Amelie Lens was born in Vilvoorde, Belgium. When she was five years old, her mother died and Lens was raised by her grandmother from that point on.[1] She went to art school in Antwerp.[1] From an early age, she had a diverse interest in music, citing Nine Inch Nails, Underworld, Boys Noize and Ellen Allien as early influences.[2]
Lens became absorbed in electronic music at 15, after attending the 2005 Dour Festival in Belgium, an experience she describes as "life-changing". She says: "As soon as I got home, I started reading about the history of electronic music and discovered so many new artists and labels. It was like a whole new world opened for me; I made playlists in iTunes, putting tracks in an order that I liked, kind of like a podcast but not mixed.[2]
Shortly after the festival, Lens was discovered by a modeling agency and subsequently began working full-time as a model, living in London, Paris and Milan.[3] She has walked the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier and campaigned for H&M.[3]
Career
During her career as a model, Lens was working free-time as a DJ under the name Renée, her late mother's name,[3] earning herself a residency at the Labyrinth Club in Hasselt, Belgium in 2013.[1] She played mostly bass-heavy minimal techno. She gave up her work in the fashion industry in 2014, focusing fully on her musical career. At this time, she also began using her real name.[2][4]
In 2015, she launched an oatmeal company called "Baerbar" together with her boyfriend Sam Deliaert, who is also a DJ with the stage name Farrago. However, the company was later shut down again. In 2016, her first track "Exhale" was released on Italian imprint Lyase Recordings.[1] Soon after a trio of releases on Pan-Pot's Second State and a collab EP with Regal on Involve Records followed.[2] In 2018, she launched her own label called Lenske.[5] As a resident at Hasselt's Labyrinth Club, Lens started curating her own nights under the name EXHALE. Lens has expanded the EXHALE parties further afield, with regular showcases at the London's Fabric club and at Creamfields, OFFSonar, Dour and Extrema festivals.
Musical sound and equipment
She often plays live using a Pioneer RMX 1000. Lens says she uses the effects box "to add layers to the mix. It has a built-in sampler and personalised effects that can entirely reform the track that is playing. Like everything, its use is situational. Sometimes I hardly touch it, but when I play a peak-time set it truly shines. I specifically look for and buy tracks that will work well with the device. Very stripped-down or minimalistic percussion locked grooves."[6] While producing, Amelie uses Ableton LiveDAW, as well as the Elektron Analog Four synth and sequencer.[6]
Though previously involved in the techno scene, her recent sets are known for their mixture of classic acid and tribal house influences along with more commercial European trance sounds.[6]
