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This year Germany's Time Warp festival celebrates its 15th anniversary through a vortex of multi-sensory entertainment that culminates on Saturday 4th April with a massive gathering at Maimarkthalle in Mannheim.

Folding time + space across four purpose-built stages, the party at Maimarkthalle will star the cream of the electronic scene, including Cocoon head-man Sven Väth and Ibiza space invaders Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano. You then have the added DJ dimension of Carl Cox, Josh Wink and Dave Clarke, plus Mathew Jonson, Joris Voorn and Sis all performing live, while Laurent Garnier will present both a live show and DJ. And it doesn't end there (check out the complete line-up, below)...

This year also marks the third time around for Jetztmusik festival, which promises a hyper-evolved film, music and media arts programme in the week leading up to the main Maimarkthalle event. What's more, on 3rd/4th April, you have other cool stuff happening like Time Warp lab, which anyone can attend with or without a ticket. But be warned tickets often sell out fast, so act soon (or enter our competition!) if you want to experience the elevatory or 'gute laune' (good mood) forces of Time Warp 2009.

Here The Voice checks in with Robin Ebinger from cosmopop, whose business partner Steffen Charles established Time Warp in 1994.

How have you seen the festival change and how does it feel to be celebrating 15 years?
I've known Time Warp ever since its inception in 1994 and have attended all the editions in Mannheim. In 1999 I started work on the day of the event in several positions. From 2004 I've been in charge of all communication for the brand. So I have seen Time Warp grow and change. 

I was actively involved in such milestones as the 10-year anniversary, internationalisation and the development of Time Warp into a whole festival week. In the last few years the team has managed to foster Time Warp's position on the international festival map and has increased the visitor figures as well as the strength of the brand on an international level. This was our main focus. We are all very proud of what we have achieved and feel very happy to see how enthusiastic people from all over the world are about Time Warp.

How have recent excursions like Rotterdam been received?
The excursions started in 2005, when we promoted Time Warp in Prague, followed by Time Warp Vienna in 2006 and 2008 Time Warp Rotterdam. Time Warp has always attracted many people from abroad so it was a logical conclusion for us to bring Time Warp to selected European countries. We understand these events as an opportunity where friends meet friends and as a supplement for Time Warp Mannheim. So people who haven't had a chance to come to Mannheim have the opportunity to get some of the Time Warp spirit in their country. Of course, we cannot just transport the entire Time Warp atmosphere to another location and country. However, when I recall Laurent Garnier's set at Time Warp Rotterdam, it really reminded me of Mannheim. Laurent was supposed to play from two till six in the morning, but played until 12 o'clock. There were magical moments on the dancefloor.

"We will surprise people for the anniversary with some breathtaking technical innovations on each stage."

Mannheim is pretty hot on the international club music radar; can you tell us how the main location at Maimarkthalle fits in?
That's right, these days everybody talks about Mannheim. And it is not just about Time Warp (laughs). If you talk to people or read the respective magazines, you always come across people like Nick Curly from Cecille, the Oslo label of Nekes and Federico Molinari or the most-noticed newcomer in 2008 Sis. They are all from Mannheim and their productions are very remarkable. It is good to have such a vivid scene in a town.

The Maimarkthalle itself is not a club. It usually used for fairs and concerts. In Mannheim there are some small clubs such as the Zimmer but the main place for electronic dance music is the Loft Club in Ludwigshafen, the city next to Mannheim, separated by the river Rhine. The Loft will celebrate its 20th year anniversary this May. People such as Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, James Holden, Loco Dice and many more are regular guests in the club.

Sven Väth appears to have been a regular Time Warp-er since 1995...
Sven has starred at all major Time Warp events in Mannheim, although he wasn't at every Time Warp abroad or at the edition in East Germany. We definitely have a strong and special connection with Sven. 

He represents what Time Warp stands for: magic moments, innovation in entertaining people, emotional encounters, rhythm and authenticity and passion for the audience. Remember the 'Guude Laune' euphoria? This happened at Time Warp because the place and setting was just perfect.

And what does the 2009 line-up represent?
The line-up features the friends and family of 15 years of Time Warp but also some new and fresh talent. We again give the people the 'Fabulous Four': Sven Väth, Carl Cox, Laurent Garnier and Richie Hawtin. But also people like Dave Clarke, Loco Dice, Magda, Luciano, Joris Voorn and many, many more. I think it's a true European line-up...

What's the Jetztmusik festival about and why was it introduced?
Our idea was to depict the great variety of electronic music and the creativity of the people who produce electronic music and media arts. Jetztmusik is a compiled, artificial name. The name would mean something like contemporary music or music of now. The concept of Jetztmusik is to present the visitors with advanced and interesting interdisciplinary musical projects that bring together different forms of musical expression and forms of art. An example is the Cinemix project where artists like Laurent Garnier, Ricardo Villalobos, Moritz von Oswald, Max Loderbauer or Chateau Flight produce a soundtrack for a silent movie. This soundtrack is then performed live within the Time Warp festival week in an old cinema.

Jetztmusik also means up-to-date club music and we feature in the festival week a huge workshop programme called Time Warp lab. This is free of charge! The programme contains topics such as 'how to visualise music', 'how to use Traktor' or 'how can I market myself in the internet'. The key audience for these are musicians and creative people. You can find the entire programme, here: www.time-warp.de/lab. The dates for the lab are 3rd/4th April and it is hosted in the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany's one and only academy for pop music. So if people decided to travel to Mannheim, this could be a nice additional benefit, however, most of the workshops are held in German only.

What are the Jetztmusik highlights for 2009?
The highlight will be definitely the execution of our Cinemix series. The term Cinemix, as used during the International Festival for Jetztmusik and Media Arts Mannheim, means a live presentation of a (new) score for silent films and undoubtedly represents one of the most exciting and ambitious facets of Jetztmusik. In the Cinemix the imagery of the silent movie experiences a challenging renewal through the new musical score. It is a very special experience. This year Mathew Jonson and members of Cobblestone Jazz will produce the Cinemix, a soundtrack for the famous German silent movie Faust, and perform live on Tuesday 31st March in a small art house movie theatre. This project also shows that music is a universal language and brings down borders. I  could also recommend The Lost Hour, a project with the ballet performers of Mannheim and some jazz musicians and a DJ in Mannheim theatre.

So, to wrap up, why should people make the trip and what other sensations can they expect this time?
We will surprise people for the anniversary with some breathtaking technical innovations on each stage. This refers to the lighting techniques and deco as well as to the stage shows. People always talk about the special Time Warp atmosphere that makes this event so unique. It is very hard to describe; you have to see it. Although Time Warp has grown in scale and visitor numbers, it is still not perceived simply as a huge rave. It is huge but at the same time it is very family-like. Our pricing policy is very fair and we pay a lot of attention to small details. Another special aspect is the duration: the traditional Time Warp in the Maimarkthalle starts on Saturday at 8pm and finishes on Sunday at 12pm. We then have 2009's Time Warp compilation, which is mixed by Marco Carola. All in all, I believe we offer very good value for money and people appreciate this.

The International Festival for Jetztmusik and Media Arts Mannheim takes place from Saturday 28th March, while Time Warp in the Maimarkthalle kicks off on Saturday 4th April. Presale tickets cost  €45, plus fees, and can now be purchased online. (NB: Events other than Time Warp in the Maimarkthalle and Time Warp lab sessions will involve additional charges.)

Win 3 pairs of ticket here

Time Warp 2009 Line Up - 4. April - Maimarkthalle Mannheim DJs Sven Väth Carl Cox Richie Hawtin Ricardo Villalobos Dave Clarke Turntablerocker Monika Kruse Chris Liebing DJ Koze The Disco Boys Loco Dice Luciano Josh Wink Karotte Marco Carola Magda Barem Live Mathew Jonson Anthony Rother Joris Voorn Lexy&K-Paul SIS Chill out Subsonic Park www.time-warp.de