Disco, Disco and Disco Again!

On 9 May 2008, at the venue everyone still calls Arma 17, an event will take place that every self-respecting lover of dance music and club life always looks forward to. Once again, but no less eagerly awaited, one of the biggest stars in the Techno constellation is coming to our city — the inimitable Sven Vaeth, one of the founding fathers of techno music, owner of the cult label Cocoon and of the plush club of the same name in Frankfurt, Germany, and simply an incredibly charismatic personality. On the eve of this performance we got in touch with Sven, who is one of our very favourite DJs, and asked him a few questions.

Over 25 years of a DJ career I've done more than ten world tours, so I've long been used to this sort of thing. Although it really is very exhausting, my eternal engine is my passion for music. The main thing is not to let yourself get distracted from the work and to look after yourself. To relieve tension and rest, healthy food, sport, visits to the sauna and massage help a great deal.

My musical choice on tour is, of course, limited to my two crates of records. Together they hold about 180 records. That's enough for a set 12 hours long. But my sets always differ from one another, depending on the required length of the set. The music the DJ before you played also plays a huge role in the choice of music. Actually, I like to play alone all night, but unfortunately that's not always possible. My set is born in the process of playing; my strong point is the ability to improvise. On top of that, at every party the crowd on the dance floor gives off different energy. But on the other hand, the main thing always stays the same: in the end, my goal is the best thing in the world — dancing to music!

What associations? Fur hats, of course, golden domes, huge snowdrifts, very difficult literature, bear meat, the Bolshoi Ballet… Unbelievably rich oligarchs, beautiful women and a huge appetite for luxury. It's a city that lives large. I'm very glad that a good electronic scene has taken shape in Moscow. Volodya Trapeznikov is a wonderful promoter, one of the best, and he has done a great deal to help develop the scene. I've always had a great time in Moscow, and I can't wait for my party.

Personally for me — I don't think so, but in general it's very intriguing to be in Russia on this particular day and to celebrate Victory Day together with the Russians.

I haven't been to Moscow for two years now, and the main thing I'd like to see is how the dance scene has changed over these two years. And as for surprising, I suppose I can surprise people with myself and my music. Cocoon — that is, a cocoon — is essentially a metamorphosis, and metamorphoses are always an amazing phenomenon!

Well, with us it's all clear: we're guys from the planet Techno Minimal Disco Funk and we bring the highest cosmic groove to Earth to save the planet. After all, music unites us all, and everything we bring you comes from the very depths of our hearts! And besides, it's not for nothing that every year clubbers from all over the world come to the White Island to celebrate together the ritual of Cocoon — love!

It's all very simple here: a good club is one where the owners do everything with a pure heart, and a bad one is where they don't. My favourite clubs are Cocoon in Frankfurt, Robert Johnson — also in Frankfurt, Womb in Tokyo, Watergate in Berlin and Amnesia on Ibiza.

It seems to me that we in Germany take dance music the most seriously. Perhaps that's because in our country electronic music has existed at a professional level since the '60s, and over the last 20 years the greatest amount of dance electronica has been made precisely in Germany. A very interesting culture of labels, artists, music magazines and clubs has developed here, and Frankfurt and Berlin are probably the main wellsprings of this culture.

Disco, Disco and Disco again!!!