Armin van Buuren
Encyclopedia
Armin van Buuren (ˈɑr.mɪn vɐn ˈbyː.rə(n)), (born in Leiden, The Netherlands on 25 December 1976) is a Dutch trance
producer and DJ. In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs. In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance
, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries; this 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 #1, a first for a dance
artist in Dutch music history.
Armin van Buuren has always had his own studio and worked alone in the beginning of his career. Since the release of his third studio album Imagine from 2008 he has been working with Benno de Goeij
and DJ-RA of Rank 1
on all solo productions and remixes. He is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashup
s from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a 2 hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins
.
. He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University
. While studying law, van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003. Armin Van Buuren started making music when he was 14 and he often listened to music using the headphones that his father had given to him. He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre
, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre; finally meeting Jarre when van Buuren was the number 1 DJ of the world, along with DJ-RA (2009), in Amsterdam after Jarre's concert.
On 18 September 2009 Armin married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar
, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete
, and had been together for 9 years prior to the marriage.
On 12 January 2011, Armin announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter. He hoped the baby, due this summer, will be his "best production ever." Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.
, 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 (the 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.
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, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, 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 (8 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 he has played in San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Charlotte
, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin
, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Seattle. 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 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next 3 years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk
in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.
In June 2003 van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76
, named after his year of birth, 1976.
. On the album van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani American singer Nadia Ali
, English singer Justine Suissa
and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden
.
On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy
Rotterdam
for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a 9 hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.
In the summer of 2007, van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia
, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records
on 4 December 2007.
On 17 April 2008 van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine
. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel
of Within Temptation
and Jacqueline Govaert
of Krezip
. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart
.
19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht
, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania
, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.
On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto
, Ferry Corsten
and Paul van Dyk
.
On 12 January 2008, van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.
In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console
.
He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine
.
On 3 March 2010 van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp
, for his musical work
and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society
BUMA/STEMRA
at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum
, the Netherlands.
On 23 June 2010 it was announced that Armin 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.
12 September 2010, Armin van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio.
20 October 2010, Armin van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.
On 27 October 2010, Armin van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.
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 .
On 27 November 2010, Armin Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China. On his yearly Asia Tour, he always stops by at M2 for an unforgettable night with his Chinese fans.
, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin – Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab
were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people. Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival
on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate
, Gareth Emery
, Ferry Corsten
, ATB
, and Sander van Doorn
. Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, where Heatbeat
(Argentina's Trance music icons at the time), Jochen Miller
, Dash Berlin
, Markus Schulz
, AVB, John O'Callaghan
and W & W. It was the only of the 5 ASOT 500 celebrations that was held roofless, where AVB recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set, showing Argentinean passion for trance.
Den Bosch in The Netherlands followed with the biggest event of 2011. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, Armin brought together over 30,000 people in one long night's worth of trance music. DJ friends present were Markus Schulz
, Gareth Emery
, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold
and Sean Tyas
. The event was radio broadcasted live from Den Bosch by Armin himself to over 30 countries as well as many of the DJs using their sets as their live weekly or monthly podcast.
The final show was held in Sydney, Australia marking the 5th show of the ASOT 500 tour. It was held on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park and was a sold out event weeks before the night. Shogun, Australia's own tyDi
, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila
, Alex M.O.R.P.H. and of course Armin van Buuren were the lineup where Armin played for a 3 hour set in celebration of this epic 5 week tour.
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
producer and DJ. In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs. In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance
A State of Trance
A State Of Trance is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by prominent trance producer DJ Armin van Buuren. First airing in March 2001 on ID&T Radio , the show takes the format of a two hour mix in which he plays new trance music, both promotional and commercially released...
, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries; this would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine
Imagine (Armin van Buuren album)
-Credits:*Track 1, 3, 5: Guitar by Eller van Buuren.*Track 2: Vocals by Chris Jones.*Track 3: Vocals by Jaren Cerf.*Track 4: Sample vocals by Denise Rivera...
, entered the Dutch album chart
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
at #1, a first for a dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
artist in Dutch music history.
Armin van Buuren has always had his own studio and worked alone in the beginning of his career. Since the release of his third studio album Imagine from 2008 he has been working with Benno de Goeij
Benno De Goeij
Benno de Goeij is a Dutch trance producer. He is perhaps best known for his participation in Rank 1 with Piet Bervoets and Kamaya Painters with Tiësto...
and DJ-RA of Rank 1
Rank 1
Rank 1 is a Dutch trance group, formed in the Netherlands in 1997. Widely regarded as one of the originators of the Dutch trance sound, the group have produced a number of dancefloor hits since their conception...
on all solo productions and remixes. He is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
s from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a 2 hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins
Virtual Studio Technology
Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software...
.
Personal life
Armin Van Buuren was born in Leiden, the Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den RijnKoudekerk aan den Rijn
Koudekerk aan den Rijn is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Rijnwoude, and lies about 4 km west of Alphen aan den Rijn....
. He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is a gymnasium in the Netherlands. Located in Leiden, it is one of the oldest schools in the Netherlands. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages...
in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
. While studying law, van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003. Armin Van Buuren started making music when he was 14 and he often listened to music using the headphones that his father had given to him. He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean Michel André Jarre is a French composer, performer and music producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and New Age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks.Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and...
, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre; finally meeting Jarre when van Buuren was the number 1 DJ of the world, along with DJ-RA (2009), in Amsterdam after Jarre's concert.
On 18 September 2009 Armin married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar
Wassenaar
Wassenaar is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. A fairly affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies 10 km north of that city on the N44 highway near the North Sea coast. It is part of the Haaglanden region...
, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, and had been together for 9 years prior to the marriage.
On 12 January 2011, Armin announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter. He hoped the baby, due this summer, will be his "best production ever." Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.
1995–1999: Early career and success
Since 1995, van Buuren has released many tracks on different labels with increasing success. His first big success was "Blue Fear" which was on Cyber Records at the age of 19. This 'Euro Trance blueprint' made it into the UK Chart. "Communication" was released on the same label, and had a huge impact on IbizaIbiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records
AM PM Records
AM:PM Records was the dance division of A&M Records Ltd in Great Britain. It was disbanded after A&M's owner PolyGram merged with Universal Music Group....
, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.
Godskitchen
Godskitchen is an international superclub brand which is associated with dance music and organises events, particularly in the UK and US. The company runs a club night of the same name at their nightclub AIR, in Birmingham, England and has an in-house music label...
, Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the Gatecrasher dance music events held at the Gatecrasher One nightclub in Sheffield, England during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The event received awards such as "Club Of The Year" at the Ericsson Muzik Magazine Dance Awards in...
, Slinky
Slinky
Slinky or "Lazy Spring" is a toy consisting of a helical spring that stretches and can bounce up and down. It can perform a number of tricks, including traveling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum.-History:The toy was...
, Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
, Peach and Golden.
In the beginning of 1999, van Buuren started his label Armind
Armind
Armind is a Dutch trance record label. It is under the umbrella of the Armada Music empire, whose forefront face in the public is the founder, Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren....
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
R&S Records
R&S Records is an independent record label. Founded in 1984 in Ghent, Belgium, it is now based in London and managed by Andy Whittaker and Dan Foat.R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label...
, 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
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings
Black Hole Recordings
Black Hole Recordings B.V. is a Dutch record label founded by Tijs Verwest and Arny Bink in 1997. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment Distribution, known as Koch Entertainment Distribution until January 22, 2009...
and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, is a Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten's Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. In 2009 Ferry...
, 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.
2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76
In 2000, van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal tranceVocal trance
Vocal trance is a subgenre of trance music that focuses on vocals and melodies. The sub-genre came into existence in the early 1990s, when trance was still developing...
music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance
A State of Trance
A State Of Trance is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by prominent trance producer DJ Armin van Buuren. First airing in March 2001 on ID&T Radio , the show takes the format of a two hour mix in which he plays new trance music, both promotional and commercially released...
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
ID&T
ID&T is a Dutch entertainment and medium enterprise that was founded in the early 1990s.ID&T stands for the initials of three founders of the company, Irfan, Duncan and Theo, all residents of Amsterdam...
Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance
A State of Trance
A State Of Trance is the title of a weekly radio show hosted by prominent trance producer DJ Armin van Buuren. First airing in March 2001 on ID&T Radio , the show takes the format of a two hour mix in which he plays new trance music, both promotional and commercially released...
, 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, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
, 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
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (8 hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands, featuring van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E.
Mike Dierickx
Mike Dierickx , formerly known as Dirk Dierickx, and most commonly recognized under the aliases M.I.K.E., Push or Plastic Boy, is a Belgian DJ. Best known for the song "Universal Nation", he has also released other singles including "The Legacy" and "Strange World"...
, John Askew, Rank 1
Rank 1
Rank 1 is a Dutch trance group, formed in the Netherlands in 1997. Widely regarded as one of the originators of the Dutch trance sound, the group have produced a number of dancefloor hits since their conception...
and Menno de Jong
Menno de Jong
Menno de Jong is a DJ and producer from the Netherlands. His production & remix career has seen him record for some of Europe’s biggest trance labels and he’s the owner of lauded Dutch independent Intuition Recordings. A Podcast pioneer, he’s produced and presented the much respected and...
.
In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C., and he has played in San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Seattle. He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia
Amnesia (nightclub)
Amnesia is one of several internationally renowned clubs in Ibiza due to Joseph Murphy who created Cream in 1996 and was awarded Best Global Club in the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 International Dance Music Awards for the respective previous year at the Winter Music Conference in Miami...
on the island of Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next 3 years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.
In June 2003 van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76
76 (album)
-Album credits:* Track 3: Vocals by Ray Wilson. Vocals produced by Ray Wilson* Track 4, 7: Vocals by Justine Suissa* Track 7: Spanish guitar by Eller van Buuren* Track 9: Vocals by Annelies Kuijsters and Jacqueline Govaert* Track 10: Vocals by Victoria Horn....
, named after his year of birth, 1976.
2005–present: Shivers, Imagine and Mirage
On 8 August 2005 van Buuren released his second studio album, ShiversShivers (album)
Shivers is the second studio album by Dutch trance producer and DJ Armin van Buuren.-Track listing:-Credits:*Track 1: Vocals by Justine Suissa*Track 2: Vocals by Mic Burns. Vocals produced by Mic Burns....
. On the album van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani American singer Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...
, English singer Justine Suissa
Justine Suissa
Justine Suissa is an English singer-songwriter, best known for her work with the trance group OceanLab, which includes her and Above & Beyond. She has also collaborated with some of the most popular DJs in the world, including Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz and Robbie Rivera...
and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden
Gabriel & Dresden
Gabriel & Dresden is the project name of the DJs and producers Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden from San Francisco. Their popularity and activities were centered in the United States. They won the WMC award as Best American DJ twice in 2007 and 2008, the same day the group split-up...
.
On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy
Ahoy' Rotterdam
Ahoy Rotterdam is an indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The capacity of the arena is 15,000.-History:...
Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a 9 hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.
In the summer of 2007, van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia
Amnesia (nightclub)
Amnesia is one of several internationally renowned clubs in Ibiza due to Joseph Murphy who created Cream in 1996 and was awarded Best Global Club in the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 International Dance Music Awards for the respective previous year at the Winter Music Conference in Miami...
, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records
Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
on 4 December 2007.
On 17 April 2008 van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine
Imagine (Armin van Buuren album)
-Credits:*Track 1, 3, 5: Guitar by Eller van Buuren.*Track 2: Vocals by Chris Jones.*Track 3: Vocals by Jaren Cerf.*Track 4: Sample vocals by Denise Rivera...
. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel
Sharon den Adel
Sharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters in the Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation...
of Within Temptation
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
and Jacqueline Govaert
Jacqueline Govaert
Jacqueline Govaert is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is best known as the lead singer of Dutch band Krezip.After Krezip disbanded in 2009, Govaert started working on her solo career. She released her debut album Good Life in August 2010.-Musical career:Govaert wrote her first songs...
of Krezip
Krezip
Krezip was a Dutch band from Tilburg, formed in 1997. It is notable for the band member's young ages during their original breakthrough. Since then, the band has had several successful albums and singles in the Benelux countries...
. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
.
19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.
On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
, Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, is a Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten's Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. In 2009 Ferry...
and Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
.
On 12 January 2008, van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.
In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine
Imagine (Armin van Buuren album)
-Credits:*Track 1, 3, 5: Guitar by Eller van Buuren.*Track 2: Vocals by Chris Jones.*Track 3: Vocals by Jaren Cerf.*Track 4: Sample vocals by Denise Rivera...
.
On 3 March 2010 van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp
Golden Harp
The Golden Harp is awarded annually to Dutch musicians for their entire oeuvre. Golden Harps have been awarded 42 times...
, for his musical work
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society
Copyright collective
A copyright collective is a body created by copyright law or private agreement which engages in collective rights management...
BUMA/STEMRA
BUMA/STEMRA
BUMA/STEMRA are two private organizations in the Netherlands, the Buma Association and the Stemra Foundation that operate as one single company that acts as the Dutch collecting society for composers and music publishers.- History :The Buma Association was set up by Dutch music authors and...
at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
, the Netherlands.
On 23 June 2010 it was announced that Armin Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage
Mirage (Armin van Buuren album)
Mirage is the fourth studio album by Dutch trance producer and DJ Armin van Buuren, it was released on September 10, 2010. It was preceded by the release of the lead single, "Full Focus" on June 24, 2010...
was due to be released on 10 September. The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
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
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
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
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits
Hits (Seal album)
-French Edition:#"I Am Your Man" #"Kiss From A Rose" #"Crazy" #"Love's Divine" #"Les Mots" - Mylène Farmer & Seal #"A Change Is Gonna Come" #"Amazing"...
, the collaboration never came together.
12 September 2010, Armin van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio.
20 October 2010, Armin van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.
On 27 October 2010, Armin van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.
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 .
On 27 November 2010, Armin Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China. On his yearly Asia Tour, he always stops by at M2 for an unforgettable night with his Chinese fans.
A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)
To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Armin performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists (he even joked that there would be "...5 shows, 5 continents, with 5 massive jetlags"). The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin – Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab
Super8 & Tab
Super8 & Tab are a trance music duo of producers and DJs from Finland named Miika Eloranta and Janne Mansnerus . They recorded music as individual musicians until they teamed up in 2005.-Albums:*2010: Empire*2011: Empire Remixed-DJ Mixes:...
were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people. Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami usually during the annual Winter Music Conference. It is held in Downtown Miami in Bicentennial Park. It was a 1-day festival from 1999-2006, a 2-day festival from 2007-2010, and was a...
on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate
Cosmic Gate
Cosmic Gate is a German trance duo made up of Claus Terhoeven and Stefan Bossems . Both from Krefeld in Germany. On October 28, 2009, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Ultra Records artist Cosmic Gate placed #19, 43 spots above the group's ranking the year...
, Gareth Emery
Gareth Emery
Gareth Emery is a trance-genre producer and DJ. In 2011 he was voted the #13 DJ in the world by DJ Mag Poll.-Background:...
, Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, is a Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten's Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. In 2009 Ferry...
, ATB
ATB
ATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...
, and Sander van Doorn
Sander van Doorn
Sander van Doorn Sander van Doorn Sander van Doorn (born Sander Ketelaars [] on February 28, 1979 in Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands is a Dutch tech trance DJ and producer...
. Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, where Heatbeat
Heatbeat
Heatbeat is the trance music producer combo of Agustin Servente and Matias Faint. They hail from Argentina and have been providing a number of hits since their arrival. Their most famous tracks to date are 'Hadoken', 'Paradise Garage', 'Vergatron', 'Push Over', 'Trash' and most recently 'Ask the Cat'...
(Argentina's Trance music icons at the time), Jochen Miller
Jochen Miller
Jochen van der Steijn, better known by his stage name, Jochen Miller, is a trance musician and DJ from Mill, Netherlands . He started his career under the alias "DJ Jochen"; changing to his current name in 2003...
, Dash Berlin
Dash Berlin
Dash Berlin is a progressive-trance project created in 2007 in The Hague, Netherlands by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn . The front man of the group is the DJ Jeffrey Sutorius...
, Markus Schulz
Markus Schulz
Markus Schulz, born , is a German trance music DJ and producer who resides in Miami, Florida, USA. He is best-known for his weekly radio show titled Global DJ Broadcast that airs on Digitally Imported radio, After Hours FM and other online stations...
, AVB, John O'Callaghan
John O'Callaghan
John O'Callaghan may refer to:*John O'Callaghan , Irish hurler*John O'Callaghan , Irish DJ*John O'Callaghan , secretary of the United Irish League*John O'Callaghan, lead singer of The Maine*Liam McCarthy and John D...
and W & W. It was the only of the 5 ASOT 500 celebrations that was held roofless, where AVB recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set, showing Argentinean passion for trance.
Den Bosch in The Netherlands followed with the biggest event of 2011. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, Armin brought together over 30,000 people in one long night's worth of trance music. DJ friends present were Markus Schulz
Markus Schulz
Markus Schulz, born , is a German trance music DJ and producer who resides in Miami, Florida, USA. He is best-known for his weekly radio show titled Global DJ Broadcast that airs on Digitally Imported radio, After Hours FM and other online stations...
, Gareth Emery
Gareth Emery
Gareth Emery is a trance-genre producer and DJ. In 2011 he was voted the #13 DJ in the world by DJ Mag Poll.-Background:...
, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
and Sean Tyas
Sean Tyas
Sean Tyas is an American DJ and electronic music producer. The genre of his productions and DJ sets can be broadly categorized as trance.Sean's music receives regular airtime on radio shows such as Armin van Buuren's "A State of Trance," Above & Beyond's "Trance Around the World," and his own show,...
. The event was radio broadcasted live from Den Bosch by Armin himself to over 30 countries as well as many of the DJs using their sets as their live weekly or monthly podcast.
The final show was held in Sydney, Australia marking the 5th show of the ASOT 500 tour. It was held on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park and was a sold out event weeks before the night. Shogun, Australia's own tyDi
TyDi
tyDi is an Australian DJ and producer. He is currently listed as Australia's #2 DJ, losing out in 2010 to Aston Shuffle after holding the #1 spot for the previous two years.-Biography:...
, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila
Aly & Fila
Aly & Fila is an Egyptian trance music duo made up of Aly Amr Fathalah and Fadi Wassef Naguib . They host an internet radio show every Monday on Digitally Imported radio, called Future Sound of Egypt.-History:...
, Alex M.O.R.P.H. and of course Armin van Buuren were the lineup where Armin played for a 3 hour set in celebration of this epic 5 week tour.
Discography
- 7676 (album)-Album credits:* Track 3: Vocals by Ray Wilson. Vocals produced by Ray Wilson* Track 4, 7: Vocals by Justine Suissa* Track 7: Spanish guitar by Eller van Buuren* Track 9: Vocals by Annelies Kuijsters and Jacqueline Govaert* Track 10: Vocals by Victoria Horn....
(2003) - ShiversShivers (album)Shivers is the second studio album by Dutch trance producer and DJ Armin van Buuren.-Track listing:-Credits:*Track 1: Vocals by Justine Suissa*Track 2: Vocals by Mic Burns. Vocals produced by Mic Burns....
(2005) - ImagineImagine (Armin van Buuren album)-Credits:*Track 1, 3, 5: Guitar by Eller van Buuren.*Track 2: Vocals by Chris Jones.*Track 3: Vocals by Jaren Cerf.*Track 4: Sample vocals by Denise Rivera...
(2008) - MirageMirage (Armin van Buuren album)Mirage is the fourth studio album by Dutch trance producer and DJ Armin van Buuren, it was released on September 10, 2010. It was preceded by the release of the lead single, "Full Focus" on June 24, 2010...
(2010)
External links
- Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia
- Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren
- Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance episodes
- *Flowd - artist channel on *Flowd network.