In the 90s Sven Vath, an extrovert figure in the dance world, was considered the apex of German trance, having been closely involved with the seminal Harthouse and Eye-Q labels. Since then, this DJ/producer has embraced techno and his musical sensibilities are now closer to those of Richie Hawtin or Jeff Mills. The German remains an elusive figure, completing interviews ahead of his first Australian visit in six years by e-mail.
As with CJ Bolland, another chameleon, Sven maintains that he has always been fluid as a DJ and producer – in down time he is partial to listening to Massive Attack or maybe classical music or punk. “I’m liking many sounds and I have always,” he says. “I think I evolve as the crowd and scene evolve. I like techno and electronic music but also electro house and soul and jazz. My passion is with electronica. I see my evolution as a natural progression which comes normally to people who follow music, I think. It’s been a long, hard 20 years, but I love it. The people keep me going.”
At a time when in the US and UK rave music is associated with drugs, hedonism and vacuousness in general, Vath has been rather remarkably designated as a cultural ambassador for the German Goethe Institute, of all bodies. “I bring the young element to the front. Germany has been about art and culture, especially in places like Berlin, Cologne and Munich. I am a spokesperson for them in a sense that I encourage German people and world people to pay attention to German culture – especially electronic music where we are at the forefront.”
Vath also recognises the role of PLUR culture in reunification – invariably East Germans feel like second-class citizens and this has led to social problems. “Music is bringing people together,” Sven exalts. “It is the sound of youth and is breaking down barriers.”
Vath, born in 1964 in Obertshausen, has been a presence in the dance scene since the early 80s when he first DJed. He became the lead singer of a dance group called OFF (Organisation For Funk) who had a hit with ‘Electric Salsa’. After the band’s demise, Vath immersed himself in Frankfurt’s rave culture. Sven emerged as a trance DJ, his name inseparable from the Omen club, which didn’t close until 1998.
In the early 90s Vath set up the Harthouse/Eye-Q stable. In 1993 he came out with his first ‘Sven Vath’ album, An Accident In Paradise. A year later Vath returned with the even more conceptual The Harlequin, The Robot & The Ballet Dancer, which was savaged in the UK media. “It was a time when German trance was it,” Sven says now of the project. “The outdoor party scene was massive. Psy-trance had just started and everyone was having a great time – no superclubs, no rock promoters, no bad drug dealers. It was all about a spirit. That album captured all sides of the mood of my life at that time.”
In 1997 Sven walked away from Harthouse/Eye-Q to begin afresh. “We had problems with the company who bought us out,” he regrets. “Our creativity was collapsed and the owner and I had our differences in running the label.”
Since the infamous Harlequin, Vath has released two more albums – Fusion and Contact – plus a compilation, Retrospektive 1990 – 1997, of his classic material. For last year’s Contact he recorded with Anthony Rother, Johannes Heil and Alter Ego. Sven is already gearing up for a new LP, Fire. “I am always working on new projects based on what I feel at the time. I go with the flow of life. I am open to any new experiences and always welcome new people, new technology, new cultures and all that. We should all be open beings; embrace all.”
Vath currently runs the Cocoon club in Frankfurt, which he took to Ibiza this summer, and he has even issued a couple of Cocoon mix-CDs. “It is like a family,” Sven says of Cocoon. “We all love the music. We are like the Hardware of Germany. The Soma of Germany. The M-nus of Germany. The F-Comm of Germany. The Axis of Germany. We love the music, so we make it, promote it and party with it through our events. It is from the heart and the soul.”
Unlike many of his introverted DJ peers, Sven projects a colourful personality – he’s a party animal. “I live life to the full. You are only young once and I enjoy every day of my life. Sure, there are ups and downs, but that is life.”
Vath has been rumoured to return to these shores several times in recent years, but only now, finally, he’s confirmed to DJ at Welcome 2002 with John Digweed and Richie Hawtin. So why has it taken Sven this long to come back? “Flying!,” he says. “I love Australia and Melbourne. I am excited. I really didn’t like the long haul and last time I was in Australia I got sick with too much partying, ‘cause those Hardware guys are crazy. The doctor said, ‘No drinking, no smoking or anything for six months.’ I was like, ‘What?’ I was back to normal within two months.”
Sven Vath DJs with Richie Hawtin and John Digweed at Welcome 2002 (Victoria Docks) on NYE. The Sound Of The Second Season is out through Cocoon/Stomp.
