The German techno wizard burst on to the dance scene in the early 1990s as founder of Harthouse and EyeQ Records, paving the way for much of what we know today as trance music.

But Vath is not a trance DJ ala Paul van Dyk or Tiesto and this is where the confusion with genres usually occurs. Actually, Vath is most commonly associated with techno as a producer, label head, promoter, club owner and yes, even DJ.

His activities now revolve around Cocoon: an integrated organization that includes a record label with top acts such as Funk d'Void and Villalobos; a booking agency representing some of the industry's heaviest hitters; self-named residencies and tours in Ibiza and other world-class party destinations; and a brand new, state-of-the-art club in his hometown Frankfurt.

As a DJ Vath has taken it to the limits playing everything from massive street festivals right down to intimate basement parties. He is foremost a DJ although his business interests reveal more. He is quick to credit the energy that he both gives and receives while playing to a crowd as inspiration for his pursuits as head of Cocoon.

The origins of Cocoon trace back to the late 1990s when Vath held a regular club night of the same name. The night was mainly electronic and avant-garde but Vath's depth of music knowledge stretches into much broader areas having roots in rock, industrial, new wave and dub.

Modern trance as it is known today was only just emerging when the Cocoon nights started and many of today's top trance artists cite Vath's earlier work on Harthouse and Eye Q Records as major influences. Yet Vath himself did not pursue trance productions opting to continue along the techno and acid varieties of electronic dance music.

Many of his earlier productions were recorded with musicians under his direction and Vath reiterates his role as primarily a DJ who understands music and audiences and communicates with musicians to gain the final result; in the case of his first releases "Accident In Paradise" and "L'Esperanza" the result was timeless techno bliss.

Techno evolves

Back in the days when club and party DJs were buying vinyl records at record stores there would usually be some high-priced European imported disc prominently displayed on the wall. The German techno record labels Harthouse, Eye Q, and Tressor, along with Belgian R&S and UK Warp records usually fetched top dollar - double or triple the price of domestic records. Buying records in those days involved a lot of listening and some snap purchase decisions.

More scrutiny was paid whenever shelling out such a high premium for a single import record - you would take a really good listen to the record and try to imagine how and where it might fit into your DJ set - does it fit at the beginning, middle or end? Does the track build up or is it constant? How fast is it? How loud is it? How will it sound in the club booming over a really loud sound system? How will people react to it? Is it playable?

The qualities that made Harthouse, Eye Q, Tressor, R&S and Warp records so playable were the constant, loud, fast beat that was devoid of extraneous sample fluff - the tracks had a solid beat and were easy to mix but had enough interesting sounds and bits in there to keep people on the dance floor. The production quality was fantastic - very clean and the records themselves seemed to always be pressed on heavier slabs of vinyl - it felt like you were getting your money's worth.

Techno has since evolved into sub-genres and the current popularity of minimal techno well describes Vath's production and mixing style at least by isolating it from other forms of electronic dance music. But his DJ sets have taken on sometimes marathon status playing for as long as eight to 30 hours. In those sets, Vath would spin basically anything that "feels" right.

Vath's latest double CD mix "Sound of the Seventh Season" is available now and certainly delivers the goods spanning techno, minimal techno, electro, tech house and acid. Released on Cocoon, the double CD features tracks from Audion, Trentemoller, Cobblestone Jazz and remixes by Tiefschwarz and Robert Babicz. It is a great example of the evolution of techno into minimal techno and tech house.

To celebrate the release of Sven Vath's latest double CD "Sound of the Seventh Season," BonBon are giving away five "Sven Vath Party Packs" each containing a copy of "Sound of the Seventh Season" and two free tickets to the show tomorrow night. For details, visit the Website http://urbanon.com/contest for details on how you can win.

Date: January 26
Address: 2/F Yunhai Tower, 1329-1331 Huaihai Road M.
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