Sven Väth

🎧 Sven Väth (born 26 October 1964) is a German DJ and electronic music producer. He is a three-time DJ Awards winner, with a career in electronic music spanning over 30 years. The release of the single “Electrica Salsa” with OFF in 1986 launched his career. Known as “Papa Sven” by his fans, Väth became one of Germany's pop stars in the 1990s, establishing two nightclubs in Germany and founding his own company, Cocoon, which includes a booking agency, record label, and event management branch.

📚 Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_V%C3%A4th)

Sven Väth is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in electronic music, with a career that spans over four decades. Born in Obertshausen, West Germany, to parents who had separately escaped East Germany, Väth was raised near Frankfurt in a household steeped in music and dance. His parents opened an English-style pub with a small dance floor, where Sven was first exposed to genres ranging from rock’n’roll to disco. At age 17, he began DJing at the pub, and just a year later, secured a residency at Frankfurt’s iconic Dorian Gray club.

In 1980, Väth visited Ibiza for the first time, hitchhiking from Barcelona and spending three months sleeping on beach chairs and distributing flyers to survive. That summer proved transformative, inspiring him to pursue DJing professionally. Back in Germany, he began performing regularly and soon met Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. Together, they formed OFF (Organisation for Fun), releasing “Bad News” in 1985 and the breakout hit “Electrica Salsa” in 1986. The track sold over a million copies and catapulted Väth into European stardom, leading to performances alongside artists like Vanessa Paradis and Axel Bauer.

OFF continued releasing singles and a second album, *Ask Yourself*, before disbanding in 1990. Münzing and Anzilotti went on to form Snap!, while Väth shifted focus to club culture. In 1988, at age 24, he co-founded *Omen* in Frankfurt with Münzing and Mattias Martinsohn. Previously operating as “Vogue,” the venue quickly became one of Germany’s most revered techno clubs, earning accolades from *Groove Magazine* and serving as a launchpad for the genre’s growth. Omen closed in 1998 due to landlord and city disputes, but its legacy remains foundational to German electronic music.

In 1991, Väth co-founded Eye Q Records with Heinz Roth and Matthias Hoffmann, followed by Harthouse Records in 1992. Under these labels, he released two seminal albums: *Accident in Paradise* (1992), named by *Mixmag* as one of the top 50 dance albums of all time, and *The Harlequin, the Robot, and the Ballet-Dancer* (1994). He also recorded under the alias Barbarella. Both labels declared bankruptcy in 1998, the same year Väth signed a three-album deal with Virgin Records. His releases — *Fusion* (1998), *Contact* (2000), and *Fire* (2002) — showcased a blend of techno, electro, and trip hop, and were supported by global tours and remix editions.

Cocoon was conceived in 1996 as a party concept inspired by a performance by La Fura dels Baus in Berlin, which featured suspended water cocoons. Initially a financial strain, Väth revived the project in 1999, establishing Cocoon as a booking agency, event brand, and record label. With Talida Wagner’s help, Cocoon’s roster grew to include Ricardo Villalobos, Matt John, Dubfire, and many others. Cocoon Recordings became a launchpad for artists like Martin Buttrich, Loco Dice, Roman Flügel, and Guy Gerber, and is known for its annual alphabetic compilations and *Sound of the Season* mix series.

In the summer of 1999, Mar T of Amnesia offered Väth a Monday night residency — the only day the club was closed. After a successful trial run, Cocoon Mondays became a fixture for the next 18 years, hosting artists such as Cassy, Carl Craig, Josh Wink, Adam Beyer, and Villalobos. Each season featured a new theme and elaborate production, led by longtime collaborator Johannes Goller. Cocoon also hosted after-parties across Ibiza and Formentera, often in secret locations and occasionally shut down by police. In 2018, Cocoon moved its residency to Pacha.

In 2004, Väth opened Cocoon Club Frankfurt, considered the successor to Omen. The venue featured futuristic architecture, two restaurants run by a celebrity chef, and resident DJs including Väth, DJ Karotte, Toni Rios, and C-Rock. It hosted performances by Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Armin van Buuren, and Above & Beyond. Despite its popularity, Cocoon Club closed in 2012 due to bankruptcy.

Väth has two children. His daughter was born in 1989. In 1991, he met Viennese designer Nina Peter at a private party in Ibiza. They married in a Buddhist ceremony in Thailand in 2008, and their son Tiga — named after the Canadian DJ — was born in Vienna in 2011. The couple separated in 2012. Väth has two brothers: one a DJ/art director, the other a florist.

He spends six to eight months a year in Ibiza, with the rest of his time split between Frankfurt and touring. In 2013, he relocated to London to reconnect with its cultural and artistic scene. Väth is deeply committed to wellness, having adopted Ayurvedic practices after time spent in Goa. During the off-season (October to January), he abstains from meat, sugar, and alcohol. He quit cocaine after his daughter’s birth and later gave up smoking.

A staunch advocate of vinyl, Väth performs exclusively with records, describing turntables and mixers as his “instruments.” He believes vinyl offers superior sound quality and considers his record collection his most treasured possession. When Technics announced the discontinuation of their SL-1200 turntables, Väth likened it to a pianist losing access to a grand piano — a testament to his enduring commitment to analog sound.

- *Accident in Paradise* (Eye Q, 1992) - *The Harlequin, the Robot, and the Ballet-Dancer* (Eye Q, 1994) - *Barbarella – The Art of Dance* (Harthouse, 1993) - *Fusion* (Virgin, 1998) - *Contact* (Virgin, 2000) - *Fire* (Virgin, 2002) - *Sound of the Season* series (Cocoon, annually 2000–2018) - *Catharsis* (Cocoon, 2022) - *Retrospective Collection* (Cocoon, 2025) - *Electrica Salsa Revisited* (Cocoon, 2016) - Remixes and collaborations with Metal Master, Gregor Tresher, Ralf Hildenbeutel

- Cocoon Ibiza (Amnesia & Pacha) - Time Warp (Germany, international editions) - Love Family Park (Frankfurt) - Awakenings Festival (Netherlands) - Sonus Festival (Croatia) - Nature One (Germany) - Neopop Festival (Portugal) - Burning Beach Festival (Indonesia) - Green & Blue Festival (Germany) - Circoloco @ DC10 (Ibiza) - Cocoon Club Frankfurt (2004–2012) - Metamorfosi @ Hï Ibiza (2025) - Loveland Festival (Amsterdam, 2025) - Tanzen im Grünen (Nürnberg, 2025) - Sea You Festival (Freiburg, 2025) - Deichbrand Festival (Cuxhaven, 2025)

- [Wikipedia – Sven Väth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_V%C3%A4th) - [Resident Advisor Biography](https://ra.co/dj/svenvath/biography) - [Cocoon Official Biography](https://www.cocoon.net/sven-biography) - [Billboard Interview – Catharsis & Career](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sven-vath-new-album-20-questions-ibiza-business-techno-germany-1235035563/) - [EDM.com – Fatherhood Announcement](https://edm.com/news/techno-icon-sven-vath-to-become-father-again-at-60) - [Complex – News & Features](https://www.complex.com/tag/sven-vath)