A Year Of Catharsis With Techno Icon Sven Väth
Catharsis
The process of releasing and getting rid of strong or repressed emotions.
The title is Sven Vet's first studio album in over 20 years and the 50th released earlier this year on the legendary Cocoon label.
Sven Vet is a raw artist at heart as well as a versatile artist, DJ, producer, brand head, club leader and an international electronic legend around the world. His ability to connect with everyone on the dance floor at every show he performs is a rare gift. He told me it was partly down to his mother.
"My mother was my best teacher."
Just before Christmas I met him at a number of parties around Europe at his last show in London a year later. In early 2020, I wanted to explore how forced outages due to pandemics would trigger a process that eventually leads to catharsis.
The album's title depicts his journey of being forced to stop doing what he loves. He said:
"I was really shocked. I've never felt such radical tears in my life. But it allowed me to look through the archives of photos and music from my life. I found myself playing in 1981 and 1982 and on the first trip. When I was playing for the band I got the idea. I sat there for 3 months, listening to the music I played between '81 and '90.
This unique opportunity for forward-thinking was always the start of something special, resulting in not only Sven's first studio album in two decades, but also an impressive array of personal backgrounds.
What I play is a 12' x 12' vinyl collection of music from the first 10 years of DJing and the early days of electronic music. He said:
"The difference between always looking forward and suddenly having time to think and reflect was where it all started. I had so many memories and I enjoyed all that music again."
I played with six themed playlists totaling 120 tracks ranging from early 80s Balearic to Afrobeat, European new wave and EBM sounds and some American tech/house tracks in between. These playlists are made from a 12" x 12" vinyl collection
In the early 1980s, in German clubs like Vogue and Dorian Gray, audiences danced to what we now call "dance classics" - mainly disco, funk, soul and folk music. The new generation of DJs had to create their own mix of club music, including Sven Witt, the youngest speaker in Rhine-Main Germany at the time. Good new tracks and potential deck fillers were rare to find. Sven said of his time:
The 80's were such a great time and we had so many different genres and different looks!
After this nostalgic reflection on his extraordinary life and career, he finally took a much-needed vacation to his spiritual home in Ibiza in early 2021. This is when the genesis of the Catharsis album really gained momentum. She told me.
After a year of not doing what I love, I was with my girlfriend in Ibiza. I started writing songs and putting ideas together and started thinking about making an album for the first time in 20 years. It took a long time because by then I was recording two mix CDs a year, I was building my Cocoon company structure, arrangements, booking, management etc. Now I have been very busy all these years. At the same time we play like hell and throw over 100 parties a year!”
Before Breakout, Sven wrapped up one last great season for Coco in Ibiza and celebrated 20 years of pure fun and great electronic music on the Isle of Wight. Cocoon has been an integral part of the evolution of electronic dance music on the island since 1999.
The countless cocoon parties in Ibiza that summer were amazing. Kraftwerk, Underworld, Richie Hawtin, Solomun, Bicep, Charlotte de Witte, Dubfire and Tale Of Us were some of the great acts joining the acts not only at favorite clubs but also at many jazz festivals. Autumn occurs in Ushuaia and Benimosa Park. 2019 is Coco's last year in Ibiza, an impressive legacy spanning two decades that is now part of an electronic music legend, but Sven tells me:
"There is nothing left to gain."
So, in early 2021, Sven, armed with many ideas, contacted his friend Gregor Thrascher and returned to his hometown of Frankfurt to create what would become a catharsis. He said:
"Gregor has great musical knowledge. I called him and he was like Sven, I've been waiting for this for years! So I went to his studio and we opened a bottle of wine and I told him all my thoughts about it and how I Listened to all this old music and was inspired by it. And then we did one piece at a time. The album was made in 3 months."
Catharsis was announced in the spring of 2022, following the release of Phair's debut single. The track is an instant classic, and is accompanied by a beautiful video featuring archive footage from Sven's impressive online career. It was a big call for the next year as Vern got back what he loved so much.
This year's Sven album and world tour has been the catalyst for a year of musical catharsis for me and my friends. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Coco in Ibiza and Berlin in 2019 with Sven at the Watergate we decided to pick up where we left off before the outbreak, as we were allowed to get back on the dance floor while renovating. Our unforgettable experiences in the ballrooms of London, Berlin, Edinburgh and Ibiza provided the therapy we needed after those difficult years.
I had the chance to thank Sven before he took the stage for the last time at Coco in London. She told me.
"I'm really feeling your love, we're really enjoying this time and the music and it's great to know you've brought your family and friends to share it."
In 2022, electronic dance music and the dance floor are the best cathartic experiences, Sven assures me.
If we now look ahead again and think about 2023, it will surely be another old year for Sven. According to him:
"Our thoughts make us."
Sven Väth - Catharsis is now available on Cocoon. Click here to stream.
Sven Väth - What I Used to Play is available for pre-order at Cocoon.
Many thanks to Sven, Tim Cocoon and Robin from Time Warp for their return to Germany and Brazil this year.
Below, listen to some of our favorite songs we heard from Sven on this year's Catharsis World Tour, including the Catharsis track mentioned earlier in the interview.
Sven Fet - Vern
Claude von Struck, Walker and Royce - Enthusiasm
Sven Fate - Us
Harvey McKay - Black Spider
Expelled - Caterpillar
BDB - Bass Rhythm
Sven Fet Mysterious words
Metal Master - Spectrum (Burt Skiles & The Whiskey Reinterpretation)
Planetary Attack System - Blisk
Odyssey Rhythm and Dr. Danks - Mr
