Lena Willikens
DJ | Producer | Artist
Lena Willikens’ radio show on NTS is called ‘Lightning Conductor’. It’s an apt name for a slot which reflects the musical taste of a producer, DJ and video-maker with razor-sharp focus. As an artist who balances multiple projects, Lena is a conductor of chaos, most of which she has created herself due to a mind that constantly flows with ideas. As every concept collides and locks into one other before becoming the basis of her endeavours, Lena’s thought process is always in play.
Even after years of touring as a DJ and live artist, releasing on EM Records, Dekmantel, Hivern and collaborating with artists counting Vladimir Ivkovic and Sarah Szczesny, it’s still hard to describe what Lena is all about. Having honed her skills with a residency at Düsseldorf-based club Salon Des Amateurs over five years ago, Lena’s trajectory has followed many twists and turns in the realms of art, sound and audiovisual work.
With previous bookings at Berghain, Macadam, XOYO, Nitsa and many more, each set and track that Lena has produced has been a complete swirl of cosmic techno, squelchy acid, ethereal ambience and other deviants of electronic music. To put it simply, she’s likely to play a set where not one person can name a track that’s plucked from her infinite collection.
The same goes for Lena’s projects outside of production and DJing. Working with artist Sarah Szczesny under the moniker of Phantom Kino Ballett, the result has been a cascade of bizarre objectives between them to form engaging art exhibitions at NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein in Aachen, Germany. Room installations, spoken word blended with dance music, self-produced film sequences and pop-cultural quotations are just some aspects of Phantom Kino Ballett exhibitions. Since the pandemic began, however, Lena and Sarah have continued to work on the project behind closed doors.
Considering Lena has such strong connections with art on a professional and personal level, the below memory comes from an exhibition - not her own - earlier this year. Sharing the story behind it, Lena also talks about how she has navigated the last few months and how she is currently feeling about life, music and more…
Photo: Sarah Azczesny
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
It was taken in an exhibition by Tony Conrad at Kunstverein Cologne. I chose it because this exhibition was one of the most liberating things I experienced in the last months.
Tony Conrad is a free spirit, an artist who refused to be put in a box and never compromised or adapted to the business side of the art world. He made performance art, sound art, experimental film, art installations and collaborated with other artists and musicians like Angus McLise and the german Krautrock group Faust.
Especially in these difficult times, where most of the artists are struggling with financial problems, insecurities and disorientation - an artist like Tony Conrad can be a good role model.
How have you been over the last few months and what is life like in Amsterdam currently?
In-pre corona times, Amsterdam was simply the place where I would recover and charge my batteries in between travelling. I didn’t have much time to discover the city properly.
But in the last few months I started to get to know my current hometown a little better - which is a bit crazy after living here for almost 2 years…and it’s of course Amsterdam in an exceptional situation - quiet streets and empty shops in a city where you are usually barely able to walk because of the number of tourists.
One thing which left me speechless within the past month was the way the Dutch politicians denied the fact that there is any benefit of wearing face masks. In my opinion this was a fatal misinformation and I couldn’t believe this arrogance! An ignorance and arrogance also towards other countries and cultures.
Before the pandemic, you were leading a busy schedule with international bookings each month. Do you miss playing out and the general chaos that comes with being a touring DJ? Or has the pause in club and festival bookings brought any unexpected positives to your day-to-day life and approach as an artist?
To slam the brakes in the middle of the highway isn’t the most healthy thing you can do to your engine…
I tried hard to see the positive side of it - that I finally have enough time to do other stuff besides touring - but I’m still struggling with adapting to this situation. Of course I miss my old life. I miss playing, traveling, meeting people, having a schedule, earning money, dancing, visiting places I’ve never been before, making new friends, discovering the real world…
I’m really not an online person. In order to click with people I have to meet them in person, smell them and touch them. But I try to fill all these gaps with keeping myself busy with projects I do from home.
There are a few pictures on Instagram of your home set up with artwork pasted above your technics, some of which was designed by Sarah Szczesny. What is the dynamic between you both when working together?
Sarah and me describe our collaboration as a balance between neurotic actions, perfectionism, nervous breakdowns, embracing mistakes and shaking booties. It doesn’t happen often that you meet someone you can share such a fundamental understanding with - even without words.
We complement each other in a very natural way. We are working together on our ongoing Phantom Kino Ballett for more then 5 years now and there is more to come!
Has the upheaval of the year so far brought any surprising creative endeavours to the table?
I was working on several remixes which will be released in the next month to come. One remix for YPY on Black Smoker Records is out on the 23rd of Oct.
Besides that Vladimir and I were working on a release on his label Offen. A live recording by Willikens & Ivkovic of a very special night at Hosoi in Stockholm will be released alongside a zine of wonderful intuitive drawings by the artist Vitto de Franchis.
And I started to learn how to blend perfumes and currently working on a perfume for Phantom Kino Ballett.
As someone who is heavily involved in the industries of art and music, how do you feel about the future at the moment?
I have very mixed feelings about it - and most of them are marked by fear. So many small independent venues are struggling to survive or had to shut down already that it would be almost cynical to talk about anything positive at this very moment.
What has been a constant source of comfort for you throughout this time?
To find a constant source of comfort would be a lifetime challenge I guess. Through all these ups and downs family and friends are of course the most important. And I live with two wonderful cats who had to adapt to the fact that I’m all of a sudden around so much.
I bought a lot of new plant room mates and I started to dig deep in the world of molecules, perfume ingredients and formulas.
Listen to Lena’s latest mix for Rush Hour Store here and follow her below: