finetune artist: Sven Vath

b. 26 October 1964, Offenbach, Germany. The Frankfurt, Germany-based Vth (pronounced to rhyme with Fate) first DJed at his father's bar, the Queens Pub, playing old disco and Barry White records. He started his recording career as frontman for the Off, whose "Electric Salsa" was a big European hit and one of the first for Michael Munzing and Luca Anzilotti, the duo behind Snap!. Vth grew up listening to various kinds of electronica - Tangerine Dream, Ryichi Sakamoto, Holger Czukay and Jean-Michel Jarre - and was further inspired by the house explosion of the 80s. During the early 90s he became involved with trance, founding the pioneering labels Harthouse Records, Eye Q and the environmentally pleasing Recycle Or Die (whose CD-only issues use biodegradable cardboard packaging). Following a spell in India Vth wrote Accident In Paradise, recognized as a masterpiece in the techno world, and an important part of the early trance sound. However, the follow-up, the rather indulgent concept album The Harlequin, The Robot And The Ballet Dancer, did not fare so well; one commentator described it as "overblown . . . self important . . . Wagner meets Tangerine Dream over a 909 beat'. In the mid-90s, after various other projects had not gone his way, Vth left the ailing Eye-Q and Harthouse which soon went bankrupt. However with 1998"s Fusion Vth ditched the straightforward techno sound and produced a more melodic, funky, eclectic album that presented impressionistic washes over a mixture of textures, including samba rhythms ("Fusion") and relaxed breakbeats ("Sensual Enjoyments" and "Trippy Moonshine"), sometimes touching on funky house ("Face It") and dark techno ("Schubduse"). Contact was another imaginative outing that pushed the boundaries of techno even further than its predecessor.

Listen to Sven Vath at Finetune.

(1993) Accident In Paradise

Barbarella (Deep Dish Mix)
Desperanza
An Accident In Paradise
Ritual of Life
An Accident In Paradise (William Orbit & Spooky Remix)