Search dance music

Review: Armin Van Buuren has been a trance titan and scene overlord since day one. The Dutchman has never turned this back on the genre, either, like some of his peers - instead keeping focussed on evolving and innovating within his own specific sonic sphere. His now legendary State of Trance mixes are always a great overview of what he has been about during the last year and 2023's edition is no different. It arrives on double CD and is jam packed with uplifting delights that mix up some old school sounds with plenty of new and forward thinking ideas.

Review: Armin van Buuren: #2 DJ in the World!!! To celebrate this, we will re-release his first album "76" which was originally released in 2003. Only limited available, so order quick to secure your stock! When you hear undeniably euphoric trance, there is a good chance you're listening to Armin van Buuren. He himself describes his musical style as being, "Electronic dance music that is euphoric, uplifting and emotional." Enjoying a meteoric ascent to the tops of the international DJ charts - Armin van Buuren ranks #3 on DJ Magazine's latest "Top 100 DJs" poll - this Dutch artist, producer and DJ is as delightfully amiable as his music makes one feel. Championed by the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Tiësto and Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren releases his debut, full-length artist album, "76" (Armind/Ultra), and notes that he has never - and never will - rely on a studio engineer, preferring instead to engineer his own tracks. Classic Armin van Buuren tracks "Blue Fear" and "Communication" have proven their strength against the ravages of time and shifting tastes to become trance classics, and the man's work ethic is something that today's young upstarts would do well to emulate. "76" is one of those rare artist albums that leaves listeners in an elevated state. Generous towards his adoring fans, Armin is able to create blissful Ibiza sunsets and ecstatic celebrations of life through his music, which he's not afraid to call trance. Composing an album of new, original tracks - with the exception of "Blue Fear 2003" and "Communication" - Armin van Buuren confided, "This album is very personal, and I actually found it scary to put it onto the streets. I wanted to go back into myself and explore myself." Clubbers who've relished Armin van Buuren's live sets may be surprised to hear "Burned With Desire" and "Never Wanted This" featuring Justine Suissa, both hauntingly beautiful, proper songs. Armin acknowledges, "It was the first time that I was to work with proper song construction. I really wanted to work with Justine Suissa, so I flew her into Holland. We went into my studio on a Monday at 9 AM and she left on Tuesday night. We worked straight through, and when she left, we had "Burned With Desire"." This prolific artist - who continues producing music under the monikers Gaia, Rising Star and Armin - is beloved by his worldwide fans for staying after his shows to sign every last autograph. "I think a lot of DJs forget the fact that they can play because of the fans. It's really important to know all about your fans, and it's really cool to have close contact with fans," he notes. Not content with the current state of commercial music played on the radio masquerading as trance, Armin says, "It's very important to try to help the genre itself to evolve. I consider Paul Oakenfold to be the godfather of trance, and he is just one of the most important people for electronic music, in general. Many people make trance into a formula, but trance isn't a formula! It's a genre that is strongly based on emotion. It's still a very young genre. I'm not talking about commercial trance that you would hear on the radio; I don't consider that to be true trance music. I'm talking about true trance."

Review: New release from Armin van Buuren. The double disc contains 21 unmixed tracks. While some DJs weave a set strictly out of other people's records, other DJs go that extra mile and add their own productions to the mix. As a result, you desperately want to hear their own classic tracks and exclusive remixes as much as the freshest cuts at the front of their boxes every time they play out. Armin Van Buuren falls into the latter category, and it is testament to his ability to produce timeless, genre defining tracks that even 6 years after their release, clubbers regularly fight their way to the front to beg for one more spin of the likes of 'Communication' and 'The Sound Of Goodbye' to make their evening's aural pleasure complete. It is now 10 years since Armin's debut single 'Blue Fear' was picked up by Sasha and Digweed for the Northern Exposure compilation, but this is the first time his back catalogue of trance classics has been available in their full original versions on one CD. "It's not really a 'best of' album," says Armin, "it's more like tying up the loose ends. I've produced a lot of tracks under different names - Gaia, Perpetuous Dreamer, Darkstar and loads of people ask me how to get hold of them, why certain tracks were only ever released on vinyl. A lot of mixes I did exclusively for my sets, but there's so much demand for them, this seems like a good time to celebrate their success and just put them out there." Not yet 30, Armin's enjoyed a dream decade since unleashing 'Blue Fear' on the world. "It all kicked off for me with that record. Back then, I didn't really appreciate what it meant to have your track played at half time during a Manchester United match, but now I understand what a big track it was." His Midas touch has stayed with him ever since, 'Communication' went top 20 in the UK in 2000 - the version on this album has never been released and is probably the most requested track here; 'The Sound Of Goodbye' was picked up by a small label in New York, became a big Billboard dance chart record, and helped break the notoriously tough US market; his latest remix, 'Love You More', has gone Top 20 in Holland. Armin's played gigs and festivals the whole world over, including a memorable gig on Brooklyn Bridge overlooking Manhattan, racked up an impressive number of awards and silverware, and set up the hugely successful Armada label. "It was never the plan!" he laughs, "but I know how lucky I am to be living this life." And don't expect Armin to rest on his laurels, as there's much more to come: "I want to push myself even more creatively, with a big studio, live instruments, artists - but it'll always be dance music based, as that's where my heart is."

Review: The number 2 DJ in the world, Armin van Buuren reworks his all time classic 'Communication'. This track has been one of the bombs on his latest album 'Armin van Buuren 10 Years'. Emannuel B. and Harel Zemach have produced a banging, dancefloor destroying remix which will cause mayhem on all dancefloors.