Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑrmɪn vɑn ˈbuːrə(n)]; born 25 December 1976) - Dutch music producer and DJ. He has won numerous awards, including number one on DJ Magazine's "Fan Top 100 DJs" list a record 5 times: four years in a row in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and again in 2012. He is currently ranked ranked third on DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs by Fans list in 2014. In 2013, he was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording for the song "This Is What It Feels Like", which making him the 4th trance artist to ever receive a Grammy nomination, joining Tiesto, Paul van Dyk and BT. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which has reached 30,000,000 weekly listeners worldwide. The radio show propelled him into superstardom and helped build a crowd of trance fans around the world. His studio album 2008's Imagine entered the Dutch album chart at number one for the first time for a dance artist in Dutch history.

Personal life

Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, the Netherlands, on December 25, 1976, but grew up in the village of Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buren began creating music at age 14. He was inspired French composer electronic music Jean-Michel Jarre. He graduated from Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995 and studied law at Leiden University. He began working as a DJ at the Next club, playing a variety of sets throughout the week, many of which lasted six hours or more. As his music career began to take off, he put law on the back burner, although he returned to finish university in 2003.

On September 18, 2009, Van Buuren married Erica van Thiel, whom he dated for nine years. Their daughter Fenna was born in July 2011 and their son Remi in July 2013.

In 2013, Van Buuren was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his contributions to music. Van Buuren reported that just hours earlier he had performed on the main stage at Tomorrowland (Saturday, July 27, 2013) while his wife was giving birth to their son.

1995-1999: Career start and success

In 1995, Van Buuren received his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released on the Cyber ​​Records label; when he was 19 years old. This track, which was made in the Euro-trance genre, entered the British chart. Another successful track, "Communication", was released under the same label and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After signing a deal with AM PM Records, it entered the UK chart at position 18 in 2000.

Van Buuren began his DJ career at the Nexus nightclub in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets lasting six to seven hours at a time. During the holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999 he met Dave Lewis, who was a DJ in England and the USA. His career took off when he entered DJ Magazine's Top 100 list in November 2001 at number 27. He has played in over 25 countries and most often on the main stages of major summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking set of twelve and a half hours at the Dancetheater in The Hague, Netherlands. In the UK he performed regularly at Passion (residence 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In early 1999, Van Buuren opened his own label, Armind, with United Recordings. His first release, One, under the Gig moniker, was well received. Before the record label could make a second release, "Touch Me", the Ministry of Sound signed a contract to perform in the UK under the name "Rising Star".

By that time, the third release "Free" (Rus. Svoboda) under the pseudonym Gimmick was released on the R&S Records label, his label was popular. Under the pseudonym Gaia, he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a Warner Brothers label. As a result of the merger with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League - “Wonder Where You Are?” (Russian: I wonder where you are?) was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi - “Eternity” (Rus: Eternity) was released on Armind. "Eternity" was a success in clubs and charts and was also released on Paul van Dyk's Vandit Records. Other important collaborations followed. Together with Ferry, Corsten Van Buuren recorded a riff called "Exhale" for the System F album, which was released as a single. This track received Gold status in less than a month.

2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76

In 2000, Van Buren launched his own collection series. He found a balance between progressive house and vocal trance. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly radio show A State of Trance), sold 10,000 copies and included a Van Buuren remix of Moogwai entitled "Viola". His second album Basic Instinct was released with a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye". This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at position 26. Later that year, the track became a No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion, was released on August 6, 2001. The fourth album, Transparence, was released in 2002. In 2003, he worked with DJ Seth Alan Fannin for the entire Dance Revolution world tour, which took place in Europe; 20,000 people attended in the Netherlands.

In March 2001, Van Buuren launched his radio show on ID&T (usually broadcast in the Netherlands and later in England under the name ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show called A State of Trance, he played popular trance tracks. The show became popular due to the fact that artists came to him, whose names and their tracks he posted on his website. When ID&T radio changed direction in 2004, Van Buuren left and took A State of Trance with him. The show moved to Fresh FM and later to SLAM!FM, two Dutch radio stations. It now runs weekly on Radio 538, another Dutch radio, DI.FM, an online radio station, XM Satellite Radio and channel 80 in the US and Canada. In Russia, the show takes place on Radio NRJ weekly every Friday from 23:00 to 01:00 Moscow time. A complete list of radio stations playing A State of Trance can be found in the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buren remade the main theme from the TV series 24 into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and later released on radio. The 250th (eight-hour) anniversary episode was celebrated at Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands with appearances from Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.

In 2002 he moved to Glo, Washington, DC and played throughout North America: San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and The Necto nightclub. He appeared regularly in Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October of the same year, Van Buuren was ranked fifth on DJ Mag's list of "Fan's Top 100 DJs."

In June 2003, Van Buuren celebrated the 100th episode of A State of Trance at Bloomingdale, Bloemendaal aan Zee, Netherlands and released his debut album 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks. That same year, he was placed in third place on DJ Mag's list of the "Top 100 DJs According to Fans" and remained there for two years in a row (2004, 2005).

2005–2009: Shivers and Imagine

On June 2, 2005, he celebrated the 200th episode of A State of Trance in Museumplein, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On August 8, 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album, Shivers. To create the album, Van Buuren worked with American-Pakistani singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justina Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 25 May 2006 he celebrated the 250th episode of A State of Trance with various artists at Asta, The Hague, Netherlands. He was ranked second on DJ Mag's 2006 list of "Top 100 DJs According to Fans." On 17 May 2007 he celebrated the 300th episode of A State of Trance with various artists at the "Pettelaarse Schans", 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

Armin eventually reached number one in 2007 on DJ Mag's list of "Top 100 DJs According to Fans".

On January 12, 2008, Van Buuren received the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch award. On April 17, 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine. Artists such as Jacqueline Govairt from Krezip took part in its creation. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch album chart. The second single, "In and Out of Love", featuring Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation, had a video that has been viewed more than 140 million times on YouTube.

After the release of Imagine, Van Buuren began working with Benno De Goe and Rank 1's DJ-RA on solo recordings and remixes. On May 1, 2008, he celebrated the 350th A State of Trance with various artists at Noxx, Antwerp, Belgium. He was also voted number one on DJ Mag's 2008 list of "Fan's Top 100 DJs".

He collaborated with his brother Eller van Buuren in Together As One in Los Angeles, USA, in New Year's Eve in 2009, as well as during the creation of the 2008 album Imagine. Their performance at Together As One was a very long show as part of the Armin Only: Imagine World Tour.

To celebrate the 400th episode of A State of Trance, he performed three shows with various artists. Venue: Butan Club, Wuppertal, Germany April 16, 2009, nightclub AIR, Birmingham, UK on April 17 and Maassilo, Rotterdam, the Netherlands on April 18.

Also in 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the release of Armin van Buuren: In the Mix, a music game that was created in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Armin's label Armada. Its release was scheduled for 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.

He was voted number one on DJ Mag's 2009 list of "Fan's Top 100 DJs" for the third year in a row.

2010–present: Mirage and Intense

On March 3, 2010, Van Buuren was awarded the Golden Harp for his musical work and valuable contributions to Dutch music on behalf of BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 "Buma Harpen Gala" ceremony in Hilversum, the Netherlands.

To celebrate the 450th episode of A State of Trance, he performed with various artists at five shows in two countries. Venues: The Guvernment nightclub, Toronto, Canada on April 1, 2010, Roseland Ballroom, New York, USA on April 2 and 3, Expo Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia on April 9 and Centennial Hall, Wroclaw, Poland on April 24.

On June 23, 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage, would be released on September 10. The first single, "Full Focus", was released through the iTunes Store on June 24 at midnight. The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the tracks from the album, entitled Not Giving Up On Love, featured English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth album Make a Scene. Armin also wrote a song for English singer Strength, but because his album was supposed to come out greatest hits Hits, the collaboration never materialized.

On September 12, 2010, Van Buren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour show airing on Sirius XM Radio.

On October 20, 2010, Van Buuren won the Most Popular International DJ award at The Golden Gnomes.

The 2010 Armin Only: Mirage tour began on November 13, 2010 in Utrecht and continued in St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznan, Moscow and Bratislava.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed five shows on five continents for five consecutive weeks with various artists. The first show took place on March 19, 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at MTN Expo Centre. The show in Miami took place as part of the Ultra Music Festival on March 27. The third ASOT 500 celebration was celebrated at G.E.B.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina. The most significant performance took place at the exhibition center in the province of Brabant in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. With the participation of more than 30 DJs from countries around the world, 30,000 people attended the event. The event was shown in live in 30 countries.. The final show took place in Sydney, Australia on April 16 at the Acer Arena.

On April 30, 2011, Van Buuren was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau for promoting the Dutch dance music and the Dutch music economy. He received his insignia (badge and ribbon) at the hands of the mayor of Leiden. That same year, he was chosen second on DJ Mag's list of "Fan's Top 100 DJs."

To celebrate the 550th episode of A State of Trance, he performed with various artists on 2 different continents for 4 weeks. The show was called A State of Trance 550: Invasion. The first event was celebrated at the Ministry of Sound in London on March 1, 2012. On March 7, the second event took place at the Expo Center, Moscow. Kiev residents were able to see the show at the International Exhibition Center on March 10. March 17 as part of the Beyond Wonderland festival in Los Angeles and March 25 at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. On March 31, the largest final performance of ASOT 550 was held in Brabant 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

On October 19, 2012, Van Buuren announced a 5-year consecutive #1 position on DJ Mag's worldwide "Fan Top 100 DJs" list.

To celebrate the 600th episode of A State of Trance, Van Buuren announced that he will be performing with various artists around the world. The show was called A State of Trance 600: The Expedition. This was the most significant event. The places and dates of its holding were: Madrid February 14, 2013, Mexico City February 16, Sao Paulo March 1, Minsk March 7, Sofia March 8, Beirut March 9, Kuala Lumpur March 15, Mumbai March 16, Miami March 24, Guatemala 27 March, New York on March 30 and 's-Hertogenbosch on April 6, 2013

On March 2, 2013, Van Buuren announced the release of his fifth album, Intense, on May 3, 2013. The album's first single, "This Is What It Feels Like", featuring Canadian singer-songwriter Trevor Guthrie, was released on April 5. The single was a success and made him the 4th trance artist to ever receive a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording. A tour in support of the album Armin Only: Intense was scheduled for October 17, 2013.

On April 30, 2013, Queen Beatrix abdicated in favor of her son, King Willem-Alexander, who was crowned on the same day. Van Buuren headlined the crowd during the King's coronation celebrations in Amsterdam. While he was performing live with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and their three daughters made an unscheduled visit to the stage.

On October 19, 2013, Van Buuren was ranked second on DJ Mag's list of the "Fan Top 100 DJs."

For all fans of electronic music, the name of the Dutchman Armin van Buuren is the name of a true legend. And this is not an exaggeration. It is truly difficult to overestimate the importance of this musician, DJ and simply exceptionally energetic personality for the entire trance industry. In addition to his colossal creative potential and productivity, Armin is distinguished by his breadth of interests and unusual biographical facts. The multi-million army of fans of this Dutch DJ knows his entire life path and faithfully and extremely interestedly follows all his ups and downs. The latter, however, happen extremely rarely. Music career Armina is the story of a dream come true, the meteoric rise of a dazzling supernova. And yet, all those who are interested in such a passionate person and successful musician as Armin van Buuren will be extremely curious about some interesting facts about his life.

Armin was born on December 25, 1976 in the Netherlands, in the city of Leiden, where he lives to this day. However, this does not prevent him from being a true citizen of the world and flying on tour to the most different countries. Fortunately, now it’s much easier for him to do this. Buren flies on his own plane, which bears his name. For a world-famous DJ, such transport is truly not a luxury, but a necessary means of transportation. And he can afford it: Armin is one of the five richest DJs in the world. British FACT Magazine estimated his net worth at approximately $40 million.

What is the secret of Van Buren's success? Armin himself answers this question unequivocally - with great love for music. If we add to this passion his remarkable talent and ability to work, then it becomes completely obvious that it could not have been otherwise - the Dutchman was simply doomed to success. He became interested in music very early, at the age of 10. The future star was inspired by the music of Ben Librant and the creator of the best record in Armin’s opinion in the history of music, Jean-Michel Jarre. As often happens, van Buuren went to study in a completely different profile, namely at Leiden University at the Faculty of Law.

Fortunately, he did not turn out to be a lawyer, but a first-class DJ, the creator of many super hits, whose events attract huge audiences and are a constant success, and fans of his music look forward to every visit of Armin himself. significant event in your life. It is interesting that the love of fans is expressed not only in the instant sweeping away of tickets for each of his shows, but also in constant close attention to all aspects of his life. They prepare video congratulations for their favorite musician, communicate closely with him on his personal forum and organize mass campaigns to invite Van Buuren to become their guest. And he gladly accepts their invitations, and also corresponds with many of his admirers and honestly admits that such love from the public constantly inspires him.

The musician's career started with the release of Push. The single Blue Fear became Armin's first success. For a long time he occupied a leading position in the British charts. In collaboration with United Recordings, the musician founded his own label, Armind, in 1999. It should be noted that Van Buren was invariably successful in all his endeavors. That's what talent means! With each new musical product of Armin it became more and more clear that trance was born in the world of music new star. Many interesting facts are associated with the name Armin van Buuren, for example, he released many of his releases under different names. In total, the musician has 23 pseudonyms! Some he used only once. His biography included Rising Star, Gig, and many others. And at the 17th KaZantip, a video was shot for his super hit, which was released under another pseudonym of the famous DJ - Gaia, Tuvan. But, naturally, true fans will immediately recognize Van Buuren’s characteristic sound and unique style, no matter what name he is “hiding” under.

In total, Armin van Buuren released 4 super-successful albums and hundreds of hits. One of them, Imagine (2008), sold 25 thousand copies in its homeland alone and went gold. Other albums were expected to be no less popular. But that's not all. In 2009, under the strict leadership of van Buuren and in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music, the video game In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren was released. The fans were simply delighted: now they had a chance to feel like a famous DJ at least for a while!

Of course, Van Buren's other great success was his record company, created in collaboration with Mikael Piron, as well as David Lewis. The new brainchild was named after the capital letters of the names of its founding fathers - Armada Music. The company successfully started in 2003. The main directions promoted by its creators are trance and house. Armada has an extensive structure, has more than 30 sub-labels and is one of the most successful artist agencies in the world.

But the restless van Buren did not stop there. The next thing that caught his attention was the radio. Compose radio show programs, personally select musical compositions for the evening broadcast and communicate live with fans of your loved one musical direction- what could be better? Armin devoted himself to this task with gusto. His radio show called A State of Trance attracts an audience of millions every week, and each of its releases becomes a real event in the world of trance, because the DJ rarely repeats himself. He prepares fresh news for each broadcast, and considers those tracks that he only occasionally plays several times to be real super hits that really deserve to be heard again. A State of Trance has been around for over ten years and has won numerous prestigious awards for being the best mix radio show in the world. Armin himself considers it one of the most important components of his activities.

But not only van Buuren’s work is unique. He himself is something out of the ordinary. Many of his fans have heard about the numerous prizes and awards he received. It is also widely known that Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands herself awarded Armin the honorary title of Officer of the Orange Order of the Kingdom (so now he is a titled person). But what is most amazing is the fact that the famous DJ is simply distinguished by his amazing ability to work: during his grandiose world tour Armin Only, Van Buuren worked at the console for 9 hours, and trance fans have not seen such enchanting shows as he created and creates for a long time! Our compatriots were also lucky to attend his show.

Van Buren’s biography also contains absolutely fantastic facts. For example, he became one of the hundred celebrities who were selected and invited to participate in the 2014... space travel! Unusual, isn't it? And yet, Armin considers music and family to be the main values ​​of his life. Beloved woman and part-time wife, Erica van Thiel, and their little daughter are the main inspirations unique person and the epic DJ Armin van Buuren.

DJ Mag magazine conducted a survey according to which the title best DJ 2007 and 2008 went to the Dutchman Armin van Buuren . Having appeared in the top 100 most popular DJs back in 2001, he has consistently been in the top five for the last 5 years, and this year he managed to rise from second place to the top of the top.

A little about numbers and habits:

Date of birth: December 25, 1976 in Leiden, the Netherlands (Leiden, Netherlands);
Education: Almost finished studying Law at Leiden University;
He was influenced by: LieBrand, Jean-Michel Jarre;
Loves: Movie;
Hates: People who don't do what they promise;
First release: Armin - “Push”;
Style: Trance, Progressive
Best known: "Arma−da", "A State of Trance", "Blue Fear", "Communication".
Little known fact: The label name "Armada" stands for Armin Van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis.
Best remixes: Geoffrey Williams - “Sex Life”, Wamdue Project - “King of My Castle”;
Best releases: Perpetuous Dreamer - “The Sound of Goodbye”;
Own style: Doesn't like being classified into a particular style;
Favorite album: The Future Sound of London - “Lifeforms”, Jean-Michel Jarre - “Oxygene”;
Favorite house records: L.S.G. - “Netherworld”, Li Kwan - “Point Zero”.

At the age of 18, Armin released his first release, hit the UK charts for the first time with his "Blue Fear" at 20, and formed his own label at 22. At 23, he again entered the UK chart with “Communication”. Now he is releasing a collection of his CDs, and being a producer and DJ at the same time, he has slowly but surely conquered the world. Rapid development, to say the least!

For as long as Armin can remember, he has always been "shrouded in music from head to toe." Mainly thanks to my father, who listened to many styles of music. Besides his love for music, Armin gradually became interested in technology and computers. At age 14, he bought his first Akai S-01 sampler, confiscated his father's synthesizer, and began making music. As a teenager, he almost always went to school with his headphones on, listening to music from Jean-Michael Jarre to Ben Liebrand's minimixes. Having great respect for Ben, he sent him his demo and received a rave review. The very first demo song was immediately included in the collection. With the money he received from this deal, Armin bought much better equipment and this was reflected in his first vinyl, released in late 1995. Ben also taught Armin how to produce and mix. His passion for mixing intensified.

It was there that he began his career as a DJ at the local club Nexus, where he learned to play long 6-7 hour sets. In 1995, he entered the university to study law, and after lectures he played in various clubs and composed his own music.

Since 1995, Armin has released many tracks on different labels with increasing success. The first big success was "Blue Fear", released on Cyber ​​Records. The track “Euro Trance Blueprint” even entered the UK chart. On the same label he released “Communication”, which made a splash in Ibiza in the summer of 1999. This track was signed to AM:PM and entered the UK chart at number 18 in 2000!

He began working as a DJ at the local club Nexus after graduating from high school in 1995. At the same time, he moves the studio from his bedroom to a “real” studio. And all the first tracks came out of this studio, including such hits as “Touch Me” and “Communication”.

In early 1999, he founded his Armind label with United Recordings. The first release, Gig "One", was very well received. He released Gaia "4 Elements" and teamed up with DJ Tiësto to release 2 projects: Major League "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Blackhole and Alibi "Eternity", which was another successful project, was also released on Armind. "Eternity" was licensed to Paul van Dyk's Vandit Records. Then another one followed joint project: He teamed up with Ferry Corsten to record another riff-classic called "Exhale" for the album "The System F". The Armind label gradually grew into a huge trance empire called Armada Music, with many sub-labels such as A State of Trance, 68 Recordings, Bandung, Captivating Sounds, Club Elite, Coldharbour Recordings, Electronic Elements and Fame Recordings. This empire produces a huge variety of trance and other hits, and is currently considered the best collection of trance labels.

After remixing popular tracks such as Wamdue Project's "King of My Castle", Madison Avenue's "Don't Call Me Baby" and Gouryella's "Walhalla", Armin has become a highly requested remixer and he turns down requests for remixes almost daily. Armin doesn't like to limit himself to a certain style of music. An expression he often uses is “Don’t be prisoner of your own style.” Armin likes to describe his musical style as euphoric, uplifting, melodic and energetic. It is a fact that Armin is very ambitious, but he does many things at the same time: he is a studio and producer, he is a DJ. He believes that there is only one way to do something - to enjoy what you do. Armin wants his dreams to come true, namely “doing what he loves most and have as much fun as possible doing it” (“doing what he loves most and being happy while doing it”). Lately, Armin has been working on his DJ career, playing an average of two sets a week. As he says: “The fans and the public are the most important thing for a DJ.”

At the very beginning of his musical journey, Armin often published under various pseudonyms, such as Darkstar, Perpetuous Dreamer, Rising Star, Gaia, Gimmick. He also created several tracks with fellow trans-Dutchers Tiësto and Ferry Corsten. Together with Tiësto, he released the tracks “Eternity” under the pseudonym Alibi and “Wonder Where You Are?” in 2000. as Major League. And together with Ferry Corsten, he created the major trance hit "Exhale" for his project System F. However, since 2003, he usually releases under his own name, although he often uses pseudonyms to remix other people's and his own tracks.

In 1999, Armin released his first compilation, “Boundaries of Imagination,” which was followed in 2000 by a series of four compilations, “A State of Trance,” “Basic Instinct,” “In Motion,” and “Transparance,” which seamlessly combined imagine Armin's love for progressive music, techno and trance. Another series of his compilations, launched in 2003, “Universal Religion,” saw its third part this year, “chapter three.”

In March 2001, Armin launched his own radio show on ID&T Radio called "A State of Trance". Every week for two hours he plays the latest popular trance and progressive hits, opening the way to fame for many little-known musicians. This radio show celebrated its 300th anniversary episode in May 2007, and is currently the most popular trance show in the world. Based on this show, Armin created a compilation of the same name, annually since 2004 releasing a pair of discs of the most popular tracks performed during the program.

In 2003, Armin Van Buuren released his debut album, 76, which contained mega hits such as “Yet Another Day”, “Burned With Desire”, as well as new versions of “Blue Fear” and “Communication”. The next album, “Shivers,” was released in 2005, and in addition to the hit of the same name, it also contained the tracks “Serenity”, “Zocalo”, “Who Is Watching”, “Sail” and “Control Freak” released as singles. Other musicians such as Gabriel & Dresden, Airwave, System F and M.I.K.E., as well as vocalists Justine Suissa, Nadia Ali and Ray Wilson, also actively contributed to the creation of these two albums.

Third album was released in 2006, called “10 Years” and consisted of three discs of the most best works Armina over the past ten years, new versions of old hits, remixes, as well as several completely new tracks - “Love you more”, “Saturday Night” and “This World Is Watching Me”.

Armin, taking advantage of his popularity as one of the best trance DJs, actively travels around the world, performing at major events such as Sensation White, Godskitchen and Gatecrasher, and even stopped in Riga. Those who were unable to watch him live can watch recordings of his performances on DVD - there are two entire discs from his performances, “Armin Only - The Next Level”, released in 2006, and “Ahoy” this year.

Among latest works This wonderful musician and DJ can be noted for his recent singles “Rush Hour”, and a new version of his hit “The Sound Of Goodbye”, which was released back in 2001 under the pseudonym perpetuous dreamers.

In 2008, Armin again confirmed his title as the No. 1 DJ in the world, taking first place for the second time according to a survey by DJ Mag magazine.

"IT'S MADNESS!"- Armin didn’t believe it when he learned that the fans voted him the best for the second time. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”, - he said modestly, but we know that he is disingenuous. If last year his victory could still be challenged, then this year he had every chance of success. For the last 12 months, all he has done is toured the world, bombarding him with successful releases. Resident of Ibiza, the Dutchman was recognized in his homeland best artist 2008. He also has the title of best trans artist from Beatport. Van Buren's radio show is listened to by 27 million people around the world. This is quite enough for the rest of the ranking participants to say goodbye to any hope of leadership.

“Last year’s victory put me in a positive mood,” Armin responded. “It opened doors that were previously closed for me. On the one hand, I continued to do what I wanted - to work with the best promoters of the best clubs, but to be number one is just magic, because everyone follows this ranking.” But last year he snatched victory without even having time to finish the album Imagine - an opus that took two years to work on. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and our Van Buuren managed to release a lot of good music. Just look at the single In And Out Of Love, which easily conquered the European charts thanks to the vocals of Sharon den Adel. The lead vocalist of Within Temtation, which has sold nearly 10 million albums, she embodies the Dutch answer to Evanescence. “I saw Sharon on TV and the next day I tremblingly dialed her number. In our country she is a real diva,” admits Armin. The next day the rock star stood on his doorstep. “I've been doing dance music for fifteen years now, but working with such an artist is a real competition.

When she sings, I just get goosebumps.” We can imagine how many of them there were when Sharon, along with other vocalists, went on the Armin Only: Imagine tour. While 18 thousand people went crazy to Van Buren's music, about 250 thousand people watched him on the screens. “I love playing 9-hour sets, they allow me to demonstrate my love for progressive. The fact is that during a regular 2-hour set, like any other DJ, I play hits, I play what is currently at the peak of popularity. And sets of 9 hours are an opportunity to play other music, the one that I save specifically for this occasion. This is not at all a demonstration to the public that I can play 9 hours, and not making money.”

The most memorable concert of this year turned out to be extremely stormy for Armin. During the Romanian Armin Only, the skies over Bucharest opened up and streams of water poured down on thousands of people. The storm raged for about three hours, but the grateful audience did not even think of leaving the dance floor. Van Buuren’s performances in Australia, an excellent set at the English Global Gathering and an 8-hour backtub at Amnesia with Mark Knight are also memorable.

But if you count all the clubbers in all the clubs Armin has visited, you won't come close to the number of listeners who listen to his radio show. There are 27 million of them. "That's what the radio stations tell me", - says the best DJ on the planet skeptically. “We have entered into an agreement with one large Brazilian radio station and now regularly get acquainted with its ratings. So, they claim that on Saturday the audience of State Of Trance reaches 20 million people. It's hard to believe, but they swear it's true.". Not too bad for a show that Armin sometimes does while sitting in his underwear in a hotel room. No less successful is his Armada Group - a network of 20 labels that release not only trance, but also artists such as Simon & Shaker, Markus Schulz and Stonebridge.

“I'm a big fan of many TOP100 DJs. I'm still embarrassed to talk to guys like Sasha, John Digweed, Sven Vath or Carl Cox. I’m honored to be among them, I’m so excited I don’t even know what to say.” Don't worry Armin, the fans said it all for you.

When Armin was ten years old, his mother won a computer. Soon the smart boy mastered programs for creating music. And as soon as he started earning money on his own, he bought himself two turntables and began making remixes. At the age of 16, the guy got his own sampler. And with the help of his father’s mono synthesizer AKAI S-01, he began to take his first serious steps in creating tracks.

Having made his first remix, Van Buren sends it to his idol Ben Librand, who soon offers to give him some lessons in musical skill. Having received useful tips professional, Armin becomes more determined and gets a job as a DJ in the small Leiden club Nexus.

After graduating from school in 1995, Armin entered the Faculty of Law at Leiden University. His first demo work ends up in a collection of dance music, and the DJ receives his first fee, equips a small music studio and releases a number of compositions, which soon begin to enjoy unprecedented popularity among music lovers.

His first release was Push. And the first single that brought success was a track from the Cyber ​​Records Blue Fear label, which soon entered the prestigious British chart. Soon the single Communication was released, which became a hit in the summer of 1999 in Ibiza, later also entering the British chart at position 18.

In early 1999, Armin founded his Armind label in conjunction with United Recordings. And soon he released releases: One under the pseudonym Gig and Touch Me under the pseudonym Rising Star. By the time of the release of Free's third release under the pseudonym Gimmick, his label enjoyed enviable popularity.

Later he collaborates with Tiеsto, Ferry Corsten, Perpetuous Dreamer, Olav Basoski and others. In 2001, Van Buuren went on air with his own 2-hour radio show, A State Of Trance, on ID&T, which was broadcast to 25 radio stations around the world. And on his labels A State Of Trance and Armind he releases best compositions musicians making trance music.

Armin Van Buuren has ten music albums, many interesting compilations and colorful world tours. The Dutchman appears on the best sites world and wins prestigious awards thanks to his musical flair and talent.

Personal life

In 2009, he married Erica van Thiel, whom he met while vacationing on the island of Crete. In 2011, Erica gave birth to a daughter, Fenna, and in 2013, a son, Remi.

Interesting facts

#1 DJ in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 according to DJ Mag

Host of his own radio show, A State of Trance (ASOT), which broadcasts worldwide

One of the founders of the largest electronic music record label Armada Music

His track Rush Hour was used as the anthem of the European Youth Football Championship

Topped the Dutch Albums Chart with Imagine and also topped the DVD Chart with Armin Only Imagine

In 2010, the album Imagine (2008) was certified gold in the Netherlands.

Discography

2006 - 10 Years

2009 - Imagine: The Remixes

What inspired you, what were you thinking about when creating the album Intense?*
About choosing yours own path. I called the album Intense because I was overwhelmed with emotions at the time of its creation. I have never put so much effort into my work, every song on it is significant. The music on this record conveys absolute joy or absolute sadness, but each feeling is very vivid.
And I also wanted to show how deep and bright life can be, I myself learned this after the birth of my daughter Fenna, who, like music, colored my life.

Is your fans' opinion important to you? What if they criticize your new album? Will you take the comments into account in the future?
Of course, the fans' opinions are important to me, but I always try to stick to my own path. Criticism is a common thing, especially for an artist. But I try to make the most of constructive criticism.

They say the higher you rise, the more painful it is to fall. Are you afraid of the day when someone else takes the place of the world's first DJ?
It is impossible to always remain on a pedestal. Music is constantly changing, and the tastes of music lovers are changing. And I have already proven my abilities: in addition to many awards, I also have a Grammy. What to hide, of course, I dream of always being number one. After all, Steven Spielberg himself probably dreams of another Oscar. Did money and fame change me? I think not, but you need to ask your family and friends in more detail. In any case, I do what I do not for the money, but for the love of music.

How did getting married and having your daughter affect you?
I feel more confident and stable. Being married is a wonderful feeling if your feelings with your wife are sincere. I want to have more children, I want them to grow up to be independent, responsible and take life’s difficulties lightly. And I'm not at all concerned about whether they will follow in my footsteps.

What's your favorite dish?
Our national puree, in Dutch it is called andijvie stampot. Don't ask me for the recipe, you won't like it anyway.

Many girls dream of marrying a star, not taking into account the huge busyness of a popular man. How do you distribute your time between business and family?
When I'm not traveling, I'm always home by five in the evening, when we have dinner as a family. We celebrate holidays together and generally spend a lot of time together. But it's not easy, yes. So that we have time for each other, we discuss our schedules and plans every day. But we love each other, that's the whole secret.

What is your most main goal- as an artist and just a person?
This is very difficult question. I hope I gave someone happiness and a good mood. I can't change the world, but I can make some people dance. Maybe this will make our lives better?