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DJ Mag Top100 DJs
97
Sven Väth
39

Of all those who make it into the Top 100 DJs poll, Sven Väth is one of few who is, essentially, just a DJ. He very rarely produces, remixes or edits these days, but simply tours the globe on an endless mission to bring the party to whomever may be listening. From small grotto clubs in Italy to emerging new scenes in Eastern Europe, he's the undisputed face of techno hedonism and has been since spinning at legendary places like the Dorian Gray club in the early '80s and Omen after that.
Arguably the most important time of the year for the party titan is summer. Over the course of the last decade, he has introduced techno to the White Isle, and now his weekly events at Amnesia are celebrated enough to be the only reason some people visit the place at all.
It's a simple operation each week - big name DJs from the world of house and techno all get cobbled together under one theme. This year's was Cocoon Heroes, and again included mainstays like Ricardo Villalobos and Loco Dice, but also called on the services of tastier du jour treats like Kyle Hall, Nina Kraviz and Seth Troxler.
Away from those now-standard operations, there is of course the Cocoon club back in Frankfurt, as well as the myriad compilation CDs that get released each year. The last 12 months have been particularly interesting in that department, with Lawrence appearing on the imprint for the first time with his deep house offering, 'Timeless'. It proved the label is still all ears rather than closed off to naught but their usual fare, and was complimented by the regular 'Green & Blue' mix (this year from Raresh and Sascha Dive) and annual alphabet compilation (2011 was the letter K).
Meanwhile, Sven's role as festival curator again came to the fore. The veteran now programmes three festivals each year - Green & Blue and Love Family Park in his homeland Germany, and Cocoon In The Park in Leeds where, back in the '90s, he held down a regular residency spinning more a nose-bleed-than-lifestyle brand of techno. His aim with each is clear: to transport some of the Cocoon madness with him wherever he goes. As such, no expense is spared when it comes to fireworks, big screens, streamers or dancing girls… for Sven, the overall experience is as important as the music itself. He's a DJ, then, in the truest sense of the word. KRISTAN J CARYL