Sven Väth

L’Esperanza, Ritual of Life, Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus, My Name Is Barbarella, Accident In Paradise

Through his recordings, epic-length DJ sets, dozens of commercial mix albums, and label operations, Sven Väth is one German trance and techno’s most popular proponents. Originally the lead singer of a dance-pop group named OFF (which included future members of Snap!), Väth hit the big time in 1986 when OFF’s “Electrica Salsa (Baba Baba)” became a number three pop hit in their native country. The band later disintegrated, leaving Väth free to pursue his interest in the hard trance underground of Frankfurt.

Väth became a DJ of note for his marathon sets, which sometimes approached 24 hours, and his 1992 co-founding of Harthouse Records. His own releases on the label included those by Barbarella, Astral Pilot, and Metal Masters with the help of his partner, Ralf Hildenbeutel. Blessed with an agreement connecting Harthouse and its subsidiaries to the American major label Warner Bros., Väth released Accident in Paradise, again with contributions from Hildenbeutel, as his first solo album in 1992. A solid debut, it illustrated Väth’s concern with connecting techno and trance to the concept-album ideas of prog rock. It died a quick death on American shores, but Mixmag listed it years later in a feature on the best dance albums of all time.

Always with one eye on the future, Väth co-founded the Frankfurt club Omen in 1988, which is now considered a primary birthplace of German techno. In 1996, Väth’s now iconic Cocoon brand began as a series of parties. Financially strained at first, Cocoon relaunched in 1999 as a party, booking agency and record label, showcasing famous names including Riccardo Villalobos, Dubfire and Väth himself.

In the summer of ‘99, Mar T of Ibiza superclub Amnesia offered Väth the opportunity to have Amnesia house his Cocoon parties every Monday. It stuck, and there, Cocoon has housed a spectacular array of the best DJs in the world. Väth was home. In 2018, Cocoon relocated to Pacha, and its spirit is stronger than ever.~John Bush (Allmusic.com), Mixmag