The Beginning.
It all began in 1994. On the 26th of November, the first Time Warp was celebrated at the legendary "Walzmühle" in Ludwigshafen. This small but popular venue had a rather compact crowd of 2000 witnessing the dawn of an era. From the beginning, the idea of Timewarp has been to present a high-graded selection of electronic music.

Line Up 1994: Speedy J, Robert Armani, Laurent Garnier, John Acquaviva, Lunatic Asylum, Acid Junkies, Patrick Lindsey, Trope, Kid Paul, Groover Klein. Heiko M/S/O, Mr. Erg

Moving On.
In 1995 Time Warp moved to the familiar "Maimarkthalle" in Mannheim and saw the first appearance of Sven Väth. (He hasn't missed one since.) Because of the terrific line up, the numbers of visitors grew to 10,000. Apart from the appearance of Väth, the live performance of Cosmic Baby was an incredible highlight of the party.

Line Up 1995: Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Sven Väth, Carl Cox, Josh Wink, Kid Paul, Juan Atkins, LFO, Air Liquide, Peter Lazonby, Cosmic Baby

The 10th Birthday.
After a few venue changes, the final home of Time Warp was found in 2000: Maimarkthalle in Mannheim. In 2004 the 10th anniversary of Time Warp was celebrated. One magnificent highlight of that special night was the performance of Laurent Garnier, which spellbound the audience.

The Expansion.
In 2005 the "colours of rhythm" concept was introduced and extended. From there, three event-zones composed the basis of Time Warp as well as subjects like art and media. In addition, the important first steps towards a multi-day festival were taken.

In that same year, Time Warp was first held in Prague. It was the first big Time Warp event in a foreign country, and was followed by a set of parties which went abroad in the following years.

Richie Hawtin & Laurent Garnier on Time Warp

Part 1

Part 2

Growing Up.
In 2007 the city of Mannheim celebrated its 400th anniversary and Time Warp was an official part of the ceremony. In this year, Time Warp was a seven day festival, officially called the "International festival for Jetztmusic and media arts." For one whole week the world of progressive electronic music and experimental media arts revolved around Mannheim. All over the city exhibitions, concerts and workshops about music, media and art were held.

Line Up 2007: Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Dave Clarke, Felix da Housecat, Hell, Ricardo Villalobos, Chris Liebing, Anthona Rother, James Holden, Turntablerocker, The Disco Boys, Deichkind, Lexy & K-Paul, Ellen Allien, DJ Koze, Loco Dice, Monika Kruse, Karotte, Magda, Âme, Extrawelt, Martin Buttrich, DJ Murphy, Shinedoe, Raresh, Guy Gerber, Chris Tietjen, René Vaitl, Seebase, Felix Kröcher, Nick Curly, Federico Molinari, Ray Okpara, DJ Manon, Nekes, Jay Edit, Johnny D., Pas de Deuxx

Journey On.
In 2008 Time Warp travelled all over Europe. Apart from Time Warp in Mannheim there were several Time Warp Club Editions in February and March in Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland with artists like Marco Carola, Karotte and Loco Dice. The Netherlands were lucky twice: in Rotterdam a big original Time Warp took place in November 2008. More than 4000 people enjoyed the Time Warp spirit!

2009 - Celebrating 15 years of Time Warp.
Despite being 15 years old, the Time Warp message has remained the same: To create a unique atmosphere with a state-of-the art line up supported by the finest sound & light equipment in the business.

In 2009 Time Warp is celebrating its 15th anniversary in "Mannheim Music City." On the 4th of April 2009, five stages will once again build the legitimate scope for celebrating this special event. The line up will unite the avant-garde of international star DJs and producers, as well as the most promising new talents. More than ever, the Time Warp audience has become a dazzling blend of visitors from all over Europe. All of this is highlighted by a sophisticated on stage entertainment and that special Time Warp vibe, which is legendary among artists as well as visitors.

2009 will also see the third edition of the Jetztmusik festival week. Various concerts, workshops, special shows and media art installations will take place in locations all over Mannheim. "Time Warp – International Festival for Jetztmusik and Media Arts," has grown into a widely respected stage for events at the intersection of film, music and media arts. In 2009 one highlight will be the Cinemix—mixed by Mathew Jonson and performed by members of Cobblestone Jazz. The free workshop program lab will also present many seminars and workshops within the festival week, such as the "Traktor DJ School" workshop, which will be led by Loco Dice.

Line Up 2009: Sven Väth, Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Ricardo Villalobos, Dave Clarke, Turntablerocker, Monika Kruse, Chris Liebing, DJ Koze, The Disco Boys, Loco Dice, Luciano, Josh Wink, Karotte, Marco Carola, Magda, Barem, Seebase, Nick Curly, Nekes, Steffen Baumann, Laurent Garnier –live, Anthony Rother –live, Mathew Jonson –live, Lexy&K-Paul –live, Joris Voorn –live, Sis –live, Subsonic Park

We had a few questions for Steffen Charles, managing director of cosmopop, the event agency behind Time Warp.

Hi Steffen, Time Warp is celebrating its 15th Birthday. Congratulations! Many of the artists of Time Warp were already there in the early years of the festival. Why do you think all the DJs have so much fun in Mannheim year after year at Time Warp?

I think it's because of the spirit of Time Warp, the energy of the productions, the energy of electronic music and, of course, the energy coming from the audience. We always wanted to emphasize that the artists play within the right atmosphere and with the highest level of technical standard, everyone felt comfortable. Besides of that a close relationship between the artists and us developed in process of time.

In 2003 there were some rumors about Time Warp not staying in Mannheim. Why did you still go all the way with this city?

First of all Mannheim have always been our home base. The Maimarkthalle has the perfect conditions for such an event. Apart of that the city of Mannheim made a great progress in supporting music and culture in the city in the last few years. So you can say both, Time Warp and Mannheim, developed further and built a going unit.

Are there any specials because of the jubilee?

Regarding the Line Up, the anniversary will bring the best of 15 years of Time Warp and the most promising new talents.

Especially the 5th floor is a big renewal within the jubilee, at which the young and new talents of the Rhine-Main region are presented. Besides there will be many technical specials and surprises on each floor.

Within the festival week there are many highlights in 2009. Once again we will have a Cinemix which is mixed by Mathew Jonson and performed by members of Cobblestone Jazz. Adolf Noise, aka DJ Koze will present a headphone concert and there are many seminars and workshop within the lab program of 2009. The whole week is full of highlights and specials, the best will be that everyone convinces themselves.