Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren (born December 25, 1976) is a trance music producer. He was born in Leiden, Netherlands, but who grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. In 2007, he was voted number one DJ in DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 vote.

Biography

Armin van Buuren pursued his career as a professional musician despite the promise of a career in law in his native country, the Netherlands, where he completed his law degree in 2004. Armin started working as a DJ in a local night club called Nexus, finished high school in 1995 and went on to university to study law. Meanwhile, he moved his studio equipment from his bedroom to a ‘real’ studio. The first tracks he produced in his new studio were, among others, tracks like “Touch Me” and “Communication”. Van Buuren has been quoted as saying, “Don’t be a prisoner of your own style.” He has described his musical style as “liberating, euphoric, uplifting, melodic and energetic.”

He hosts a weekly radio show A State of Trance, which mostly consist of electro and other genres, rather than trance. The show completed its 300th episode in May 2007, running for over 6 years.

In October 2002, van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJs. The following year, he jumped up to the #3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next 3 years. His work left him at the #2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and in 2007 Armin reached Number 1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100.

As a producer

Armin_Van_Buuren_2 Van Buuren has always had his own studio and works alone the majority of the time. He has never employed an engineer, claiming he does not want the music to be altered by an engineer.

Since 1995, van Buuren has released many tracks on different labels with increasing success. His first big success was “Blue Fear” on Cyber Records at the tender 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 Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at #18 in 2000.

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 DJ Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – “Wonder Where You Are?” was released on Blackhole 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 AVB compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive, techno and trance music styles. AVB001 – “A State of Trance” (not to be confused with his weekly ASOT radio shows) sold more than 10,000 copies and contains van Buuren’s well known remix of Mogwai – “Viola.” AVB002 “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 #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. AVB003 – “In Motion” was released August 6th 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the US. AVB004 – “Transparance” followed in 2002.

In March 2001 van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio. 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 82 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast ASOT can be found at the ASOT section of Armins website. Also in 2004, van Buuren remixed the 24 Theme 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, The Netherlands, featuring van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno De Jong.

On May 17, 2007, van Buuren began broadcasting the first of a two part series of what would become his 300th episode of A State of Trance.

He has also worked on remix projects involving tracks by Japanese superstar Ayumi Hamasaki.

Aliases: Amsterdance, Armania, Darkstar, E=mc², Electrix, El Guitaro, Gaia, Gimmick, Hyperdrive Inc., Major League, Misteri A, Perpetuous Dreamer, Problem Boy, Rising Star, The Shoeshine Factory.

As a performer

Armin_Van_Buuren Armin van Buuren at Crobar, NYC, October 9, 2006

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 DJ career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November of 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 has played a record-breaking nine-hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (Holland). In the United Kingdom one can see him perform regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Peach and Golden.

In 2002 he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C., and he has played in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, Istanbul, and St. Louis. He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza.

According to van Buuren, “The fans and the public are the most important thing for a DJ.”

On April 12th of 2006, van Buuren began a Canadian tour with a performance in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Despite a Wednesday booking, the venue was filled to capacity. Throughout his set, van Buuren could be seen signing autographs for his fans.

On November 11, 2006 he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after Nov 12, 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 2008” was released as a mix compilation on Ultra Records on December 4th 2007.

On January 12th, 2008, van Buuren was given the “Buma Cultuur Pop Award”, the most prestigious Dutch music award.

Discography

Albums

Studio Albums
  • 2003 76
  • 2005 Shivers
  • 2006 10 Years
  • 2008 Imagine
Compilations
  • 1999 Boundaries of Imagination
  • 2000 001 A State of Trance
  • 2001 002 Basic Instinct
  • 2001 003 In Motion
  • 2002 004 Transparance
  • 2003 Universal Religion Chapter One
  • 2004 A State of Trance 2004
  • 2004 Big Room Trance
  • 2004 Universal Religion 2004, Live From Armada At Ibiza
  • 2005 A State of Trance 2005
  • 2005 A State of Trance 2005 Year Mix
  • 2006 A State of Trance 2006
  • 2006 A State of Trance 2006 Year Mix
  • 2007 A State of Trance 2007
  • 2007 Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live From Armada At Ibiza
  • 2007 A State of Trance 2007 Year Mix
  • 2008 Universal Religion 2008

Singles

Armin Van Buuren/Armin
  • 1996 “Push”, as Armin
  • 1996 “Check Out Your Mind”, as Armin
  • 1997 “Blue Fear”, as Armin
  • 1999 “Lost Soul Society”, as Armin
  • 1999 “Communication”, as Armin (with Carmen van den Brakel)
  • 1999 “Virgo”, as Armin
  • 2000 “Communication Part 2”
  • 2002 “Sunburn”
  • 2002 “Yet Another Day” (with Ray Wilson)
  • 2003 “Sunburn (Walk Through Fire)” (with Victoria Horn)
  • 2003 “Burned With Desire” (with Justine Suissa)
  • 2004 “Blue Fear 2004”
  • 2004 “Intruder/Pound”, as Armin vs. M.I.K.E. (with M.I.K.E.)
  • 2005 “Shivers/Birth Of An Angel” (with Raz & Adryan and Susana)
  • 2005 “Zocalo” (with Gabriel & Dresden)
  • 2005 “Serenity” (with Jan Vayne)
  • 2006 “Who Is Watching” (with Nadia Ali)
  • 2006 “Sail”
  • 2006 “Control Freak”
  • 2006 “Love You More” (with Racoon)
  • 2006 “Saturday Night”, as Armin van Buuren vs. Herman Brood
  • 2007 “This World Is Watching Me” (with Rank 1 and Kush)
  • 2007 “Communication Part 3”
  • 2007 “Rush Hour”
  • 2007 “The Sound Of Goodbye 2007” (with Raz & Adryan and Elles de Graaf)
  • 2008 “If You Should Go” (featuring Susana)
  • 2008 “Going Wrong” (with Dj Shah and Chris Jones)
Perpetuous Dreamer
  • 1999 “Future Fun-Land”
  • 2001 “The Sound of Goodbye” (with Fuel 2 Fire and Elles de Graaf)
  • 2002 “Dust.wav” (with Raz & Adryan and Elles de Graaf)
  • 2004 “Future Fun-Land 2004”
Rising Star
  • 1999 “Touch Me”
  • 2002 “Clear Blue Moon/Star Theme”
  • 2002 “Sunspot” (with Airwave)
Other aliases
  • 1996 “Spanish Love”, as El Guitaro
  • 1996 “Dreams In Sync”, as Hyperdrive Inc.
  • 1996 “Electronicly Entertained”, as Technology (with Gert den Heyer)
  • 1996 “Turn Me On”, as Armania
  • 1997 “The Only Love”, as Armania
  • 1997 “Lilmotion EP”, as Lilmotion (with Dennis Verheugd and Sjaak Scheffer)
  • 1997 “Gotta Feel It”, as Amsterdance
  • 1997 “Ideal World EP”, as Misteri A
  • 1997 “C’Est Tout”, as Monsieur Basculant (with Johan Cyber)
  • 1997 “Why You Wanna Hurt Me”, as Gimmick
  • 1997 “Allright”, as The Shoeshine Factory
  • 1998 “Wicked”, as The Shoeshine Factory
  • 1998 “Raw”, as Hyperdrive Inc.
  • 1998 “Pass The Bottle”, as Wodka Wasters (with Olav Basoski)
  • 1998 “Self Control”, as Problem Boy
  • 1998 “The United Colors EP”, as Red & White (with Gert den Heyer)
  • 1999 “Out Of Blue (Remixes)”, as Red & White (with Gert den Heyer)
  • 1999 “See Me, Feel Me”, as Darkstar
  • 1999 “Blame The Music”, as Electrix (with Floris Klinkert)
  • 1999 “Gettaway”, as Electrix (with Floris Klinkert)
  • 1999 “One”, as Gig
  • 2000 “Eternity”, as Alibi (with Tiësto)
  • 2000 “Wonder?/Wonder Where You Are?”, as Major League (with Tiësto and Carman van der Brakel)
  • 2000 “Free”, as Gimmick
  • 2000 “Monotonous”, as E=MC²
  • 2001 “4 Elements”, as Gaia
(Co-)Production for other artists
  • 2001 System F – “Exhale”
  • 2002 Fuel 2 Fire – “Fuel To Fire”
  • 2004 Jan Vayne – Classical Trancelations (entire album)

Home video

  • 2006 Armin Only – The Next Level (DVD)
  • 2007 Armin Only – Ahoy (DVD)

Remixes

  • 2007 Richard Durand vs. Cassandra Fox – Hump Me In The Morning (Armin van Buuren Mash-up) “Sunhump vs. Touch Me”, unoficiall release
  • 2006 Ilse DeLange – The Great Escape (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 2005 Fragile – Inertia (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 2004 Sean Callery – The Longest Day (Armin Van Buuren Remix Radio Edit)
  • 2004 Sean Callery – The Longest Day (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2004 Sean Callery – The Longest Day (Armin Van Buuren Dub)
  • 2004 Sean Callery – “24” Theme – The Longest Day (Armin Van Buuren Mix)
  • 2004 Mark Otten – Mushroom Therapy (Armin Van Buuren Precious Edit)
  • 2004 Agnelli & Nelson – Holding Onto Nothing (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2004 Envio – Love Poison (Ryan G Remix – AvB Edit)
  • 2003 Ben Liebrand – Give Me An Answer (RArmin van Buuren Remix)
  • 2003 Perpetuous Dreamer – Dust.wav (Armin van Buuren Radio Edit)
  • 2003 Perpetuous Dreamer – Dust.wav (Armin van Buuren Rising Star Remix)
  • 2003 Motorcycle – As The Rush Comes (Armin van Buuren’s Universal Religion Remix)
  • 2003 Clubhands – Live Your Life (Extended Club Mix)
  • 2002 DJ Astrid – The Spell (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2002 Solar Stone – Seven Cities (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 2002 OceanLab – Sky Falls Down (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2002 Cygnus X – Positron (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2002 Riva – Time Is The Healer (Armin Van Buuren Vocal Remix)
  • 2002 Shane – Too Late To Turn (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2002 Solid Sessions – Janeiro (Armin Van Buuren Mix)
  • 2002 iiO – Rapture (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2001 Perpetuous Dreamer – The Sound Of Goodbye (Armin’s Tribal Feel Mix)
  • 2001 Magnusson Arrived from Fjörnebö – Mary Go Around (Armin Van Buuren’s ‘This Round’s On Me’ Edit)
  • 2001 Magnusson Arrived from Fjörnebö – Mary Go Around (Armin Van Buuren’s ‘This Round’s On Me’ Mix)
  • 2001 System F – Exhale (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 2001 Perpetuous Dreamer – The Sound Of Goodbye (Armin’s Tribal Feel Radio Edit)
  • 2001 Ayumi Hamasaki – Appears (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2000 Gaia – 4 Elements (Armin Van Buuren Original Mix)
  • 2000 Armin – Communication Part II (Armin van Buuren’s Remake)
  • 2000 Vibe-Rations – Steppin’ Out (Armin van Buuren’s Big Bass Remix)
  • 2000 Desiderio – Starlight (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Remix)
  • 2000 Novaskotia – Novaskotia (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Mix)
  • 2000 Dominica – Gotta Let You Go (Watch Your Step Mix)
  • 2000 Mi-Ko – Dreaming Of You (Armix Remix)
  • 2000 Gimmick – Free (Armin’s Discotizer Dub)
  • 2000 Moogwai – Viola (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 2000 Yahel – Devotion (Armin Van Buuren Mix)
  • 2000 ATFC Presents OnePhatDeeva Feat. Lisa Millett – Bad Habit (Armin Van Buuren Gimmick Club Mix)
  • 2000 Aria – Dido (Armin van Buuren’s Universal Religion Mix)
  • 1999 Gouryella – Walhalla (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Mix)
  • 1999 Rising Star – Touch Me (Armix Remix)
  • 1999 Vincent De Moor – Between 2 Fires (Armin Remix)
  • 1999 René Et Gaston – Vallée 2000 (Vallée De L’Armix)
  • 1999 Airscape – L’Esperanza (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Mix)
  • 1999 Wamdue Project – King Of My Castle (Armin Van Buuren Radio Edit)
  • 1999 Wamdue Project – King Of My Castle (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 1999 DJ Manta – Holding On (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Edit)
  • 1999 DJ Manta – Holding On (Armin Van Buuren’s Rising Star Mix)
  • 1999 Vincent De Moor – Shamu (Armin Remix)
  • 1999 Electrix – Gettaway (Armin van Buuren Mix)
  • 1999 Pancake – Don’t Turn Your Back (Syrup & Sugar Armix Flava)
  • 1999 Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby (Armin van Buuren’s Stalker Dub)
  • 1999 Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby (Armin van Buuren’s Stalker Mix)
  • 1999 Insight – Prophecy (Cyber Mix)
  • 1999 Shane – C’est Musique (Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 1999 Electrix – Blame The Music (Armin van Buuren Mix)
  • 1999 DJ René – Music All Over The World (DJ René & Armin van Buuren Remix)
  • 1999 Chakra & Edi Mis – X-File ‘99 (Armin & DJ Johan’s Cyber Mix)
  • 1999 Gouryella – Gouryella (Armix)
  • 1998 Red & White – Out Of Blue (Armix)
  • 1998 Wodka Wasters – Pass The Bottle (Armin’s Movin’ Work Dub)
  • 1998 Wodka Wasters – Pass The Bottle (Armix)
  • 1998 Barbarus – Hold On (Armix)
  • 1998 Geoffrey Williams – Sex Life ‘98 (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 1998 Suits Makin’ Noise – Ellegibo (Extended Armix)
  • 1998 Rocco Mundo – Move Static (Armix)
  • 1998 J.R.’s Revenge – Dallas (The Armix)
  • 1997 Temple Of The Groove – Without Your Love (Armin’s Radio Mix)
  • 1997 Jocks’ Trap – Tribal Tone (Armix Dub)
  • 1997 Jocks’ Trap – Tribal Tone (Armix)
  • 1997 The Sunclub – Single Minded People (Radio Edit Armix)
  • 1997 The Sunclub – Single Minded People (Trance Minded Armix)
  • 1997 The Sunclub – Single Minded People (Club Minded Armix)
  • 1997 Geoffrey Williams – Sex Life (Major Funk Armix)
  • 1997 Pioneers Of Sound – Keep It Up (Armin Van Buuren Remix)
  • 1997 ISCO – Funkytown (Mothafunky Armin Mix)
  • 1997 De Bos – Chase (Follow-That-Car Mix)
  • 1997 Monsieur Basculant – C’est Tout (Armix)
  • 1996 Groove Solution – Magic Melody (Armin Mix)

References