Armin van Buuren

Style:Trance

Best Known For:A State Of Trance

Tune of The Year:Omnia & IRA 'The Fusion'

Breakthrough DJ/Producer of 2012: 

Armin van Buuren (December  25, 1976) is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. He is the number one ranked DJ having won DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs fan poll a record of 5 times, including winning 4 consecutive years between 2007–2010 and again in 2012. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 25 million weekly listeners in 26 countries, which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at No. 1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.


Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14. He was inspired by French electronic music composer Jean Michel Jarre. He graduated from the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and studied law at Leiden University. He began working as a DJ in Club Nexus, playing multiple sets a week, most of which lasted six or more hours.^[7] As his musical career began to take off he put his law degree on hold, although he returned to graduate from law school in 2003.
On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel, with whom he had been together for nine years. Their daughter Fenna was born in 2011.
In 2011, van Buuren was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau for his services to music.

In 1995, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label; he was 19 years old at the time. This track, which was produced in the "Euro Trance" mold, made it onto the UK Chart. Another successful track, "Communication" was released under the same label, and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set. During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States. His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27. He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half-hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague, Netherlands. In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One," was well received. The second release "Touch Me," under the name Rising Star was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released.
By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, Van Buuren recorded a riff-classic titled "Exhale" for the System F. album. Released as a single, this track reached gold status in less than a month.
In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house, and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains Van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, Basic Instinct featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.
In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music tracks. His show and the artists he features are popularized by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally. When ID&T Radio changed genres in 2004, Van Buuren left and took A State of Trance with him. The show then moved to Fresh FM and later SLAM!FM, two Dutch radio stations. It is now a weekly feature on Radio 538, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (eight-hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.
In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C., and played throughout Northern America, in San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and at The Necto (nightclub). He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine top 100 DJs.
In June 2003, Van Buuren celebrated the 100th episode of A State of Trance at Bloomingdale, Bloemendaal aan Zee, Netherlands and released his debut studio album, 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.
This year he was voted No. 3 in the DJ Mag top 100 DJs and held 3rd place for the next two years (2004, 2005).
On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with the Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, Netherlands.
To celebrate the 450th episode of A State of Trance, he performed with various artists at five shows across two continents. The locations were: The Guvernment, Toronto, Canada on 1 April 2010, Roseland Ballroom, New York City, USA on 2 April and on 3 April again, Expo Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia on 9 April and Centennial Hall, Wroclaw, Poland on 24 April.
On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage was due to be released on 10 September. The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight. The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called Not Giving Up On Love, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, Make a Scene. Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits, the collaboration never came together.
On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio
On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.
On 27 October 2010, Van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ.
The 2010 edition of Armin Only: Mirage kicked off on 13 November 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava.
To mark the 10-year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists. The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at MTN Expo Centre. Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March. Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 at G.E.B.A. in Buenos Aires. The most important edition was celebrated at Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, Netherlands. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, the event was attended by over 30,000 people. The event was radio broadcast live to over 30 countries. The final show was held in Sydney, Australia on 16 April at Acer Arena.
On 30 April 2011, Van Buuren was appointed Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau for services to Dutch dance music and the Dutch music economy. He received the insignia (badge and ribbon) from the hands of the mayor of the city of Leiden.
This year was voted No. 2 in the 2011 DJ Mag top 100 DJs poll.
To celebrate the 550th episode of A State of Trance, he performed with various artists on 2 different continents during 4 weeks. The show was called A State Of Trance 550: Invasion. The first event was celebrated at Ministry Of Sound in London on 1 March 2012. On 7 March, Moscow held the second event at Expocentre. Kiev's show was performed at International Exhibition Centre on 10 March. On 17 March, as part of the Beyond Wonderland festival in Los Angeles and on 25 March at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. On 31 March, the biggest and final edition of ASOT 550 took place in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, Netherlands.
On 19 October 2012, Van Buuren was announced for a 5th non-consecutive year as the world's number one DJ according to DJ Mag.
To celebrate the 600th episode of A State of Trance, Van Buuren announced that he will perform with various artists all around the world. The show was called A State Of Trance 600: The Expedition. It will be the biggest event and has been announced for the following locations and dates: Madrid on 14 February 2013, Mexico City on 16 February, Sao Paulo on 1 March, Minsk on 7 March, Sofia on 8 March, Beirut on 9 March, Kuala Lumpur on 15 March, Mumbai on 16 March, Miami on 24 March, Guatemala City on 27 March, New York City on 30 March and Den Bosch on 6 April 2013.
On 2 March 2013, Van Buuren announced that his fifth studio album, Intense, was due to be released on 3 May 2013. The first single of the album, "This Is What It Feels Like", will be released on 5th of April.

INTERVIEW FOR “DJ MAG”

"This feels surreal," says Armin van Buuren, now back on top of the DJ Mag Top 100 after a year off to let David Guetta keep his throne warm. This is the fifth time he's been voted the world's No.1, now streaking ahead as the DJ to have swiped the title the most times. Whichever way you slice it, it's an impressive achievement.
"I thought that was it, and house music was taking over," he says of Guetta's triumph last year, briefly breaking the proliferation of the Dutch trance master. "I've been really impressed by a lot of the new house guys, and I've been to a lot of house gigs over the summer. All that new energy that they're bringing, I thought 'OK, this is the future'."
Brave words, but that's not to say van Buuren was mulling a change of direction. "2012 has been one of the best years ever for trance music," he says. "Maybe that's because the focus has been on house music. It feels that trance is somehow more free."
The likes of Nicky Romero, the Dutch boy-wonder, were among the people turning his ear towards the dark side this year. "What he was bringing was completely different to what I do. It's apples and oranges, but the raw energy... I was really impressed. It's not so much house music as I remember house music, it also has elements of trance. There maybe should be a new genre for it."
He says that not winning last year took the pressure off, allowed him to do his own thing. "I didn't wake up at 9am and think, 'How can I beat David Guetta?', though I do respect his music," he says. "Being No.1 again feels like being in a warm bath, there's so much love out there it's great. Almost suffocating! I'm so thankful for it. If you ask Steven Spielberg if he'd be happy with another Oscar, I think he would."
So why has 2012 proved such a great year for van Buuren, and for the trance community? His own celebrations to mark the 550th instalment in his A State Of Trance radio show appear to show a scene in rude health. Van Buuren went to London, Moscow, Kiev, LA and Miami, winding up with a massive show at the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, where he drew 30,000 people. "That was incredible," he says. "They came from everywhere, all corners of the world. Almost religious. People who feel their life's purpose in this music. It's really heartbreaking to see." Those who joined him made up a who's who of trance; Paul Oakenfold, Max Graham, W&W, Heatbeat, Markus Schulz, Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten and Sander Van Doorn.
But while there have been those who have publicly abandoned the sound, notably Tiësto who quit playing trance in 2010, van Buuren sees progression, talent filling the gaps and pushing things forward. "Of course, I 'm jealous of some other DJs and their sound, but I can't change my sound. It would be too far away from my heart. I can't do something I can't love.
"You see guys like Orjan Nilsen, Andrew Rayel or Matt Davey, there's a whole list of new artists coming, and they're all bringing something new to the table," he says. "Some guys like W&W are playing a more house-based strand of trance, and all the styles are merging. Some people call Swedish House Mafia trance. But people are still experimenting with the harder edge of trance. It is not just one sound."
Indeed it isn't. One surprise success for the producer this year came from an unlikely source, and was quite the departure from his usual sound. The track was called 'We Are Here To Make Some Noise', an abrasive electro house tune that emerged after messing about with a vocoder in the studio. It wasn't even supposed to be released under his name, but a track-listing error on a compilation album blew his cover. "My radio station in the Netherlands, Radio 538, was looking for a track to promote the European Championships and the Dutch team," he says. "I was afraid of what people would think. But people seemed to love it. It was Top 20 in Holland and a few other countries."
But it's van Buuren's other major project that is most anticipated; the follow-up to his 2010 album 'Mirage'. He says he's about 70% of the way through it, and he's aiming to release it in May 2013, but the fine details he can't yet reveal. Contracts with other producers and vocalists are still under discussion, but the project appears to be forging ahead at a solid pace. Those expecting van Buuren classics might want to brace themselves, however. And if you're a die-hard fan, it's possible that you've already heard some of it without knowing.

"I'm really curious how my fans are going to react because it's very different," he says. "There are a few more safe tracks, and I've been road testing a few of the more trancey tracks off the new album, but making an artist album always allows you to experiment a little bit more. It's the best thing about my job."
Meanwhile, things are already ramping up for the celebrations around A State Of Trance 600, the 600th episode of his radio show. A quick search online finds countless Twitter accounts set up to try and lobby Armin to bring his travelling show - more like a festival, in fact - to their city next year. Minsk, Zagreb, Dublin, Mexico City, the Baltic States in Latvia, Sydney, Moldova, Chicago, Istanbul... the list seems endless. For whoever misses out, the shows will be streamed live on YouTube for free. Whether or not house music is taking a bite of the trance cherry, he still packed out the sprawling Privilege in Ibiza every Monday through the summer. The closing party was broadcast live, and trended as a worldwide topic on Twitter for four hours. "We had 120,000 people tuning in - in Argentina alone!" he says. By the time DJ Mag goes to press, he will have confirmed ASOT 600 shows in Mexico, Holland, Miami and Beirut.
This level of hysteria should be nothing new to him. But still, he seems to find it bewildering. "2012 opened new doors," he says. "David being No.1 last year, the popularity of Avicii, Swedish House Mafia and Afrojack, for dance music, it's amazing. It was great that David got it last year, to show dance music is evolving and it's still exciting." But for now, the king is dead. Long live the king.