and I will always try to avoid to waste a day of my life being unhappy. Happiness to me starts every day with being grateful for good health, having a roof over my head, fresh water and food in my fridge. But happiness to me is also being able to love myself, care for myself both mentally and physically and try to be the best version of myself that I can be. I think it’s important to be happy in order to bring happiness to those around you.

What is your first memory of your relationship with music?
I did not have a very important relationship with music until I discovered House and Techno. Of course I listened to some music at home when I was a teenager. I liked Nine Inch Nails, Praga Khan, etc. but I was way more into visual arts back then. My passion were more art and fashion and it’s not until I discovered Techno at Dour Festival when I just turned 16 years old that I felt a really deep connection with music for the first time. Immediately after the festival I started looking for more music and discovered many labels and artists. It’s around this age I also started clubbing. Mostly by myself just to hear the sets of artists I liked!

Where do you see the electronic music scene going from now? What will be the sound of the future?
That is hard to say because electronic music has so many sub genres and each of them evolve in their own way. Within Techno specifically I have the feeling that a lot of artists are changing their sounds a little bit. Like everything in life, also techno has a cycle, after a few years people get bored and want new/fresh things! I feel like we have now reached this point where we will get a lot of fresh sounds in the upcoming months which will take our scene into a new direction.

How does your creative process start when you are making a new track?
It usually starts when I am playing a set. I love to make music for the dancefloor and this is where I get all my inspiration. When I’m in the studio working on a track I always imagine being in the club or at a festival. Feeling the energy of the crowd is what inspires me the most.

Amelie Lens

Artist: Amelie Lens / @amelie_lens
Editor: Anca Macavei / @ancamacavei
Interview: Iro Bournazou / @irwb

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