Lisa German

Lisa German - now there’s a name everyone in dance music knows. With eleven years experience and a technical ability as a DJ second to none , she’s gained a reputation as one of the scene’s true professionals as clubbers from DTPM to The Gallery, Heaven to Trade and now Hed Kandi will happily testify....................Although raised in Bolton, Lisa spent much of her time in Manchester before moving there permanently when she was 18. It was here that she had her first clubbing experiences on the indie scene but she quickly found her natural space when she discovered the No. 1 club. This was around 1992/93 and an exciting time on Manchester's music scene with The Hacienda and The Brickhouse joining the No. 1 club as a regular weekly haunt. It was during these heady days in Manchester that Lisa discovered a real love for all things “House” and decided to do something about it....................So how did it all begin? Lisa left the clubbing madness of Manchester and travelled extensively for two years. Returning to England, she discovered many friends had moved to London. She quickly followed suit and found herself at the legendary FF Sunday night session at Turnmills. Naturally, a visit to Trade came next including an introduction to clubbing svengali, Laurence Malice. By this time Lisa had already got herself a pair of decks and after months of non- stop practice and sending in a demo, she got her first opportunity to play out in the Trade Test Lounge and quickly impressed. An offer to cover for Pete Wardman in the main room followed where her chunky, percussive sound fitted perfectly into the early part of the night. She soon became a resident and can still be found behind the decks as a guest for Laurence and Trade clubnights in London and around the world....................Lisa continued to earn her spurs on the London bar circuit playing her blend of chunky, funky, sexy house sounds and got her next big break in October 1999 when Fabric opened its doors. DTPM, London’s Sunday night polysexual extravaganza, was moving there and promoter Lee Freeman, after hearing her play at Trade, gave her a guest slot in Room 2, by coincidence on the weekend of her birthday. She ended up going back nearly every week and became a weekly resident. Next up was a residency at London superclub, Home. Lisa’s spell as a door-picker preceded a move behind the decks, warming-up for Steve Lawler at his Friday night tribal workout, Deep South. She also got to play here alongside the likes of Danny Tenaglia, Danny Howells, Carl Cox and John Carter and Home subsequently invited her to play at the 2002 opening and closing Sunday night parties at Space in Ibiza. Not surprisingly, DJ magazine tipped Lisa as one of their ‘shooting stars’ back in 2003-2004.....................A year long residency at Gatecrasher in Sheffield followed where she was firmly ensconced in the second room playing four-hour sets of dirty, tribal, techy beats. She then fulfilled a long yearned for guest slot at Renaissance at The Cross, which in turn, led to plenty of overseas action: Centro in Singapore, a year long residency at Club Q in Zurich and trips to France, Poland, Romania, Brazil, Dubai, Peru and Australia in 2004 for Mardis Gras where she played the headlining set to 7,000 ecstatic polysexual Ozzies. This, says Lisa, is one of the many highlights of her career so far....................In 2005, Lisa ventured back to her roots and began taking a look at the music that made her tick back in the Hacienda years; Funky House. After a chance meeting and a full on back to back session at Centro in Singapore with Hed Kandi's then head honcho Mark Doyle, Lisa was brought on board to deliver the slightly chunkier side of the label playing regularly at their seemingly endless string of residencies all over the UK. "Although a lot of people saw Hed Kandi as being a bit of a strange move for me, it really brought back my love for simple, well produced funky house music. I felt very privileged to be asked to join the team. The Hed Kandi parties were some of the best I played. The crowds were always up for a good time, pure and simple. You couldn't ask for more than that." Lisa has since re-joined her original boss, Mark Doyle, to become a resident Dj for his new brand, Fierce Angels. She can be found today playing at a string of Fierce Angel's parties up and down the country and is very happy to be a part of this fiercely independent label who's small team have worked so hard to make the brand the success it is today....................Alongside this, Lisa maintains her underground status with a weekly residency at London's longest running club, Heaven, where she plays every Monday to what she calls "a fabulous, fun, sassy and very sexy crowd of South Americans." Here she revels in the fact she can, "play what I want to my hearts content. It just gets deeper and dirtier every week. I purposely search for the most underground filth I can find just to see their faces on the dancefloor when the bassline drops in."....................As a result of her residency at Heaven Lisa has now bitten the bullet and started her own night at their sister club, The Island. Stiletto, her night for, "bad girls who love good music" is a co-promotion with fellow Dj and friend, Miss Cupcake, whom she met whilst still a resident for Dtpm at Fabric when Cupcake won a competition to play in the main room before Lisa. Stiletto is a baby that Lisa feels very strongly about and hopes girls will take to their hearts as it launches in June 2008. "I think girls need somewhere they can go and just have fun, hang out, feel safe and above all else, listen to some great music in a very cool venue. I got sick of going to girls nights in dodgy basements with no toilets and staff that didn't care. The Island is a little bit special, a beautiful venue run by people I've worked with for years and trust, so we'll see what happens. I have high hopes for the night though."....................Add to this her bi-monthly residency for Smartie Partie at The Scala and sought after guest sets for The Gallery at Ministry of Sound secured this year, it would seem things are still on the up for this lass from Lancashire. Next move is to head into the studio this summer with fellow Smartie Partie resident and producer, Danny Dove. "The one thing about DJing is that once you can DJ, you can DJ; your technical expertise constantly improves and you can add all kinds of gadgets, but once you can do it, that’s it. Production is about creativity and expressing yourself. You can play big tracks to please a crowd but what you produce is what’s inside and that makes a difference."....................The results should be interesting, so keep watching this space for details........