Armin van Buuren's trance evolution and the dark side of success
Armin van Buuren doesn’t really do interviews anymore. He’s reached the upper echelons of his chosen career, and doesn’t really need to. The “trance overlord,” as someone dubs him at the Q&A that your DJ Mag hack hosts with him at this year’s revamped Winter Music Conference in Miami, is one of the most successful people in dance music — seen as impeccably clean-cut and well-adjusted by some, as godlike by others. He’s the unflappable, intelligent, fan-friendly king of the #TranceFamily; the record-breaking five-time winner of the Top 100 DJs poll.
“I always promised myself as a little kid that if I ever had the opportunity to make my own radio show, I would do it,” he says. “I felt it was the most direct way to introduce new music to your fans.” He started a weekly show, A State Of Trance, in June 2001 — in Dutch — and a couple of guys in the north of Holland started illegally streaming his show on the internet through Shoutcast, an early streaming protocol. Trance enthusiasts from around the world began following the show, communicating with each other via IRC chat.
“Out of the 10 positive comments on a gig, there’d be one negative one — and that would destroy my life. I wasn’t able to sleep, I was using alcohol too much, and I was feeling depressed — I was really depressed about being No.1. It was crazy”
Armin’s last No.1 gong came in 2012, and he suggests that the pressure came off him after he relinquished the top spot. He got a Grammy nomination in 2013 for anthemic trance-lite ditty ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ featuring Trevor Guthrie, and felt like he could cross off topping the Top 100 DJs poll from his list of achievements. “That’s not to say I don’t want to be No.1 anymore — if you ask Steven Spielberg if he wants to win another Oscar, I’m not gonna lie, you’re only as good as your last film or last production,” he says.
It was just over a year ago that Swedish dance icon Avicii took his own life. And Keith Flint from The Prodigy more recently. How hard did Avicii’s tragic passing hit Armin? “Very hard,” he says, solemnly. “Yeah, very hard. The passing of Avicii is probably the darkest day in dance music, cos he’s the first one to go — and, I hope not, but I think more will follow. I see many DJs coping with mental issues — more than I can say in this interview. It only takes one bad night, one bad decision.
Untold locks Armin van Buuren, Paul Kalkbrenner, Don Diablo, more
Romania's largest festival, UNTOLD, is set to return for its fifth edition this summer, and it's now been revealed that the likes of Armin van Buuren, Don Diablo and Steve Aoki will all be making appearances over the weekend.
EDC Las Vegas announces live stream schedule
EDC Las Vegas has announced its live stream schedule, which runs this weekend Friday 17th - Sunday 19th May 2019 from 6.45PM Pacific Time.
Armin van Buuren locks full line-up for his Hï Ibiza residency
Armin van Buuren has locked the full line-up for his Hï Ibiza residency this season.
The A State of Trance founder has confirmed a host of genre stalwarts including Ferry Corsten, Markus Schulz, Vini Vici, Ben Nicky and Cosmic Gate.
The second room will be hosted by Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, with confirmed guests such as Fedde Le Grand, DJ Mag favourite Lost Frequencies and Roger Sanchez b2b Kirsten Knight.
Armin van Buuren shares new track, ‘Phone Down’, Listen
Armin van Buuren has released new single 'Phone Down'.
The track, which is out today via Armada, features US producer Fernando Garibay, and was teased by Armin earlier this week via on Twitter.
Armin van Buuren teases new music coming this week
Armin van Buuren is set to debut new music this Friday.
Taking to Twitter, he revealed that fans could expect a new single by the end of the week, following on from his show this Thursday, April 18th at London's Wembley Arena. There's no teaser clip for the track just yet, so you'll have to sit tight until Friday to hear it.
Armin van Buuren shares new track, ‘La Résistance De L’Amour’: Listen
Armin van Buuren and Shapov have today completed their ‘Trilogy’ EP with the release of new single, ‘La Résistance De L’Amour’.
Over the past few months, the duo shared two other tracks, ‘The Last Dancer’ and ‘Our Origin’. You can now listen to their third collaborative effort below.
Nina Kraviz played more festivals than any other DJ in 2018
Nina Kraviz dominated the festival circuit in 2018, performing more than any other DJ at events across the world.
According to ticketing website Festicket, the Russian techno star played more festivals than any other DJ in 2018, racking up 35 festival performances — no wonder she made our Top 100 list. Amelie Lens followed with 27 shows, which is a testament to her incredible rise. In 2017 the Belgian star only played four.
Ultra reveals dates for 2020 festival
Ultra has revealed the dates for 2020's festival, just days after this year's edition reached its conclusion.
The monolithic session will return to Miami on 27th March, running through until 29th March. There has been no confirmation as to whether the action will take place at this year's site, Virginia Key, which was secured after local authorities refused a license for the event's old home, Bayfront Park.
Listen to Ultra sets from Dog Blood, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, more
With Miami Music Week coming to an end for another year, and with it Ultra's flagship festival having wrapped up at its new home of Virginia Key, a number of sets streamed across the weekend have begun to surface online.
Ultra's live stream hosted sets from the likes of Dog Blood, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Alesso, SOPHIE and a bunch more across the festival's three days. With a number of Mixcloud users capturing the sets through the weekend, a number of highlights are now available to relive in full below.
