Tokyo. January.

* Sven Väth @ Sound of the Eighth Season, Womb (26th January 2008)

Sven Väth. Feel his wrath.

It is always a great feeling to walk into a club and feel a buzz like something epic is about to kick off. Sven Väth has the global following that inspires insanity at every party he plays it seems. I've been a fan of his mixes for a while. His Sound of the Sixth Season is a favourite. The Seasons referring to the summers Cocoon (which started in 2000) has been running for in Ibiza. Touring with his Sound of the Eighth Season mix he was making his regular stop in Tokyo, where he will be opening up a new chapter of Cocoon in April. This was my first time to see him live. Slightly exciting.

By midnight he was already on the decks and easing the assembling masses into a solid groove. Patiently he built his set to fit the atmosphere. Womb had ramped up production with a huge LED light wall behind the DJ booth and strobes dotted everywhere - some hanging down off the ceiling. He rolled through waves of minimal very groovy beats in and out of well known cuts. By 1 or 2 he was getting stuck into the likes of the jangling music box lushness of Lucio Aquilina 'Magic M' - a Cocoon signing from last summer - and the Brodinski banger 'Bad Runner'. Sven played the crowd perfectly. He was attentive, as he strut his stuff around the DJ booth. Chest out taking the love from the Japanese crowd. Around 3ish he took the pace down a little, playing slightly more menacing techno, including the crowd-stirring almost-spooky glockenspiel number by Supermayer, 'Two of Us'.

Every so often Sven released a pressure valve in the club with a long sustained burst of angry loud KKKkkkssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh feedback over the beats. Whenever the energy in the club was peaking - boom- KKKkkkssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh - which was followed normally followed by as much smoke as the clubs techs could release and pandemonium from the clubbers.


Around 4, he decided enough was enough. He up'd the pace and the bass, dropped Alter Ego 'Why Not?' followed by an hour long onslaught of equally nuts, up front tech.yes. The place jumped.

He finished his encore with a remix he co-produced and with Jörn Elling Wuttke and Roman Flügel (Alter Ego) back in 2000 which has just been re-pressed and is re-released this month. Sunpeople 'Check Your Buddha [Sven Vath remix]' [buy]. It also features on Sven's Sound of the Second Season compilation [buy]. You can hear its vintage but it still sounds fresh with a spiritual spacey breakdown and gaining raw bass.

Apparently Sven went on to play the afterparty in a office block basement which Richie Hawtin turned up to play.

Lucio Aquilina Magic M zsh
Supermayer Two of Us zsh
Sunpeople Check Your Buddha (Sven Väth remix) zsh