Sven Väth

As head of Frankfurt’s Cocoon label, Sven Väth has played a major role in shaping big-room techno in the 21st century. But the German DJ/producer/promoter’s influence stretches back much further. Born in Obertshausen in 1964, he began DJing at Frankfurt’s Dorian Gray club when he was just 18. In 1985, he joined synth-pop trio Off (Organization for Fun), scoring an enduring hit with “Electrica Salsa”. From the ’90s on, he became one of Germany’s most passionate rave ambassadors. He released trailblazing trance with albums like 1992’s Accident in Paradise. He ran the venues Omen and Cocoon, central hubs for European club culture. And his labels—Eye Q, Harthouse and, most importantly, Cocoon, founded in 2000—came to define an influential strain of adventurous, crowd-pleasing house and techno. Throughout it all, in addition to a bounty of essential DJ mixes, he’s kept his own music coming: In 2022, he looked back on his 40-year career with Catharsis, an album influenced by the New Wave he played in his youth.