Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Nadia Ali
Born	(1980-08-03) August 3, 1980 (age 31) Libya
Origin	Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Electronic dance music, trance, house
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Smile in Bed
Associated acts	iiO, Armin van Buuren, Morgan Page, Avicii, Starkillers, Sultan & Ned Shepard
Website	nadiaali.com

Nadia Ali (Urdu: نادیہ علی; born August 3, 1980) is a Pakistani American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.^[1] The song also charted across several countries in Europe.^[2] Their 2006 single, "Is It Love?", reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[3]

After embarking on a solo career in 2005, Ali became successful as an oft-requested vocalist in electronic dance music. She released her debut album Embers in 2009. Critics praised her unique songwriting, which combined electronica with ballads, Eastern and acoustic music. Three singles from the album reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, including the No. 1 hit, "Love Story".^[4][5][6] The song was also nominated at the 25th International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference, while "Fantasy" was nominated for a Grammy award.^[7][8]

In 2010, she released a remix compilation titled Queen of Clubs Trilogy to mark her decade-long career as a singer-songwriter. "Rapture" was re-released as the only single from the compilation and the song was once again a chart success in Europe.^[9] Ali released the single "Pressure" with Starkillers and Alex Kenji in 2011, which became a club and festival anthem and received an International Dance Music Award.^[10] She has also collaborated with several notable producers and DJs, such as Armin van Buuren, Schiller, BT and John Creamer & Stephane K. Ali is currently working on her second studio album titled Phoenix, which is due to be released in 2012.

Life and career[link]

1980–2005: Early life and iiO[link]

Nadia Ali was born in Libya to Pakistani parents in 1980. The family relocated when she was five years old and she was subsequently raised in Queens, New York.^[11][12] An eight year old Ali used any opportunity she could get to sing after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her.^[13] While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the time she was 15.^[11] As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.^[14]

Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties.^[11] A colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original production for a girl group in Germany.^[13] The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs.^[15] Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron.^[16] A demo of the song was first played at the New York club Twilo in 2001 and received early support from influential DJ Pete Tong who played the demo on his show on BBC Radio 1. The song eventually became an Ibiza favourite after support from prominent DJ's such as Sasha, Danny Tenaglia and Sander Kleinenberg during the summer season.^[17] Released in late 2001 by Ministry of Sound, the single became a commercial success peaking at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart, while charting in several countries in Europe.^[1][2][3] The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single.^[18] They originally named themselves Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali used to write the lyrics on.^[2] The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, Poetica followed in 2005.^[4]

Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart,^[3] the 2007 remix album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed^[4] and the 2011 studio album Exit 110.^[4] When asked about her decision to pursue a solo career, she said her time with iiO was a great learning experience but she decided to leave because she didn't want to restrict herself to one style of music but explore her creativity and also to have the freedom to collaborate with others artists.^[19]

Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters.^[12] Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field.^[11] Her ethnicity, she has stated, has been an advantage and helped her stand out in the entertainment industry.^[20] She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.^[21]

[edit] 2006–09: Embers

Nadia Ali performing at Avalon, Boston in 2006

Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer".^[18][22] Her first solo release was the 2006 single, "Who is Watching?", a collaboration with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, which appeared on his album Shivers.^[23] She has described "Who is Watching?" as one of her most meaningful songs, the song described one's struggle to reach the top, only to realise once one is there how lonely it is and how one has forgotten their priorities and the important people in their life.^[24] This was followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself, Vol. 5, as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut Dubai.^[25][26]

In June 2008, she released "Crash and Burn", the first single from her solo album. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[5] She released the second single, "Love Story" from the as-yet untitled album in February 2009. It topped Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference.^[6][7] Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".^[27]

The third single "Fine Print" was released in July 2009. Ali announced that the single preceded the release of her debut solo album Embers.^[28] The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[29] Embers was released in September 2009. Co-produced by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Alex Sayz and Scott Fritz, Ali self-released the album on her own label, Smile in Bed Records.^[22] Embers generally received positive reviews, Chase Gran from About.com called it a "well rounded, gourmet album with impressive songs".^[30] Gail Navarro from Racket magazine complimented Ali on her songwriting saying, "It wasn’t just her sultry sound mixed in together with that enchanting singing voice; her songwriting got me hook, line and sinker".^[31] Speaking about the self-release of the album, she has cited her creative independence and the pressure of deadlines as the main reasons why she created her own record label.^[32][33] She chose to release her singles and albums digitally citing the nature of the electronic music audience with the listener choosing to click a button and getting music instantly and the traditional method of distribution deals in the United States.^[32]

Ali released two collaborations in 2009, the first "Better Run" with Tocadisco was released on his album TOCA 128.0 FM and "12 Wives In Tehran" with Serge Devant was released on his album Wanderer.^[34][35]

[edit] 2010–2011: Queen of Clubs Trilogy

Ali's first release in 2010 was the track "Try", a collaboration with German producer Schiller, chosen as the lead single from his album Atemlos, the music video premiered on YouTube in February 2010.^[36] In April 2010, Ali released "Fantasy", the fourth single from Embers. The track was chosen as a single by her fans after a poll conducted by Ali on her Facebook page.^[22] The music video for "Fantasy" was set to the Morgan Page remix, which served as a prologue to Ali's next project; Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed. Speaking about the project, Ali mentioned that she wanted a remix compilation, which spanned the 10 years of her career from her one-half as iiO, to her solo album and collaborations.^[37] Explaining the name of the concept, she said she wanted to incorporate her upbringing in Queens and the fact that her music is predominantly played in nightclubs.^[38] Using that inspiration, she decided to use the playing card "Queen of Clubs" as the title, portraying herself as the Queen, a move she described as "audacious" but something she felt she could prove because she had the substance.^[37] The package was broken into three releases: Ruby Edition (August 2010), Onyx Edition (October 2010) and Diamond Edition (December 2010). It featured collaborations with, and remixes by, Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery and Avicii amongst several other prominent DJs and producers.^[39]

I think the fact that it (electronic dance music) is mostly male dominated makes females stand out that much more if they are driven enough. I believe anything is possible with hard work.

– Nadia Ali^[40]

With a decade-long career, MTV described Ali as one of the "enduring empresses" of electronic dance music and the Queen of Clubs Trilogy as "aptly titled".^[41] Noted for being the "definitive" and "unmistakable" voice of dance music, she is said to have "enriched" and "invigorated" the genre.^[21][42] Ali has went on to become an oft-requested collaborator by DJs and producers.^[22] She was praised for acquiring notability in a male and DJ-dominated genre where vocalists serve as supporting acts.^[40][43] In December 2010 she received her first Grammy nomination when the Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category.^[8]

Her first track with iiO, "Rapture" was re-released as a single from Queen of Clubs Trilogy with remixes by Tristan Garner, Gareth Emery and Avicii. A new music video for the track was shot based on the "Queen of Clubs" theme and released on January 24, 2011.^[44] The song peaked at No. 3 on the Romanian Top 100 chart, while charting in other European countries.^[9]

Nadia Ali performing at Armin Only in Poland

Throughout 2010, Ali's collaborations with DJs and producers were released. These included remixes of her upcoming collaboration "That Day" with Dresden and Johnston, which were released on compilation albums. The next, "The Notice" with Swiss duo Chris Reece was released on July 13 on all digital retailers.^[45] Ali was featured on the track "Feels So Good" on Armin van Buuren's fourth album Mirage. Released as the fifth single from the album, the song was voted as the Best Trance Track at the 27th International Dance Music Awards in the Best Trance Song category.^[10][46] She was also a featured guest on his Armin Only tour.^[12]

During 2011, Ali announced the release of collaborations with several DJs and producers. The first of these was "Call My Name" with the duo Sultan & Ned Shepard, released by Harem Records on February 9. "Call My Name" was a club success, charting at No. 5 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[47] The second track "Pressure", a collaboration with Starkillers and Alex Kenji was released on February 15 by Spinnin' Records.^[48] The Alesso remix of "Pressure" became a club and festival anthem and received support from notable DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia and Calvin Harris and was voted the Best Progressive House Track at the 27th International Dance Music Awards.^[10][49]

In April, iiO released the studio album Exit 110, which featured Ali on vocals. She distanced herself from the album and stated she had no involvement in the project besides her vocals and words from nearly 10 years ago being used for the songs.^[50] She described it as "interesting" that there was new material featuring her released by iiO when she hadn't worked with Moser since 2005.^[19] She further said that she hadn't spoken with Moser since her departure and when asked whether the split of iiO was amicable, she refused to explain the circumstances surrounding the dissolution of the duo.^[19] On May 23, her next collaboration, "Free To Go" with Alex Sayz was released by Zouk Recordings.^[51] She was featured on Sander van Doorn's second studio album Eleve11 on the track "Rolling the Dice", a collaboration between van Doorn, Sidney Samson and her.^[52] Her next release was the single "Believe It" with the German duo Spencer & Hill, which was released on October 3 by Wall Recordings.^[53] She collaborated once again with Starkillers on the single "Keep It Coming", which was released on December 26 by Spinnin' Records.^[54]

[edit] 2012–present: Phoenix

As of November 2010, Ali had begun working on her second studio album.^[12] A music video for the lead single from the album, "When It Rains", was released on her YouTube channel on August 17 2011 with a release date to be announced.^[55] She attributed the delay in the release of the album once again on her busy touring schedule citing the demand to perform live particularly in the United States.^[56][57] However, beginning in February 2012 she took 40 days off to finalise the album, which she said would be titled Phoenix.^[56] She chose the name as an allusion to what she felt was a relaunch of her career.^[58] Explaining the creative process behind the album, she said she chose to work with a mix of international producers in an effort to combine the North American understanding of good songwriting with the European expertise in production to create a high energy dance album catered for her dance music fans.^[57][59] She said she had tried to bring together the DJs who she had released songs with in the last few years to make one cohesive compilation.^[58] The theme of the album, she elaborated, was trying to get the listener to understand the "artist personality" and the singer-songwriter behind the music.^[59]

Her first release in 2012 was "This Is Your Life", the fourth single from Swiss DJ EDX's album On The Edge.^[60] That was followed by "Carry Me", a collaboration with Morgan Page on his third studio album, In the Air.^[61] Her next release will be "Must Be The Love", the lead single from BT's upcoming eighth studio album, which was a collaboration between him, Arty and Ali.^[62]

Musical style and influences[link]

Ali is perhaps best known for her characteristic voice and vocal abilities.^[21][31][63] Reema Kumari Jadeja from MOBO described her work as "masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent electronica and fortified with soul".^[21] The songs on Embers were likened to Madonna's work in her prime and a "modern re-intepretation" of Stevie Nicks. Billboard praised her voice for having "too much life on its own".^[42][31][63] Ali has been influenced by an eclectic mix of artists, which she credits to her Eastern background and upbringing in Queens.^[18][33] She listed alternative, folk, Indian and Pakistani music as her biggest influences.^[16][18] Some of her vocal and songwriting influences, she said, were Stevie Nicks, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Sade and Bono.^[13][16][32]

	"Crash and Burn" (2008) noicon "Crash and Burn" combines Ali's signature music styles: Eastern, electronic and acoustic
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Her debut album was noted for a blend of electronica, acoustic and Middle Eastern melodies.^[30] Speaking about Embers, Ali said she did not want a typical dance record and chose to experiment, particularly with the number of ballads on the album.^[18] Meanwhile, her second album Phoenix, she said would be a more "high-energy" dance album, where while she maintained her characteristic vocal style, she also experimented with the musical style.^[58] She said while working on the album she was inspired and influenced by indie pop and the styles of Avicii, R3hab and Skrillex.^[58] Ali has collaborated with DJs from a broad range of genres and styles in electronic dance music. Some of the resulting work has been described as minimal trance,^[64] "sad disco"^[36] and "mainstream pop".^[45]

She has been praised for her songwriting, describing personal experiences with people, which "hit a powerful and striking chord" with the listener.^[31] Ali has said she almost always prefers to sing a song she has written herself and that the best songs are mostly written when they narrate a true account.^[13][14] The songs on Embers, Ali has stated, describe the relationships she has experienced and the emotions they have left behind.^[40] The song "Fantasy", she said, summed her up how she likes to be recognised, "an emotional songwriter who loves being a part of electronic music".^[22] Ali has said in the future she would like to focus more on production and songwriting and has written songs for Tocadisco, Avicii, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, EDX and Pete tha Zouk.^[21][24]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Embers (2009)
• Phoenix (2012)

Compilations

• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Ruby Edition (2010)
• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition (2010)
• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Diamond Edition (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Biography portal
	Asian Americans portal

• Official website

Armin van Buuren
Van Buuren performing on Queensday in Amsterdam, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Armin van Buuren
Also known as	Gaia, AVB
Born	(1976-12-25) 25 December 1976 (age 35) Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands[1]
Origin	Koudekerk aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands
Genres	Trance Progressive Trance Uplifting Trance Neo-trance
Occupations	Remixer, Producer, DJ, Composer, Musician, Pianist, Songwriter
Instruments	Synthesizer, drum machine, equalizer, personal computer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Armada Music (2003–present), Vandit (Co-Joined), Ministry of Sound Australia
Associated acts	Alibi, Dark Matter, Electrix, Lilmotion, Major League, Monsieur Basculant, Red & White, Technology, Triple A, Wodka Wasters, Nadia Ali,[2] Christian Burns,[2] Ferry Corsten,[2] Adam Young,[2] BT,[2] Sophie Ellis-Bextor,[2] Guy Chambers[2]
Website	arminvanbuuren.com

Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑr.mɪn vɑn ˈby.rə(n)]), OON (born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands)^[1] is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs.^[1] In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries,^[3] which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.^[4]

Personal life[link]

Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976,^[1] but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14.^{[citation needed]} He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.^{[citation needed]}

He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's 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 put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.

On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for nine years prior to the marriage.^[5][6]

On 12 January 2011, Van Buuren announced the pregnancy of his wife Erika on Twitter.^[7] He hoped the baby, due that summer, would be his "best production ever."^[7] Their daughter, Fenna, was born on 24 July 2011.^[8]

Career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

1995–1999: Early career and success[link]

In 1995, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label; he was 19 years old at the time. This track, which was produced in the "Euro Trance" mold, made it onto the UK Chart. Another successful track, "Communication" was released under the same label, and became popular in Ibiza, Spain in the summer of 1999. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Chart at No. 18 in 2000.

Armin van Buuren at Lizard Lounge, Dallas, Texas, 9 August 2008

Van Buuren began his DJ career at club Nexus in Leiden, where he learned to play long DJ sets, which were regularly six to seven hours per set.^[9] During school holidays he played more than four times a week. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States.^[9] His career accelerated, entering the DJ magazine Top-100 in November 2001 at Number 27.^[9] He has played in more than 25 different countries and can often be found on the main stage at big summer festivals. Van Buuren played a record-breaking twelve and a half hour set for Dancetheater in The Hague (the Netherlands).^[10][11] In the United Kingdom he performs regularly at Passion (resident 2002), Godskitchen, Gatecrasher, Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Peach and Golden.

In the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren 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.

By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed to R&S Records, Van Buuren had managed to make his label popular very quickly. Under the surname Gaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label of Warner Brothers. Teaming up with Tiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released on Black Hole Recordings and Alibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed to Paul van Dyk's imprint Vandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together with Ferry Corsten, Van Buuren 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.

[edit] 2000–2004: A State of Trance and 76

In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He managed to find a balance between progressive house,and vocal trance music styles. His first compilation album, A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weekly A State of Trance radio shows), sold more than 10,000 copies and contains Van Buuren's well known remix of Moogwai, "Viola." His second album, Basic Instinct featured a new track: "Perpetuous Dreamer" – "The Sound of Goodbye." This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The third album, In Motion was released 6 August 2001. This album contained the real trance sound and was very popular in the United States. A fourth album, Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in Armin's home country of the Netherlands.

In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show on ID&T Radio (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitled A State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music 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. The show then moved to Fresh FM, a Dutch radio station. It is now a weekly feature on SLAM!FM, another Dutch radio station, DI.FM, an online radio station, and on XM Satellite Radio, channel 80 in the United States and Canada. A complete list of stations that broadcast A State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website. Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the 24 theme song into a trance hit. In June 2005, the 200th episode was celebrated in Amsterdam and subsequently aired on radio. The 250th (eight hour) anniversary episode was celebrated in Club Asta in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring Van Buuren, Jonas Steur, M.I.K.E., John Askew, Rank 1 and Menno de Jong.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C.,^[9] and he has played all across North America in San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto, Boston, Calgary, Charlotte, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Atlanta, Austin, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Seattle and at The Necto (nightclub). He has also regularly appeared at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted Number 5 in the DJ Magazine 100 top DJ's. The following year, he jumped up to the No. 3 spot, and held 3rd place for the next three years. His work left him at the No. 2 spot, just below Paul van Dyk in the 2006 polls, and, in 2007, Armin reached #1, heading the 2007 DJ Mag Top 100. He was voted No. 1 again in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2003, Van Buuren released his debut studio album, 76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.^[12]

Armin Van Buuren performing at Avalon, Boston, Massachusetts 2007

[edit] 2005–present: Shivers, Imagine and Mirage

On 8 August 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album, Shivers. On the album Van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani-American singer Nadia Ali, English singer Justine Suissa and American trance duo Gabriel & Dresden.

On 11 November 2006, he had a live performance called Armin Only in Ahoy Rotterdam for the second time (after 12 November 2005) with a nine hour solo set, where he performed to over 11,000 fans.

In the summer of 2007, Van Buuren recorded and released a live set at Amnesia, Ibiza. Universal Religion Chapter 3, Live from Amnesia at Ibiza was released on 28 September 2007 as a mix compilation on Armada Records and in the US as "Universal Religion 2008" on Ultra Records on 4 December 2007.

On 17 April 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album, Imagine. It features collaboration with singers such as Sharon den Adel of Within Temptation and Jacqueline Govaert of Krezip. The album debuted at number one on the Dutch Albums Chart. Since the release of Imagine, Van Buuren has been working with Benno de Goeij and DJ-RA of Rank 1 on solo productions and remixes.^{[citation needed]}

19 April 2008 saw the 3rd edition of Armin Only, this time in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands. The event was attended by 16,000 fans and (partly) broadcast live on Dutch National TV. During the second half of 2008, Van Buuren took this show abroad, with visits to Australia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, and a special New Years Eve 2008 show at Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S.

On 29 September 2008, Armin won the DJ Award for "Best Trance DJ" at Ibiza along with other nominees, that of Tiësto, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

On 12 January 2008, Van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.

In 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production of In The Mix: Featuring Armin van Buuren, a music game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title is scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 exclusively for the Wii console.^[13]

He has collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, in such venues as Together As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 album Imagine.

On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with the prestigious Golden Harp, for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, by the music collecting society BUMA/STEMRA at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala in Hilversum, the Netherlands.^[14][15]

On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album, Mirage was due to be released on 10 September.^[16] The first single "Full Focus", was released through iTunes Store on 24 June at midnight.^[17] The song peaked at number sixty in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor called Not Giving Up On Love, which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album, Make a Scene.^[18][19] Armin also wrote a song for English singer Seal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album, Hits, the collaboration never came together.^[20]

On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio ^[21]

On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.^[22]

On 27 October 2010, Van Buuren was announced, for the 4th year running, as the number 1 DJ, and thus prolonging his title as 'Most Popular DJ in the World'.^[23]

The 2010 edition of Armin Only: Mirage kicked off on 13 November 2010, in Utrecht, Netherlands, with more shows coming in Saint-Petersburg, Kiev, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beirut, Poznań, Moscow and Bratislava .^[24]

On 27 November 2010, Van Buuren made his third appearance in Shanghai, China.

On 2 February 2012, Van Buuren mentioned a new studio album in the works on episode #546 of his radio show, "A State Of Trance".

A State of Trance 500 (ASOT 500)[link]

To mark the 10 year anniversary and 500th episode of his weekly radio show A State of Trance, Van Buuren performed at five shows across five continents over five consecutive weeks along with various artists.

The first show was held on 19 March 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa at the MTN Expo Center. In addition to Armin, Blake Jarrell, Protoculture, Lange, Leon Bolier, and Jorn van Deynhoven were performers. Super8 & Tab were to be part of the South African show, however a flight cancellation caused them to be absent for the event. The event was attended by over 20,000 people.

Miami's show was performed at the Ultra Music Festival on 27 March, and part of the show were Marcus Schossow, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten, ATB, and Sander van Doorn.

Argentina held the third celebration of ASOT 500 in club G.E.B.A Buenos Aires, with Heatbeat, Jochen Miller, Dash Berlin, Markus Schulz, John O'Callaghan and W & W. It was the only of the five ASOT 500 celebrations that was held outdoors. Van Buuren recorded a live video with his cell phone and uploaded it to Twitter while playing his live set.

ASOT 500 was celebrated in the Netherlands in Den Bosch. Accompanied by more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world, the event was attended by over 30,000 people. DJs present included Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, Above & Beyond, Paul Oakenfold and Sean Tyas. The event was radio broadcast live to over 30 countries.^{[25][dated info]}

The final show was held in Sydney, Australia on 16 April at Acer Arena in Olympic Park. It was a sold out event weeks before the night. Artists present included Shogun, tyDi, Menno de Jong, Aly & Fila, and Alex M.O.R.P.H. Van Buuren played for three hours.

A State of Trance 550 (ASOT 550)[link]

In March 2012, Van Buuren performed in six shows across three continents as part of ASOT 550. He began his tour on March 1 in London, continued on to Moscow on March 7, and to Kiev, Ukraine on March 10. Then, he traveled to the United States to host his show at the Beyond Wonderland festival in Southern California. A week later on March 25, he closed out Ultra Music Festival 2012 for the 5th edition. This was followed by the final show in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, the Netherlands.

A State of Trance sponsored a tent at the Electric Daisy Carnival at Met Life stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 19, 2012, which by all accounts could be considered an unofficial extension of ASOT 550. ^[26]

Discography[link]

• 76 (2003)
• Shivers (2005)
• Imagine (2008)
• Mirage (2010)

Year Mixes[link]

Van Buuren is well known for his annual "Year Mix" which incorporates clips and custom mashups from the year's most popular trance tracks. Each year-mix consists of about 85 individual releases, edited into a two hour mix which is released on double CD as well as aired on his weekly radio show at the end of each year. According to Van Buuren, each year-mix takes several months to make, including thousands of digital audio edits and hundreds of audio plugins.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armin van Buuren

• Official website
• Artist Page on ArmadaMusic.com
• Armin van Buuren on Myspace
• Armin van Buuren at Allmusic
• Armin van Buuren discography at Discogs
• Armin van Buuren discography at MusicBrainz
• Armin van Buuren at the Internet Movie Database
• Armin van Buuren's profile on Trancepedia
• Armada Music – the record label of Armin van Buuren
• Armin van Buuren – A State of Trance episodes
• *Flowd - artist channel on *Flowd network.

Sarah Howells is a British singer-songwriter and trance vocalist. She is also one half of the folk/indie band Paper Aeroplanes.

Biography[link]

Howells set up her first band in West Wales when she was 10 years old, with friend Nia George. They later formed a four-piece band, JYLT, with two other school friends.^[1] JYLT was disbanded in 2004 when George died aged 21, from leukaemia.^[2]

She came to trance music by chance. When Lange, a DJ and record producer, moved to Cardiff and was looking for a female vocalist for his album Better Late Than Never, he met Howells, who lived there at the time.^[3][4] They together produced the single "Out of the Sky". The song became a trance hit and was remixed by Kyau & Albert, and Aly & Fila. Armin van Buuren picked the song for his year compilation A State of Trance 2008.^[5] Armin van Buuren also selected the song in his ASOT 500 broadcast.

After the success with her debut single, Howells worked with other trance musicians in 2009 such as First State, John O'Callaghan and Dash Berlin. Most successful was the single "Find Yourself", a collaboration with John O'Callaghan. The song made it on numerous compilations and the Cosmic Gate remix was also on the year compilation A State of Trance 2009.^[6] In 2010 two of her songs each appeared on the album Changing Lanes of First State and Harmonic Motion of Lange.^[7][8]

Howells main musical project, together with co-writer and producer Richard Llewellyn, also from Wales, is the band Paper Aeroplanes. Formed in 2008, they have had national radio airplay on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music as well as touring Germany with Ron Sexsmith and several releases since.^[9] They released their debut album The Day We Ran into the Sea in 2009.^[10]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2009: The Day We Ran into the Sea (with Paper Aeroplanes)
• 2011: We Are Ghosts (with Paper Aeroplanes)
• 2011: A Comfortable Sleep EP (with Paper Aeroplanes)
• 2012: Queeph Joos (with Vexare)

Collaborations[link]

• 2008: Lange feat. Sarah Howells - "Out of the Sky"
• 2009: First State feat. Sarah Howells - "Brave"
• 2009: John O'Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells - "Find Yourself"
• 2009: Lange feat. Sarah Howells - "Let It All Out"
• 2009: Dash Berlin feat. Sarah Howells & Secede - "Believe in You"
• 2010: Lange feat. Sarah Howells - "Fireworks"
• 2011: Al Lewis - "In the Wake" (vocals and co-writing)
• 2011: First State feat. Sarah Howells - "Reverie"
• 2011: First State feat. Sarah Howells - "Skies on Fire"
• 2011: Daz Bailey feat. Sarah Howells - "In My Veins"
• 2011: tyDi feat. Sarah Howells - "Acting Crazy"
• 2012: Paper Aeroplanes - "Winter Never Comes" (Mark Eteson Remix)
• 2012: Vexare(a young dubstep music producer) feat. Sarah Howells - "Lanterns"
• 2012: Dash Berlin feat. Sarah Howells - "Go It Alone"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sarah Howells on Myspace
• Sarah Howells discography at Discogs

Markus Schulz
Markus Schulz in the USA, 2007
Background information
Birth name	Markus Schulz
Also known as	Dakota, Himmel
Born	1975 (age 36–37)
Origin	Eschwege, Germany
Genres	Trance
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Coldharbour Recordings, Armada Music, Ultra Records
Website	http://www.markusschulz.com

Markus Schulz is a German trance music DJ and producer who resides in Miami, Florida, United States. He is best known for his weekly radio show titled Global DJ Broadcast that airs on Digitally Imported radio, After Hours FM and other online stations.^[1] He is also the founder of the EDM label Coldharbour Recordings.^[2]

Producing[link]

Schulz has released six mix compilations and three artist albums under his own name. He has also released productions and albums, Thoughts Become Things and Thoughts Become Things II, under the alias Dakota. Through his work with remixing tracks, he has had the opportunity to work with such artists as: Depeche Mode, Madonna, Everything but the Girl, Jewel, OceanLab, Gabriel & Dresden, Télépopmusik, Fat Boy Slim, Miro, Book of Love, Blue Amazon, and PQM.^[1] His remixes of "Intuition" and "Stand" by Jewel both hit #1 on the Billboard club chart.^[3]

Performing[link]

Markus performing at Mayday, 2010 in Poland.

When not in the studio working on new mixes, Schulz maintains an extensive international touring schedule. He originally held a seven-year residency at The Works in Phoenix, Arizona, where he developed his style. Since then, he has performed at clubs all over the world and has DJ'ed at some of the largest festivals and events, including: Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, Monster Massive, Together As One, Ultra Music Festival, Amsterdam Dance Event, Nature One, Dance Valley, Love Parade, Global Gathering, ETD Pop, Trance Energy 2010, Bang Music Festival, Future Music Festival, Bal en Blanc,^[1] at the Episodes 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, and 550 of A State of Trance and at Summafieldayze on the Gold Coast in Australia.

On October 28, 2010, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, placing Schulz at #8 DJ in the world.^[4] As of the 2011 poll, he is #9 in the ranking.^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Without You Near (2005, Armada Music)^[6]
• Progression (2007, Armada Music)^[7]
• Progression Progressed - The Remixes (2008, Armada Music)
• Dakota - Thoughts Become Things (2009, Armada Music)^[6]
• Do You Dream? (2010, Armada Music)^[8]
• Do You Dream? - The Remixes (2011, Armada Music)
• Markus Schulz presents Dakota – Thoughts Become Things II (1 July 2011, Armada Music)^[9]
• Markus Schulz presents Dakota – Thoughts Become Things II (The Remixes) (13 January 2012, Armada Music)^[10]

Compilations[link]

• Coldharbour Sessions (2004, Armada Music)^[6]
• Miami '05 (2005, Moist Music)^[6]
• Ibiza '06 (2006, Moist Music)^[11][12]
• Amsterdam '08 (2008, Armada Music)^[6]
• Toronto '09 (2009, Armada Music)^[6]
• Armada At Ibibza - Summer 2008
• Las Vegas '10 (2010, Armada Music)^[6]
• Prague '11 (2011, Armada Music)^[6]
• Los Angeles '12 (2012, Armada Music)^[6]

Singles[link]

Remixes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Markus Schulz

• Official Website
• Markus Schulz Facebook Page
• Markus Schulz MySpace Page
• Markus Schulz Twitter Page
• Markus Schulz YouTube Page
• [1]

Jonathan Mendelsohn is the director of general election resources for the British Labour Party.^[1] He had previously been a spokesman and lobbyist for the gambling company PartyGaming.^[2] He is the former chairman of Labour Friends of Israel.^[1]

With Neal Lawson and Ben Lucas, he founded LLM Communications in 1997, a lobbying firm with notable access to the new Labour Government.^[3][4]

He had written to controversial Labour donor David Abrahams claiming he was one of Labour's "strongest supporters".^[5] In 1998 he was caught on tape along with Derek Draper boasting to Greg Palast, an undercover reporter posing as a businessman, about how they could sell access to government ministers and create tax breaks for their clients^[6] in a scandal that was dubbed "Lobbygate".^[7] Draper denied the allegations.^[8] In the same incident Mendelsohn was approached by an undercover journalist posing as a representative of American energy companies who were seeking to ignore environmental laws. Despite LLM's claim that "we believe that there will be a new breed of 'ethical winners' who will demonstrate that businesses no longer operate in a moral vacuum",^[9] Mendelsohn went on to advise the reporter to rephrase their plans into language that sounded "Earth-Friendly" going on to say "Tony [Blair] is very anxious to be seen as green. Everything has to be couched in environmental language - even if it's slightly Orwellian."^[10]

He donated money to the Peter Hain Labour Party deputy leadership campaign.^[11]

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Mr Mendelsohn is steeped in the north London Jewish community. He is a close friend of Lord Levy, who was at the heart of Labour’s cash for peerages affair."^[1]

He is married with four children. His wife, Nicola, was formerly deputy chairman of the advertising agency Grey London, he is also known to be well respected within his community and is generally a very liked man .^[1]

References[link]