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Armin van Buuren
Event on 2012-05-22 21:00:00

Armin van Buuren

Armin van Buuren is once more lord of the Trance and the king of the dance floor, taking the No. 1 spot in the DJ Mag Top 100 for the third year running. Being the official World's Most Popular DJ is just one of his many achievements, but the driving force behind his success is an overriding passion for dance music. Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, the Netherlands on December 25, 1976. He finished high school in 1995, and left for college to study law. While studying law, his 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 temporarily put his law degree on hold, however, he did complete his law degree in 2004 via Oxford University. The final year of his course was inevitably stretched as he juggled his studies with his increasingly hectic schedule; his rise to fame included lots of productions and remixes, as well as playing out to packed clubs every weekend. It took him three years to graduate, but his determination made him succeed. Armin indulged his passion for music from a young age. He spent all the money he earned on records. When he was 10, his mother won a computer, gaining Armin's interest. "So as a little nerdy kid I was writing my own basic programs, and learnt about the technology from there." He progressed from making low profile mix tapes for friends to higher profile mixes when he discovered experimenting with different sequences on his computer through his uncle. "I was so stunned by what I saw him doing on the computer, that I got addicted to creating music right there and then! "I loved Dance music immediately – this great rebellious sound that was so different". Armin cites electronic pioneer Jean Michel Jarre as a major influence, as well as Dutch producer Ben Liebrand, who later mentored him in his mixing and producing. His "Universal Religion" series has been going strong ever since the first edition in 2004. Every edition is a live recording, straight from the epicenter of Dance in summer: Club Amnesia in Ibiza. Every summer, Armin holds residency in this renowned club on the party isle. As the club fills with Dance lovers from all over the world, a special, atmosphere takes over, these special moments of pure Trance bliss, Armin captures onto his "Universal Religion" albums. Latest "Universal Religion 4" is filled with exclusive tracks and remixes, in a tight mix, live recorded at the sacred club. Armin has always had his own studio and worked alone in the beginning of his career. Since the release of his third studio album "Imagine" in 2008 he has been working with Benno de Goeij of Rank1 on all his productions and remixes. Since 1995, he has released many tracks on different labels with increasing success. His first big success was "Blue Fear" 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 Ibiza in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, it busted into the UK Singles Chart at #18 in 2000. Early 1999 Armin started the Armind label together with United Recordings. First release, "Gig One" was well received. Follow up "Touch Me", under the alias Rising Star, was signed to Ministry of Sound UK, while "Free" was signed to R&S Records. Under the Gaia monniker he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects saw life; under the guise Major League "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings while "Eternity" was released via Armind under the alias Alibi. "Eternity" gained worldwide club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's Vandit Records. Another major collaboration, this time with Ferry Corsten, resulted in the classic and very successful Trancer "Exhale". In 2000, Armin started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between Progressive, Techno and Trance. First "A State of Trance" compilation, released in 2000, it sold more than 10,000 copies and contains his infamous remix of Moogwai's, "Viola". The "A State Of Trance" compilations have won many awards and continue to lead the Trance fans in the right direction with a fresh and exclusive selection of the hottest tracks. Second compilation "Basic Instinct" saw its release early 2001. Third compilation "In Motion" was released August 2001 with 4th comp "Transparence", hitting the streets in 2002. In 2003 the "76" compilation saw light with Ultra Records releasing in USA and Canada. 1 BIOGRAPHY (continued) In 2008 his artist album titled 'Imagine' entered the Dutch Album Top 100 Chart at no. 1; the first time a Dance producer accomplished such a feat in the history of Dutch music. The first single taken from the album, "Going Wrong", debuted on his A State Of Trance radio show. The single sees the collaboration of Armin van Buuren with hot German producer Shah and singer Chris Jones. 'Imagine' debuted at #4 on the US Billboard's Top Electronic Albums Chart. Video of second single "In and Out of Love", featuring Sharon den Adel from world renowned Goth rockers Within Temptation, achieved more than 35 million views on YouTube. The album also spawned two more singles, "Unforgivable" featuring Jaren, and "Fine Without You", a collaboration with Jennifer Rene. On the remix front While the remix offers flood in, Armin only takes on tracks that he really loves. He has remixed the theme for the cult TV series 24 as well as tracks for the likes of Motorcycle, The Killers, BT and Moogwai, amongst others. He uses exactly the same criteria for his compilations, meaning that every release from Armin on his long-running Armind label is a bona fide stormer. Armin Only An all-night dance event featuring a nine hour set by the man himself . The event consists of various genres of Dance music (but most predominantly Trance), light, laser and firework shows and supporting acts of singers/vocalists. Sold-out Armin Only shows in 2005 and 2006 created eager anticipation of the third edition, which kicked off in Utrecht The Netherlands in 2008; over 16,000 fans attended and were enthralled by Armin's set. The theme of the night was 'Imagine', described by Armin as "the celebration of our sensations both in life and in club land." Fans all around the world needed not to despair as Armin took the event to Romania, Poland, Belgium, Australia and USA. On New Year's Eve 2008 Armin managed to draw 45,000 fans to the event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Promotion of his album "Imagine" has been a prominent concept with the 2008 Armin Only Tour and as such applying the 5 concepts of Imagination (Vision, Scent, Touch, Sound, Emotion) to his sets. The next Armin Only events are in the works for 2010 and 2011. A State Of Trance radio show In March 2001, he 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 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. It is now a weekly feature on appr. 40 worldwide FM radio stations. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Internationally, the show attracts more than 26 million listeners a week, making it the most popular radio show in the world. In 2008 the 400th edition was celebrated on a large scale, listeners and fans were able to experience the show for 72 hours, live from 3 different countries. The first broadcast was aired from Club Butan in Wuppertal Germany on Thursday April 16th, the second on Friday April 17th from Club Air in Birmingham, U.K., and the third and last one was closed down in style on Saturday April 18th in the massive Maas Silo in Rotterdam. Armin personally appeared at all locations. Armada Music Amsterdam based Armada Music was founded in June 2003 by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis. "Armada" was formed by utilizing the first two letters in each of the founding members' names. The highly successful label currently has 19 different sub-labels (including Armind) representing many different types of electronic music. 2 BIOGRAPHY (continued) New Media On the road biography 'Armin Only' Dutch author Coen Bom, has followed Armin around the world for over a year. Focusing on a very important year in Armin's musical career, the one in which he's crowned to 'Number 1 DJ of the World'. Coen gives you a full report of Armin's many gigs, backstage adventures and journeys across the globe. With exclusive interviews, photo's and much more. Awards & Accolades With a hectic schedule packed to the rafters with headline slots at major clubs and festivals across the globe this is a man truly at the top of his game. His productions have all made a huge impact and quickly gain worldwide acclaim. He is a dedicated Trance lover, but isn't imprisoned by a single genre, saying "What makes Trance work so well is that it doesn't stick to one style, and can incorporate electro, minimal, whatever it likes." The main ingredient to Armin's life will always be music. "This is just what I really want," he says. "It's not just love for music, it's my passion. It goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it's about a way of living. Music is essential to my life". November 2009 arminvanbuuren.com astateoftrance.com youtube.com/arminvanbuuren In October 2009, Armin had the premiere of launching the first full music DVD as an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The complete DVD of Armin's 'Armin Only' concert in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, is now available as app. After downloading the app, users can see the full live registration on their iPhone or iPod Touch. New media is something that surely gets Armin's attention. Armin's YouTube channel, as part of the Armada Music channel, is one of the most viewed channels on the net. In fact, the Armada Music channel is the most viewed music channel in the world. The music video for Armin's "In & Out of Love" has received more than 35 million views, and is therefore the most viewed music video of all time within all categories, on the Dutch YouTube. On Armin's YouTube, his fans can find the official music videos, exclusive interviews, specials, previews and party reports. In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of 'In The Mix': Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Armada Music. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010. In 2007 Armin was voted the world's #1 in DJ Mag's prestigious Top 100 Poll. He was voted #1 again in 2008 and 2009. In January 2008, he was given the 'Buma Cultuur Pop Award', the most prestigious Dutch music award followed by being voted 'Best Trance Artist' in the Beatport Music Awards. His A State Of Trance radio show won the 'Best Mix Radio Show' award at the IDMA in Miami in 2006 and 2007, and another 4 Awards at the 2008 edition. He was voted 'Best European DJ' at the 2009 IDMA in Miami, voted 'Best Global DJ' at the 2010 IDMA in Miami, voted 'Most Popular International DJ' in Australia's 2009 Sony In The Mix DJ Poll, voted No. 1 in the 2009 Tranceaddict DJ poll, voted 'Best Trance DJ' and 'Best International DJ' in DJ Awards 2009 poll. In March 2010 he received the 'Gouden Harp', the most prestigious music award in The Netherlands. 3

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