Despite the sweltering heat in Bangalore, the city is always fun on weekends. Scorching the city’s party scene last weekend were German DJ sensations Lissat & Voltaxx who played at the opening weekend of Palazo Club & Lounge. Lissat & Voltaxx known for their groundbreaking house music comprise producers and DJs Marco Wolters and Jens Lissat who are known in DJ circles as the “German godfather of techno”. “After three failed attempts, we’re finally in India,” quips Marco on the phone. “We have heard so much about India and that Indians enjoy good music that it’s great to be doing a gig here.” Stating that they don’t quite know what to expect from Bangaloreans, Jens says: “All we’ve really heard about international music in India has largely to do with the mega parties that Goa we hear is famous for. So many people in Germany are quite acquainted with the Goa party scene.”
The duo had the opportunity to sample Indian food and also visited a temple the previous day. Jens says: “Though we haven’t met Indian DJs before to get a pulse of the music landscape here so we could prepare for tonight, we did extensive research online. We spent a good number of hours on YouTube looking up videos of Indian parties that play this kind of music.”
That said, Marco adds: “We’re going to be playing a mix of old and new stuff. There are three new tracks that we want our Indian fans to hear so we’re here to test the waters!”
Lissat & Voltaxx are best known for their collaborations with several artists worldwide, and their remix of the No. 1 UK Song ‘Silence’ reigned on music charts for several weeks. The year 2013 has seen the duo play at several buzzing international destinations.
Speaking of their signature sound, Marco says: “We play house music and some amount of techno house but we have created a sound that people easily recognize as ours.” Jens chimes in, “We’re open minded and do play a little of progressive stuff too but we aren’t creating the sound that DJs like Tiesto and Avicii are known for. We’re happy playing what we play best.”
Lissat & Voltaxx have rapidly risen in popularity across the world since they were formed in 2006. Jens states: “We’ve toured a lot, learnt a lot and have been in the industry for a long time now. It’s hard work that is a whole lot of fun and our job is fun because the music we make is inspired by different things.”
He adds: “I’m inspired everyday, at home, in the studio, when I listen to the radio or when I watch a video on YouTube. Even the Shiva temple inspired me yesterday and we hope to be able to convert that into something musically tangible.” Mention Bollywood and the duo get talking nineteen to the dozen. “Don’t ask us to name the innumerable songs we’ve heard but we’ve listened to a lot of popular numbers from your land. It would even be great to work with any Indian artiste who would want to collaborate with us,” they say.
On this visit, they’re hoping to meet likeminded artistes so when Indian beckons again, they will be here!
