Sven Väth – The Harlequin - The Robot And The Ballet-Dancer

Sven is one of the most talented artists! even if this album was criticized by some people, I find it incredible. the tracks "Harlequin's Meditation" and "Ballet Dancer" are my favorites. greetings from France.

Again all sven vaths works with ralf hildenbeautal top notch bring that type techno ambient back how it should be best arts of the ninties including cosmic baby true artists at there kraft

Back in the days there was a story about that release.
True or not - i've no idea.

It was written ... maybe in the Frontpage (?) that Aphex Twin was burning the CD / cover after listening to it for the first time.
Unfortunately, his curtains allegedly caught fire and he almost burnt his house.

just revisited this gem. man, does it still hold up!! (as does the "touch theme" companion). only serves in diggin' the Svensonmeister exponentially more now.

(the mischievous cackle of the harlequin only brings me all smiles)

Sven (and Ralf) made some beautiful music and quite often the cover artwork did a dis-service. I remember avoiding this album back in the day mainly because of the cover which is swallow I know but seriously this and a few others around the same time were awful. However having picked this up randomly recently I regret not listening to it first before passing judgement back in 94. There are some great ambient tracks and the "trance" tracks actually haven't dated as badly as most from the same time. Glad I gave it a chance in the end.

This is an interesting album considering that it was produced in 1994, but far from being one of the best productions of Sven väth, probably because he was still developing his artistic talents... still this is a enjoyable album, 3 stars is all i can give, some of the musics are too extended for its content, making some of the musics repetitive. most of the melodies are not outstanding, its seems some of them never reaches the climax, thus being only progressive. So i guess this album works well as background while the listener is busy with something else.

Wow! Big Wow wow!
Sven belongs to rare group of very talented producers / djs and I will be holding special place in my heart for them.
Superb album.\Highly recommended.
Ambient mixture with spot on dance track The Beaty and the beast which was one of the best dance trax in 1994 era (the best era anyway)
If you are looking for some other stuff from same era do look at accident in paradise EP too.
There are some useful info/videos on youtube to get the real touch of feelings you could get...

It would be nice to travel in time :
Enjoy!
dj-spike

This is excellent trance music on the dance side. Although I believe Accident in Paradise, his debut album, was a better release, tracks like Beauty and the Beast make this release a memorable one. With energetic dark and technoish rhythms morphed into an atmospheric track, this kind of music can drive a dancefloor for hours at a time. Trance's era may be well over, but if you want to take a look back in time at one of the greatest artists in edm doing what he does best - make good music - then look no further than "The Robot And The Ballet-Dancer".

A milestone in electronic music history. Sven Väth together with Ralf Hildenbeutel shows with this album ones more her musical talent and visions of the future of this sound! Next to 'An Accident In Paradise' reflects this album Sven's influence from his trip to Goa (India), especially in 'Harlequin's Meditation'! For me the best album from Sven Väth and one of the best in the trance/ambient genre! i recommend everyone to listen 'The Harlequin - The Robot And The Ballet-Dancer' over headphones!

This record was slaughtered when it was released, not because of the music, but because of the concept behind it. If Sven had put the record out in a more lowkey sleeve, I'm sure this would have been hailed as one of the defining releases of the year 1994. It's a marked improvement over his previous effort, "An Accident In Paradise". Tracks like "Harlequin - The Beauty And The Beast" and the Ballet-Fusion suite must rate among the best ever tunes released in the trance genre.

I agree that the sleeve artwork and the concept behind the album is bad taste, but I find it sad that a record is judged only by it's cover as the music it features is top notch.