Armin Van Buuren: All Armin, all the time

It’s be almost 10 years since a little known Dutch law student stepped up and changed to course of dance music with his own unique trance sound; and becoming a god in the eyes of many. Yet, the surprisingly down-to-earth Armin Van Buuren says it almost happened by accident, “It was never planned. I’m sure my radio and production work helped, but I never foresaw any of this.”

Whilst nothing might have been premeditated; it is clear Armin was always going to have a career in music. My father was always busy with music. He played any record he could get his hands on. Because of that I got interested at an early age. During the 80’s I got introduced to mixing and remixing through a close friend. Especially the work of Ben Liebrand, who, in my opinion, was far ahead of his time, fascinated me. Years later I personally got to know him and he taught me a lot of tricks.”

Apart from his musical interests the young Armin developed an obsession for computers in its widest possible spectrum. When he was nine years old he wrote his first computer program in Basic, a programming language from that time. His two main interests, music and electronics, provided him with more and more insight in the equipment with which his favourite music was made. This insight became a real passion. “I bought loads of CD’s, especially from synth-pioneers like Jean Michel Jarre and Klaus Schulze, but I also kept a close eye out on the dance scene.”

Van Buuren has often declared “don’t be a prisoner of your own style.” Whilst he is well-known for his euphoric trance sets, “My sound is closer to the original 1995 trance sound, without the cheesy female vocals.” Armin continues to explore the full breadth of the genre, “trance can be mysterious, hard, deep, euphoric, tribal, progressive – it’s a very special sound in that way. The French have declared it dead three times, but it continues to be special to many people.”

Van Buuren’s ‘in-key’ mixing, is impressive enough to anyone who has DJed for any length of time, but coupling this with his mammoth 12.5-hour performances; one has to instantly respect his talent as a live DJ performer. His philosophy has not only put him on the map but also people like Tiësto and Ferry Corsten. His marathon DJ sets have grown to legendary events in many countries and as a result he entered at number 27 in the DJ Magazine Top 100 in 2001. In 2003 he even climbed to number 3 after being elected number 5 in 2002! In 2002 he also set a new record by playing a set of 12,5 hours non-stop at the club in The Hague. In 2004 Armin will be Godskitchen’s resident. “Its an amazing experience playing that sort of gig. In a 90min performance, you can only really play the hits; but with something like that you get more of an opportunity to experiment with sounds and progress through various genres. I don’t really prepare too much though. I know the first three songs I’m going to play, and the genres I’m going to go through; but nothing more than that.”

Armin’s real respect though, comes from his productions and remixes. The success of ‘Blue Fear’ in the UK charts in 1998 is basically the kick off of Armin van Buuren’s international career, and his mix of Motorcyle’s ‘As the Rush Comes’ is a constant stayer in DJ’s record boxes the world over. 2003 also marked the release of his artist album 76. “It has a lot of freedom as an artist album, and is a really good break from the standard DJ mix album.” 76 is out currently.

Whilst Van Buuren is no stranger to Australian shores, touring last year with Two Tribes. This year he begins his ‘Armin Only’ tour, taking him around the country and New Zealand. “Australian audiences are always fun – they’re really mature and up for it. Like it was in the early days”

Be sure to catch Armin on his ‘Armin Only’ tour at the following clubs:

Friday Jan 23rd, Sublime @ Home – Sydney
Saturday Jan 24th, QBH – Melbourne (BUY TICKETS)
Sunday Jan 25th, Metro – Perth
Sunday Feb 1st, Family – Brisbane

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