Interview: Sven Vath

This weekend sees the festival's organiser Sven Vath play at Cocoon in the Park alongside Loco Dice, Ricardo Villalobas, and many more. We caught up with him for a quick chat ahead of the event.

How are things different now to when you started out in electronic music?
I think that electronic music today is characterised by a constant change in style and a certain openness towards all kinds of musical varieties. That is the key, in my opinion, and that will be the future of electronic music: it will go on and on an on. In former times, there was more freedom in style because there were not so many people making this music and listening to it. However, the development is great, as far as I'm concerned...
 
What keeps you going from year to year doing pretty much the same thing over and over?
Well, it's not the same thing over and over, I think. Every club, every crowd is different, there are new exciting records released worldwide constantly and new festivals and other events are set up every year. The energy I experience in the clubs and at festivals makes me keep going, so I don't have the feeling that it's repetitive or always the same. I have so many ideas and plans for new projects that I anyway wouldn't have any other choice than going on from year to year...
 
Do you think some people take techno too seriously? You clearly like to have fun….
Of course it's important to work hard and be serious about what you do in order to be successful with your projects. But when it comes to DJing in front of the crowd, I don't really feel that seriousness anymore but rather the music and the crowd's energetic charisma. So, I can't say how serious other people see our music – my team and I take the business stuff serious but always try to keep it as family-like as possible.
 
So why did you want to start this festival?
In my opinion the time was right. My partner Shane from Mint Club / Leeds – who I know from the Orbit in Leeds where I had my first residency in the Nineties – and I were sitting in a hotel room two years ago and we decided to do something different in Leeds, different from all the other open airs in the UK.
 
What are the important aspects of Cocoon you wanted to get across at the festival?
First of all we didn't want a large line up with too many acts, we wanted to give all artists the time they need to build up their set the right way, which means at least three hours of playtime. We think that's exactly the right way to do it, instead of dropping act after act and everybody has only 1.5 hours to play, as you really can not develop a set within this time frame. And, of course, we provide the production with what people are expecting from a Cocoon show. Our dancers and performers, the special light show and so on. Be prepared!
 
How did you decide who would headline?
After having had Luciano and Steve Bug last year, we decided to ask Ricardo Villalobos and Loco Dice this year. We are all friends and we like the same aspects of electronic music. We are playing together in Ibiza and other countries quite often and both are also regular guests at the cocoonclub Frankfurt. Adam Shelton will open the stage for us again, he already did a great job in 2009.
 
Will you ever grow the festival to more stages?
At the moment, we are concentrating on giving the audience a great show on one stage but you'll never know what the future will bring...
 
What can people expect from one of your sets at the moment?
By the time Cocoon in the Park will take place, we are already running our shows in Ibiza, so I guess I will bring over all those inspirations, the energy and power from the island, and I guarantee that we will have a blast like Party Animals!
 
And how different are your sets at an open air festival or in say a smaller club?
Cocoon in the Park is a daytime event, so the general mood is a bit different, compared to a club where it's darker and of course, usually night. There's this certain flavour in the air when you play outside. I will try to catch that certain vibe and make this year's festival as remarkable as the last edition.
 
What will be different from last year, if anything?
First of all: new fresh music! And, of course some things will be improved after learning from our first year. We are also expecting more people, of course, we now have a huge hype after our first edition being so successful, and our fans in Facebook, for example, go insane already!
 
Why should people come to the festival?
We provide a nice little festival where people feel at home very quickly. Let's all have a nice Saturday in the sun, the location is just the bomb, with this extraordinarily nice park atmosphere next to a historical mansion, it's simply beautiful. Great sound and a nice show round it off. Come and see by yourselves!

Cocoon in the Park 2010 with Sven Väth, Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice, Adam Shelton and more.

July 10th, Temple Newsham, Leeds

Tickets for Cocoon in The Park are still available through Skiddle below.

Tickets are no longer available for this event