Interview with Lingam, February 8th 2023
We sat down with Yoni Weizenberg, also known as electronic indie techno music DJ and producer Lingam, to talk about what he’s all about, and what he’s up to. Despite his hearing limitations, which allow him to listen to and interpret sounds on a whole different level, Lingam started to experiment with music from a young age, eventually composing his own material. While his first EP “The Green Road” reached the number one spot on Beatport’s Best New Hype Organic Chart, his energetic sets have brought him to stages at The Block and Midburn. With his first album and many releases lined up, the best is yet to come.
Tell us about all the exciting things you have just finished or are currently working on?
In the last few months, I’ve been working on a few exciting projects, including new tracks and some new collaborations with local artists and my resident home club Collabo.
During this period I researched and defined my musical style more accordingly. I tried to put focus on the journey and the storytelling of my music; while developing my own tracks but also during my sets.
Now I’m bringing these styles to my recent EPs, which are characterized by very deep and strong rhythms, leading the listener to a journey that develops and changes, while keeping the heartbeat stable.
How do your hearing limitations influence the way you hear and produce music?
I love this question! My hearing limitations really made me work hard to achieve satisfying results, as I mostly hear the lower tones. When I hear a track, I listen and feel the rhythm, the groove, the bassline, and all the lower notes of the track. This gives me a good understanding of what’s going on with the vibe and the feel of the track, but I miss a lot of details that could be critical while creating music.
Today, in order to release tracks, you need to fit the style, the sounds, and the atmosphere to the label you want to release on. This is an almost impossible mission for me, because I can’t understand or hear all the sounds, and I can’t identify sounds from specific musical instruments or percussions.
It makes the release work harder, but on the other hand, I’m crafting really special and unique sounds that have not been heard often before, because I have almost no reference to compare my work with.
I believe that with hard work and persistence, I have the opportunity to lead my own genre, dedicated to a specific style.
How did you discover electronic music?
My discovery of electronic music is separated into two parts. I discovered electronic music for the very first time when I was 12 years old. Because I went to a school located in Kibbutz, one of the most beloved genres among the students was trance.
I started listening to local trance artists such as Infected Mushroom, Astrix, Skazi, and more. Falling in love with this music genre back then, it will always keep a place in my heart, because the high tempo and rhythms always keep people shining brightly.
My second discovery of electronic music was when I was 21 years old, when I just moved to Tel Aviv and sought new friends. I met some friends from the local industry, such as Omri Guetta, who opened my mind to techno and house genres.
What is the longest set you have ever played and what was it like?
Once I started playing all over Tel-Aviv at different bars, I played a lot of long sets, many times even playing almost all night. But one of my longest and very important sets was during covid times in the Negev desert.
During this set, I was discovered by a lot of people from the Midburn community, and some of the people who already knew me said it was my best set so far. I played for almost 10 hours non-stop, a musical journey that started from the middle of the night until sunrise and the magical moments of the early morning.
I think this was the set that started my musical career in Israel and gave me a strong boost to reach new heights, such as playing at the famous club The Block.
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