Chris Tietjen

When Chris Tietjen was born in Cannes, France, in October 1985, nobody expected his name to arise within the electronic music scene 20 years later. Grown up close to Frankfurt he was infected with the techno virus in early days. It was bound to happen: that one special night and a Sven Väth set second to none inspired him so much, it was just a question of time until young Chris forced his mum to buy his first turntable. He fell in love with electronic music, deeper, day by day. Like many before, he spent the following summer in Ibiza with all night party at the Amnesia, ending up on one of Sven's notorious afterhour parties. Coincidentally standing right behind him, he got to turn Svens turntables himself. And made a lasting impression on his master.

By 2003, this experience plus an irresistible urge to present his skills to other music buffs made Chris spin more records at several parties in the Rhein Main Delta. Supported by friends as well as party hosts, first gigs followed in 2004 in smaller clubs all over Frankfurt. Was the talent deserving of the hype? Well, the Cocoon posse was convinced and invited him to play the Nature One's Warm-Up – where once again Chris rocked and his audience rolled willingly.

Once Sven Väth's dream of his own "Cocoon Club" in Frankfurt war realized, Chris was given the opportunity to give official proof of his DJ skills. His gig with Ingo Boss and the master himself in 2005 was both challenge and honour for the plucky 19 year old. And that was only the beginning of Chris rocking the Mainfloor.

Sven Väths vision of the Cocoon Clubbing included, besides the "Big names" of the scene, a platform for young talents, out of which the "Next Generation "was launched in 2005. A perfect chance for young Chris, hosting that night for acts like Pig & Dan, Raresh or Alex Smoke, who celebrated their premiere gig exhaustively.

Subsequently, the Cocoon Club became his homebase and his name an essential part of the clubs bookings. His next carrier step: beginning of 2006 he gained entry into the Cocoon Booking Rooster – kick-start of a fabulous year. Starting with Sven Väth, who chose him to be his Warm-Up DJ for the whole World tour, i.e. the Crystalclub in Bucharest or the legendary Florida 135 in Fraga, Spain – a splendid opportunity to win an international audience. And he kept on winning, audiences, gigs, month after month. Back home, Sven Väth and Cocoon label boss Pauli Steinbach granted him to compilate the best Cocoon tracks for the label's five year anniversary jubilee album. The groovy Mix was released in May 2006 and is simply called "One". A more than positive reaction and the great success of the CD prompted the Cocoon heads to assign Chris to produce this kind of mix CD every year offering a review of the year's best Cocoon Record releases. "One" was followed by "Two", and guess what – now it's "Three".

The football worldcup 2006 was Chris' first summer with large festival bookings – ahead of all the Love family Park in Hanau, the "Sonne Mond und Sterne" , The "Pollerwiesen" and "Green & Blue". After this grandiose season Chris gained another night at the Cocoon: "Micro", the stylish restaurant inside the club, was now to be rocked. In 2006, he initiated
"Micromized"with his friend Ingo Boss. This is where you find their strongly deep side playing, from hypnotic minimal sounds to groovy house records – your wish is their desire. That's why the "Micromized" nights rate among the best.

2007 was his final breakthrough, nationally and internationally. From now on, Chris played the Sven's worm-up, sometimes the final also, and started his first solo-tour that brought him from South America to Japan. He was no longer the worm-up DJ, but stepping out of Sven's shadow, now becoming a Headliner on several parties himself; among Cocoon Residencies abroad as well as other international clubs, like the Goa in Rome (Italy), The End (London, UK), Baracca (Valencia), Cocorico (Riccione) and the Harry Klein in Munich. Refining his skills and styles more and more, he became one of the most qualified ambassadors of sound and the sound of Cocoon. The years highlight was to be, beyond any doubt, his gig at the big Cocoon-Opening party in Ibiza, where he opened the Amnesia "Freakshow" together with Sven Väth. At the same time, his Teaser Mix CD was released on the island, and he was finally on everyone's lips, noticeable especially when he was playing at Cocoon for an ever-expanding fan community.

Wouldn't you know it, the year 2008 initiated even more good. Inspired by the local producers around the Freebase Posse, Chris' sound modified and he started to implement Records of urban friends and artists like Reboot, Markus Fix, Sascha Dive, and Robert Dietz into his sets.
Having returned from his latest South America Tour in May, he began to mix the official Cocoon Ibiza Mix CD in cooperation with Reboot and Johnny D. The result: a perfect collection of the latest Cocoon season on the white island, called "Disco Invaders".
With only 22 years, Chris does not only represent Cocoon in Ibiza at every festival this year, he has also played himself a fixture within the German clubscene. No doubt: his "youngster" image has changed into a firmly established name.

Of course Chris is working on future plans already: he is about to go into the studio to set new tones with his own music. What's more? The Next Generation night in the Cocoon club will get a makeover, and Chris will establish a new party night with the Rumanian Raresh. There are many things coming up, so stay tuned and look forward to what the 22-year old will bring up for his crowd next time – new stuff to dive into electronical soundscapes!


… to be continued!