Various Artists mixed by Sven Väth - In The Mix: The Sound Of The Ninth Season

Yes we’re pretty late with this one, but that’s because we’ve been too busy enjoying it to put finger to keyboard. Sorry about that. Ringmaster Sven Väth reckons this year’s season of Cocoon at Ibiza’s stunning Amnesia – its ninth season – was it’s best yet. And we’re not going to argue with that – ridiculous line-ups prevailed all summer long, and it’s been a great year for all manner of house and techno music. That is certainly reflected herein.
 
It’s a spooky, brain-twisting start to the proceedings thanks to Mathew Jonson’s Symphony For The Apocalypse: New Age Revolution – its haunting, Theremin-like sound warbling over eerie, echoing Horror film melodies, sombre techno rhythms slowly joining the fold. Sven has spoken of his love for the drop in tempos in techno music in recent years, and he runs with this theme at the start. Plodding and chuggy is the way at first, the outer-space funk of Styro 2000’s Liver Doner (Bang Goes Rx) pushing us towards more familiar territories after the hypnotic intro.
 
Sasha’s Mongoose gives us the first hint of strong melody, harking back to Sven’s trance past, before tribal rhythms come thick and fast on Ahmet Sisman’s Buiya and Timo Maas’ big-room, Flamenco-guitar-infused banger Subtellite. The bouncing, throbbing bassline of Alex Flatner’s Perfect Circles slams in beautifully, the crazed vocals signalling a jump in intensity, and indeed things get freakier as predicted – Dubfire’s terrifying remix of Radio Slave’s Grindhouse signalling the start of the effective witching hour.
 
Recently re-released 1992 classic Mismo Plastico by Virtualmismo still sounds as fresh and full of character as it did 16 years ago, and its sparse beats give a slight let up before a final onslaught. Cirez D’s face-smacking, none-more-intense remix of Smith & Selway’s Total Departure is essentially quite a stark transition from there, but Sven cleverly allows it to breathe in its entirety, long drawn-out intro before the tumble-drier-on-speed kicks in. Väth vs Flügel’s Trashbindance (named so after the pair stumbled out of a club into a carpark filled with trash bags and proceeded to lark about in them) brings us back out of orbit in a deeper, ploddy fashion – as it to say, hold it their partner, you gots to save some energy for Disc 2…
 
Anthony Collins’ deep, ambient-pad-flecked Reeves kicks us off in uneventful fashion, with the always on-form Kollektive Turmstrasse’s Herz Aus Holz bringing a little more bite with its chunkier beats, and resplendent string and horn motifs. SIS’s marvellous Orgsa wiggles and bumps its way into focus with its deep sexy bass tones and chimes, and Johnny D’s Orbitalife still delights and fascinates. It’s so simple and understated, but so addictive, captivating and full of life at the same time – and was one of the season’s biggest anthems.
 
Reboot’s Vandong takes things in a wonky direction with its brain-curdling lead line, and thereafter we head into deeper territories - Sven Tasnadi’s Waiting For You Again
a dubby, spaced-out track which really saps the energy out of the mix for me. Pigon’s lush Promises brings some much-needed melodic flourish before Microworld’s deep This Is My World brings the energy down once again. It’s a bit frustrating really, and doesn’t feel like an appropriate swell before Joris Voorn’s utterly stunning remix of Robert Babicz’s Dark Flower, sensibly placed as a late apex on this mix. Its powerful, euphoric melodies would end the CD well for me, but the dreamy space-age, tropical disco of Prins Thomas’ remix of Luke Solomon’s Spirits is a fitting end to it all, the mystical edge evoking memories of the huge Terrace room where the likes of Luciano and Villalobos dished out such gear this season.
 
Bar the dip in energy in Disc 2, it’s another superb effort that brings together some of the biggest tracks of the year with Cocoon staples, and touches on so many of this year’s key trends. Essential as always.
 
CD 1
01. Mathew Jonson - Symphony For The Apocalypse: New Age Revolution
02. Styro 2000 - Liver Donor (Bang Goes Rx)
03. Sasha - The Mongoose
04. Ahmet Sisman - Buiya
05. Timo Maas - Subtellite
06. Alex Flatner - Perfect Circles (Original)
07. Radio Slave - Grindhouse (Dubfire Terror Planet Remix)
08. Virtualismo - Mismo Plastico
09. Smith & Selway - Total Departure (Cirez D)
10. Väth vs Flügel - Trashbindance

CD 2
01. Anthony Collins - Reeves
02. Kollektive Turmstrasse - Herz Aus Holz Mix
03. SIS - Orgsa
04. Johnny D - Orbitalife
05. Quenum - Vault Element
06. Reboot - Vandong
07. Sven Tasnadi - Waiting For You Again
08. Pigon - Promises
09. Microworld - This Is My Friend (Disco Version)
10. Robert Babicz - Dark Flower (Joris Voorn Magnolia Mix)
11. Luke Solomon - Spirits (Prins Thomas Disko-tek Miks)