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| == Armin van Buuren as Performer == | == Armin van Buuren as Performer == | ||
| Armin started his DJ career at the club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, regularly six to seven hours per set. During school holidays he played more than four times a week, but -- reportedly -- he never stopped loving it. In ] he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States. His DJ career accelerated, entering the ] Top-100 in ] of ] at Number 27. He has played in more then 25 different countries and, according to his fans, he is known for his intelligent and uplifting music. Often you can find him on the main stage at big summer festivals. Recently he played a record-breaking nine-hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (Holland). In the United Kingdom you can see him perform regularly at ] (resident 2002), ], ], ], Peach and Golden. | Armin started his DJ career at the club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, regularly six to seven hours per set. During school holidays he played more than four times a week, but -- reportedly -- he never stopped loving it. In ] he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States. His DJ career accelerated, entering the ] Top-100 in ] of ] at Number 27. He has played in more then 25 different countries and, according to his fans, he is known for his intelligent and uplifting music. Often you can find him on the main stage at big summer festivals. Recently he played a record-breaking nine-hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (Holland). In the United Kingdom you can see him perform regularly at ] (resident 2002), ], ], ], Peach and Golden. | ||
| In the United States he has a residency at ] in ] and has played in ], ] and ]. He has also been a resident at ] on ]. In October 2002, Armin was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJs. In 2004, his ranking was Number 3. | In the United States he has a residency at ] in ] and has played in ], ] and ]. He has also been a resident at ] on ]. In October 2002, Armin was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJs. In 2004, his ranking was Number 3. | ||
Revision as of 01:14, 22 June 2005
Armin van Buuren (b. December 25, 1976) is a world renowned trance music DJ and producer hailing from Leiden, the Netherlands.
Early Influences
Born in Leiden, the Netherlands, Armin was fascinated by music since very early in life. This had a lot to do with his father who listened to lots of different music styles. Besides his love for music, Armin slowly started to gain more interest in technology and computers. At the age of 14 he bought his first sampler, confiscated his father's synthesizer and started to make music.
During adolescence he cycled to school with his headphones constantly, listening to music from Jean Michel Jarre and Ben Liebrand's minimixes. Having a great deal of respect for Ben Liebrand, he sent him a demo that was received enthusiastically. As a result, Ben taught Armin a lot about producing and mixing the following year.
Armin's passion for mixing progressed. He started working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus, finished high school in 1995 and went on to a 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, amongst others, hits like "Touch Me" and "Communication". Not liking to be confined to a particular style by labelling his music, the tracks that followed had varying feeling. Armin has been quoted saying, 'don't be prisoner of your own style'. Armin has described his musical style as euphoric, uplifting, melodic and energetic.
Armin's ambition has driven him to do many things at the same time: studying, producing, and being a DJ. He says that the only way to be able to do so is by enjoying what you do. Armin claims his ultimate dream is 'doing what he loves most and have as much fun as possible doing it'.
Lately, Armin has been working hard on his DJ career, performing at an average of more than two gigs per weekend. According to him "the fans and the public are the most important thing for a DJ". Seemingly because he strongly believes in the importance of his fans, he can be seen signing his autograph on virtually anything: vinyls, flyers, t-shirts, body parts, and mobile phones.
Armin van Buuren as Producer
Armin has always had his own studio and works by himself most of the time. He has never employed an engineer, claiming he does not want the music influenced.
Since 1995, Armin released a lot of tracks on different labels with increasing success. His first big success was 'Blue Fear' on Cyber Records. This 'Euro Trance blueprint' made it into the UK Chart. 'Communication' was released on the same label, causing serious damage on Ibiza in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM:PM, this track entered the UK Chart at #18 in 2000.
In the beginning of 1999 Armin 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.
When the third Armind release Gimmick - "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Armin had managed to make his label popular in very quickly. Under the surname 'Gaia' he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner. 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 a lot of club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dijk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed: together with Ferry Corsten, Armin 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 Armin started his own AVB compilation series. He managed to find the perfect balance between progressive, techno and trance styles. AVB001- Basic Instinct sold more than 10000 copies and contains Armin's well known remix of Moogwai - Viola. AVB002 featured a new track: Perpetuous Dreamer - 'The Sound Of Goodbye'. This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. AVB003 - In Motion was released August 6th 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the US.
Armin remixed a lot of long tracks like Wamdue Project - 'King Of My Castle', Madison Avenue - 'Don't Call Me Baby' and Gouryella - 'Walhalla' (all in 1999 and 2000). His recent remixes are Solid Sessions-'Janeiro' and Shane-'Too Late To Turn'. Due to the success of these mixes there's a high demand on his remixes but he has recently turned a lot of request down due to the fact that he's focusing on his own artist album.
In March 2001 Armin started his own radio show on ID&T Radio. In this weekly two-hours show, 'A State of Trance' he plays the latest tracks. His show is made more popular by publishing the artists and track titles on his website. This radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally, as fans -- while listening to the radio-show -- will converse in the website chat-rooms over the playing tracks.
Armin van Buuren as Performer
Armin started his DJ career at the club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, regularly six to seven hours per set. During school holidays he played more than four times a week, but -- reportedly -- he never stopped loving it. 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 then 25 different countries and, according to his fans, he is known for his intelligent and uplifting music. Often you can find him on the main stage at big summer festivals. Recently he played a record-breaking nine-hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (Holland). In the United Kingdom you can see him perform regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Peach and Golden.
In the United States he has a residency at Glow in Washington D.C. and has played in Boston, Denver and New York. He has also been a resident at Godskitchen on Ibiza. In October 2002, Armin was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJs. In 2004, his ranking was Number 3.
External links
- Armin's website
- Armin's record label Armada.
- Armin's discography
- Armin at Discogs