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Game, set and beat Noah Becker, eldest son of tennis legend Boris Becker, is making a name for himself as a DJ. As DJ KNOWA he plays in Miami and Berlin – and is contemplating a future in Ibiza.
he handshake is soft, the look fleeting. Noah Becker has to get to the turntables, it’s important. His place of work is the DJ booth, and today he is at the Asphalt club in Berlin. Noah Becker, son of tennis legend and adoptive Mallorquin Boris Becker, is playing in Germany’s capital city for the first time. The 20-year-old has travelled from Miami for the gig and is accompanied by friends on bass, microphone and percussion. As he gradually gets into the groove, in his black T-shirt, baseball cap, beard and headphones, it becomes clear that this is not just a young DJ at work who has benefited from his celebrity. Becker has real talent. And the selfies that young Berliners like to take with him are more than just the same old ritual. “Being recognised has its advantages and disadvantages,” Noah Becker told German tabloid Bild online. “But there are certain things that are more difficult for me.” Like, for example, getting an unresponsive audience to dance. “You can’t let it get you down, you just have to get on and do your thing,” he says.
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And in Asphalt, in the basement of the Hilton Hotel on Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt, he does just that. And not just there: Becker has been honing his craft as a DJ for the past three years. With his mother Barbara Becker’s blessing he first moved to Ibiza for a season to learn from DJ legend Lenny Ibizarre. There he learned his craft from scratch and played at Ibiza’s famous party spot, the Ushuaia Beach Hotel in San Antonio. Since the hotel opened two years ago, celebrity DJs such as David Guetta and Armin van Buuren have put in regular guest appearances. Becker has also written several of his own songs and produced his own electronic music. According to Lenny Ibizarre he is very disciplined and professional, “Noah has come on in leaps and bounds.” So it cannot be ruled out that the son of the threetimes Wimbledon Champion will one day be as famous as his father. And in the DJ world his name and background have very little influence. What counts is talent and substance – particularly in the House stronghold of Berlin, where countless DJs battle it out every night in clubs, both large and small. Young Becker has also changed his name – at the mixing desk he is known as DJ KNOWA. And all being well, his mix of
electronic and House music will soon be heard in the Nevada desert, as well as in London and Miami, where he has already performed at ‘Art Basel’ in Miami Beach. He is hoping to go to the Burning Man Festival next year with his mentor DJ Lenny Ibizarre – another outlet for the greats of his profession.
“Being recognised has its advantages and disadvantages. You can’t let it get you down, you just have to get on and do your thing.” Noah still lives with his younger brother Elias and his mother Barbara in Florida. But the DJ is looking to return to the Balearics where he spent lots of time in his youth. “I could see myself moving to Ibiza one day,” he told Bild online. He has fallen in love with the island and really likes the unconventional lifestyle. And of course Ibiza is the quasi home of House music. For KNOWA, however, something else is just as important, “There you can be free.” TranslaTion Celia Moody, PhoTo: GreGor anThes