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Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.^[4]:251 It is characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 beats per minute,^[4]:252 repeating melodic phrases^[4], and a musical form that builds up and down throughout a track^[4]. It is a combination of many forms of sound such as techno,^[2]:15,17 house^[1]:15, pop^[2]:16, chill-out,^[2]:17 classical music,^[2]:16[3]:35 and film music^[3]:35.

Trance employs aural dynamics to a great degree: A characteristic of virtually all trance songs is the soft mid-song breakdown^[2]:19[4], beginning with and occurring after the orchestration is broken down and the rhythm tracks fade out rapidly, leaving the melody and/or atmospherics to stand alone for anywhere from thirteen seconds to three minutes^[6]. When vocals are present in trance, they are generally sung by a female with a soaring, operatic voice ranging from mezzo-soprano to soprano, best described as "ethereal female leads floating amongst the synths"^[7].

History[link]

Origin[link]

Germany is the birthplace of trance music,^[4]:251 with the original melodic sound first appearing around 1993 in Frankfurt.^[2]:15

The origin of the term is uncertain; one theory suggests that the term is derived from the Klaus Schulze album Trancefer (1981) or the early trance act Dance 2 Trance. Other schools of thought argue the name may refer to an induced emotional feeling, high, euphoria, chills, or uplifting rush listeners claim to experience, while other suggestions trace the name to the actual trance-like states the earliest forms of the music attempted to emulate in the 1990s before the genre's focus changed.^[4]:252

Some trace trance's antecedents back to Klaus Schulze, a German experimental electronic music artist who concentrated on blending minimalist music with repetitive rhythms and arpeggiated sounds. In France, Jean Michel Jarre, an early electronic musician,^[8] released two albums in the late 1970s: Oxygène in 1976 and Equinoxe in 1978. Also a possible antecedent, Neil Young's 1982 electronic album, Trans, bears a resemblance to the trance music genre.^[9]

Examples of early Trance releases include but are not limited to German duo Jam & Spoon's 1992 12" Single remix of the 1900 song The Age Of Love.^[1]:15, German duo Dance 2 Trance's 1990 track "We Came in Peace".^[4]:251

As for the roots of contemporary trance, some^[1] trace it to Paul van Dyk's 1993 remix of Humate's 'Love Stimulation'.^[1]:15. In subsequent years, one genre, vocal trance, arose as the combination of progressive elements and pop music^[2]:15, and the development of another subgenre, epic trance, had some of its origins in classical music.^[2]:15, with film music also being influential.^[3]:35

Production[link]

Roland JP-8000, a synthesizer famous for its incorporation of the supersaw waveform

Classic trance usually employs a "four-to-the-floor" time signature^[4]:252, a tempo of 125 to 150 BPM^[4]:252, and 32 beat phrases and is somewhat faster than house music.^[10]:35 A kick drum is usually placed on every downbeat and a regular open hi-hat is often placed on the upbeat or every 1/8th division of the bar.^[4]:253 Extra percussive elements are usually added, and major transitions, builds or climaxes are often foreshadowed by lengthy "snare rolls"—a quick succession of snare drum hits that build in velocity, frequency, and volume towards the end of a measure or phrase.^[4]:266

A Simple arpeggiated (Roland JP-8000) Supersaw waveform pattern with chorus and flanging.

A trancegate pattern at 141 bpm as it is heard on a software trancegate. The gated pattern gradually changes, to hear the various rhythms possible with a trance gate. Note that some trancegate patterns are off-beat. (A Roland JP-8000 with the supersaw waveform is used. Minor EQ edits are made).

Rapid arpeggios and minor scales are common features. Trance tracks often use one central "hook", or melody, which runs through almost the entire song, repeating at intervals anywhere between 2 beats and 32 bars, in addition to harmonies and motifs in different timbres from the central melody.^[4]:266 Instruments are often added or removed every 16 or 32 bars.^[4]

In the section before the breakdown, the lead motiff is often introduced in a sliced up and simplified form ^[4], to give the audience a "taste" of what they will hear after the breakdown ^[4].

As is the case with many dance music tracks, trance tracks are usually built with sparser intros ("mix-ins") and outros ("mix-outs") in order to enable DJs to blend them together more readily^[2]:19[4]. As trance is more melodic and harmonic than much dance music, the construction of trance tracks in such a way is particularly important in order to avoid dissonant (or "key clashing," i.e., out of tune with one another) mixes.

Subgenres[link]

Trance music is broken into a large number of sub-genres. Chronologically, the major sub-genres are Classic trance, Acid trance, Progressive trance, and Uplifting Trance^{[citation needed]}. Uplifting Trance is also known as "Anthem trance", "Epic trance"^[2]:16, "Stadium trance", or "Euphoric trance"^[4], and has been strongly influenced by classical music both in the 1990s^[2] and at present with the development of the sub-genre "Orchestral uplifting trance" or "Uplifting trance with symphonic orchestra" by such artists as Andy Blueman, Soundlift, and Arctic Moon. Closely related to Uplifting Trance is Euro-trance, which has become a general term for a wide variety of highly commercialized European dance music. Several subgenres are crossovers with other major genres of electronic music. For instance, tech trance is a mixture of trance and techno, and Vocal Trance "combines [trance's] progressive elements with pop music"^[2]:17. Balearic beat, which is associated with the laid back vacation lifestyle of Ibiza, Spain, is often called "Balearic trance", as espoused by Roger Shah.

Music festivals[link]

The following is a list of dance music festivals that showcase Trance music.

The Netherlands[link]

Electronic Dance Music festivals in the Netherlands are mainly organized by four companies ALDA Events, ID&T, UDC and Q-Dance:

• Armin Only, Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Utrecht: the only DJ to mix at this event is Armin van Buuren. Organized by ALDA Events. Armin Only 2005 was held in Ahoy, Rotterdam. The 2008 and 2010 editions were held in Jaarbeurs Utrecht.
• Dance Valley, Spaarnwoude: an outdoor festival organized by UDC.
• Sensation, Amsterdam Arena. Organized by ID&T.
• Energy, (Formerly Trance Energy) Jaarbeurs, Utrecht: Previously Trance only under the name "Trance Energy", the festival was renamed "Energy" in 2011 and begun to incorporate other genres. Organized by ID&T.
• Amsterdam dance event, One of the worlds trance and electronic music festivals held every year in Amsterdam in October.
• A State of Trance, Armin van Buuren's weekly radio show A State of Trance celebrates every 50th episode with an event. Episode 400 was held in Rotterdam, Episode 450 was not held in the Netherlands, episode 500 was held in the Brabanthallen, Den Bosch, and episode 550 was in Den Bosch as well.

United Kingdom[link]

Clubbers at Gatecrasher

• Gatecrasher also promotes sporadic events and have in the past also used venues such as Birmingham N.E.C. Gatecrasher is currently on hiatus until further notice due to fire damage.

North America[link]

Electronic Dance Music festivals in North America feature various EDM genres such as Trance, House, Techno, Electro, Dubstep, Breaks, and Drum & Bass:

• Ultra Music Festival, an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami, Florida, United States. In 2012, a record 165,000 people attended the festival.^{[citation needed]}
• Electric Daisy Carnival, an annual massive organized by Insomniac Events that was held in Southern California from 1997 to 2010, and was moved to Las Vegas in 2011. In 2009, the festival was expanded to a two day event, which brought in 130,000 attendees.^{[citation needed]} In 2010, the festival attracted a total of 185,000 attendees.^{[citation needed]} The Las Vegas event lasted 3 days in 2011, attracting 240,000 people.^{[citation needed]}
• Nocturnal Festival, an annual southern California massive organized by Insomniac Events, held at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino in either August or September. Typically bringing in crowds of over 50,000 although this number has been steadily growing.^{[citation needed]}
• Beyond Wonderland, an electronic dance festival in in Southern California organized by Insomniac Events
• Electric Zoo Festival, an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in New York City on Randall's Island Park. In 2011, Electric Zoo expanded to a 3-day festival and hosted 85,000 attendees.^{[citation needed]}
• World Electronic Music Festival (WEMF): held annually in Canada, this three-day-long outdoor event, consisting mainly of Trance, Hard Dance and Jungle (also featuring happy hardcore) has been held since the 1990s.
• Bal en Blanc: is a huge rave party that is hosted annually, in April during Easter holiday weekend, in Montreal, Canada. It features headliner DJs from all over the world and attracts over 15,000 attendees.^{[citation needed]} This event usually has two separate rooms, one catering to house music and the other to trance music. It usually lasts for more than 14 hours. April 2009 15th anniversary line up: Insomnia, Markus Schulz, Above and Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, Roger Shah, King Louis,^{[disambiguation needed ]} Uppercut, Offer Nissim, Ana Paula, Axwell, Deadmau5, Victor Calderone.

Other[link]

• Portugal: Boom Festival (the last edition was in Idanha-a-Nova) since 1997. This event is an outdoor festival running every two years with a duration of several days, focusing in psychedelic goa trance. The festival also features workshops, presentations, and cinema.
• Switzerland: Street Parade – The world's biggest electronic music festival (more than one million visitors attend this event year by year).
• Belgium: Tomorrowland (festival) – The largest Belgian open-air electronic music festival. 2010 had more than 120.000 visitors.^{[citation needed]} Tomorrowland in 2011 will have a capacity of up to 180.000 visitors.^{[citation needed]} DJs such as David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren, Bob Sinclar, Roger Sanchez, Felix The Housecat and many more.
• India: Sunburn Festival launched in December 2007 as South Asia's first electronic music festival, and featured heavyweights like Carl Cox and John '00' Fleming. Located seaside in Goa, on India's west coast, the festival has its roots in Goa trance. Sunburn treated more than 5,000^{[citation needed]} electro revelers to a three-day party by the beach in December 2008. At the 2009 festival, DJs such as Armin Van Buuren, Roger Sanchez, and Sander van Doorn participated with audience numbers running between 15,000 to 18,000 making it the biggest edition yet.^{[citation needed]}As of the 2010 festival, it showed the likes of Paul Van Dyk and many other DJ's with estimated crowds of 30,000 people.^{[citation needed]}
• Thailand: Full Moon Party Held each month on the island of Koh Phangan. Thousands of people from across the world gather on Haad Rin Nok (Sunrise Beach) to dance under the moonlight.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Trance music at the Open Directory Project

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trance

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.

Esau Mwamwaya is a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. He is best known for his collaboration, The Very Best with London based DJ/production duo Radioclit. His music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hiphop, pop and the traditional music of Malawi.

Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands.^[1] He played with numerous artists including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale.

In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit.^[1]

In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as 'The Very Best', releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL(^[1]) in collaboration with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and the Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.^[2]

On the heels of the mixtape, The Very Best produced their first full-length album, Warm Heart of Africa, released digitally in August 2009 and released physically in October 2009 by GREEN OWL and Moshi Moshi. The album features collaborations with Ezra Koenig and M.I.A.

The Very Best is also featured on a track on Crookers debut album, Tons of Friends.^[3]

Winner of 9th Annual Independent Music Awards: World Beat song for "Warm Heart of Africa" featuring Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig

Discography[link]

The Very Best[link]

• Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best (2008)
• Warm Heart of Africa (2009)
• Super Mom (2011)
• MTMTMK (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Warm Heart of Africa Review
• Warm Heart of Africa Review/Recensione on QuelloCheSento(Italian Language)
• The Very Best Interview

Paul van Dyk
Background information
Birth name	Matthias Paul[1]
Born	(1971-12-16) 16 December 1971 (age 40)
Origin	Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany
Genres	Electronic dance music Trance
Occupations	Musician, record producer, DJ
Instruments	Keyboards, mixer, synthesizer, Turntables
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Armada Music, Vandit Records Ultra Records Deviant Records MFS (1992-1998)
Associated acts	see Co-production section of Paul van Dyk discography.
Website	paulvandyk.com

Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk (born (1971-12-16)16 December 1971) is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer. One of the first true Superstar DJs, Paul van Dyk was one of the first artists to receive a Grammy nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electronic album for his 2004 release Reflections. He was named the World's No. 1 DJ in both 2005 and 2006, something less than a handful of DJs have ever achieved.^[2] Paul van Dyk is the only DJ to hold a spot in the World's Top 10 DJs since 1998. He is also the first DJ to be named No. 1 by Mixmag in 2005. As of 2007, he has sold over 4.5 million albums worldwide.^[3]

A trance producer starting in the early 1990s, Paul quickly achieved popularity with his remix of "Love Stimulation" by Humate under the record label MFS in 1993, and with his hit single, "For an Angel", but in recent times he no longer likes to describe his music as trance, but rather simply as electronic dance music.

History[link]

Early life and musical beginning[link]

Paul van Dyk grew up in East Berlin in a single parent household;^[4] his father left him and his mother when he was four years old.^[4] While living there, he worked as a broadcast technician^[5] and began training to become a carpenter.^[4] Paul van Dyk claims his musical education came from radio.^[6] Because where he grew up there were no record stores at which to buy music, he kept in touch with the world beyond the Berlin Wall by secretly listening to the popular but forbidden Western radio stations RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) and SFB and mixtapes occasionally smuggled into the country and copied among school friends.^[7]

Shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, van Dyk and his mother were given permission to leave East Germany and moved to Hamburg to live with his aunt.^[7] In 1990, van Dyk moved back to Berlin. His first appearance as a DJ was in the Tresor in March 1991.^[8] After several more dates, he was given the chance to perform at Juergen Kramer's Dubmission parties in the Turbine club, together with the young resident DJ Kid Paul. The shows were called Paul vs. Paul. His mixing style drew the attention of Cosmic Baby^{[citation needed]} and the two collaborated as The Visions of Shiva. Their single "Perfect Day" was released by the Berlin independent label MFS (Masterminded For Success) Records, run by English ex-patriat producer Mark Reeder and manager Torsten Jurk.

In February 1993, van Dyk and Kid Paul hosted an installment of the weekly three-hour "HR3 Clubnight" radio show, performing for a nationwide audience on German radio. The second and final Visions of Shiva single "How Much Can You Take?" was released, and van Dyk and Cosmic went their separate musical ways. By late summer, Paul released his first DJ-mix compilation "X-Mix-1 - the MFS Trip" and remixed Humate's trance hymn "Love Stimulation".

1994–2007[link]

In 1994, Paul released The Green Valley EP, Pump This Party and Emergency 911. Meanwhile, MFS acquired many remixes for Paul. MFS label owner Mark Reeder's close friendship with artists such as New Order gave Paul the opportunity to mix the track "Spooky" from the Republic album. Persuaded by Reeder, he finally recorded his debut LP 45 RPM with Johnny Klimek and VOOV. Reeder also compiled the album's running order and design, and chose the album's title as a reflection of the 45 rpm speed typical for dance vinyl.

Mark Reeder compiled Seven Ways, which established Paul van Dyk as a trance pioneer and was Paul van Dyk's first real success in Britain. Reeder had successfully convinced his old friend Rob Deacon (formerly of Volume) to license the album for the UK and his new Deviant label. Seven Ways was voted the #1 album by readers of DJ Magazine.

In early 1997, Paul van Dyk began collaborating with U.S. music producer BT. Together, they produced tracks such as Flaming June, Forbidden Fruit and Namistai (1999). The singles "Forbidden Fruit" and "Beautiful Place" did not cause a great impact at first but, with the release of Seven Ways and "Words" appearing at the height of the British superclub phenomenon, van Dyk's own material began to attract attention. "By the time they realised I was a German, it was too late!" van Dyk said. Van Dyk also remixed a well known early-90s track, Age of Love in 1997.^[9]

In 1998, 45 RPM was re-released in the UK and in the US. To mark the event, and in homage to the defunct E-Werk, Paul released a remix of "For An Angel". Van Dyk took up a residency at Sheffield's Gatecrasher and declared himself anti-drugs, which led to home-made "No E, Pure PvD" T-shirts, also a sly note to journalists that his surname contained no "E". In 1998, Paul remixed British trance duo, Binary Finary's famous "1998" single, which was a successful version that took Binary Finary to the top of the German Dance charts.^[10]

In mid-1998, Van Dyk left MFS Records and took a controlling share in the new label Vandit Records. In 2000, Paul flexed his skills with his melodic, dancefloor-friendly Out There And Back, which included the hit single "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)", a collaboration with Saint Etienne. It also included the European hit We Are Alive, a remixed version of the Jennifer Brown song Alive. His first mix album The Politics of Dancing (2001) was followed by a world tour and a DVD release Global (2003) and the Mexican film "Zurdo", for which van Dyk composed the soundtrack and won a Mexican Oscar for his work.

Reflections (2003) derived from van Dyk’s trips to India, was a more melancholy affair, and includes the single "Nothing But You", a collaboration with Hemmstock & Jennings. It was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Electronic Album. The mix album The Politics of Dancing 2 (2005) was preceded by a single "The Other Side," featuring Wayne Jackson; a song dedicated to the victims, and their families, of the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that struck Thailand on 26 December 2004. His original productions from Reflections have been synced into major motion pictures such as Into the Blue, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, television’s Entertainment Tonight and MTV’s Cribs, and international ad campaigns for Motorola, HBO, Land Rover, Ski Vail and most recently for Jeep.

[edit] 2007–2010: In Between

Paul van Dyk in El Salvador

Crowd at a Paul van Dyk rave in Atlanta

Paul van Dyk released his fifth studio album, In Between, worldwide on 14 August 2007. The album, which he created over a three-year period, debuted at number #115 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Billboard's Top Electronic Albums and #1 on the Top Heatseekers. The album also reached #16 on the Mexican Albums Chart and #5 on the Mexican International Chart. The album was released accompanied by a special edition limited to two thousand copies which included a mixed version of the full album, along with an eight-track bonus CD and an eight-page photo anthology.^[11]

The album was produced primarily by Paul van Dyk himself, and features a wide range of collaborators including David Byrne of Talking Heads, Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls, Ashley Tomberlin from Luminary, Alex M.O.R.P.H, Lo Fi Sugar, Rea Garvey of Reamonn, Ryan Merchant and Wayne Jackson. It also features a vocal sample from Ben Lost from Probspot's "Blows My Mind" on the song "Another Sunday". In June 2007, Paul van Dyk embarked on the worldwide "In Between Tour" to promote the album.^[12]

On New Year's Eve 2008/2009 Paul played Barra Beach to over 1 million people in Rio de Janero.^{[citation needed]}

His work with EA Games has resulted in mulitple releases featuring his music on Mirror's Edge and Grand Slam Tennis out in 2009. Paul van Dyk has also remixed Batman's "Dark Knight Theme" written by Hanz Zimmer which helped the album win best soundtrack in a motion picture Grammy which Paul van Dyk shares with his fellow collaborators. He has also remixed Depeche Mode’s "Martyr", Justin Timberlake’s "What Goes Around" and Britney Spears' "Gimme More".

Paul van Dyk hosts a show on Radio Fritz every Saturday at 20:00 GMT.

In May 2008, Paul van Dyk set up a remix competition with digital download network Beatport.com, inviting aspiring producers to remix his single 'Far Away' which appeared on his 2007 album 'In Between'. Paul has appeared as one of the DJs at Trance Energy 2009.

It was revealed by Paul van Dyk that his record label Vandit would be merging with Armin Van Buuren's Armada Music.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2012–present: Evolution

The sixth studio album by Paul van Dyk, entitled Evolution was released on 3 April 2012. The track "Eternity" was made in collaboration with Adam Young, known for Owl City.^[13][14] Evolution also features producers Arty, Austin Leeds, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Tyler Michaud, and Ummet Ozcan. The album features vocals from Johnny McDaid of Fieldwork, Sarah Howells and various other artists.^{[citation needed]}

Politics[link]

Since 2001, Paul van Dyk has taken an interest in politics. His creation of The Politics of Dancing compilation was inspired by electronic dance music's universal acclaim by different people around the world. "Palestinians are dancing with Israelis. Lebanese people are dancing with Israelis – without war, without anything in their minds other than treating each other respectfully", said van Dyk in 2006.^[15] He also has called EDM "...a political and diplomatic tool that could be used."^[15] Having grown up with little freedom, his musical career has helped him voice his opinions about politics. He opposes the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. He describes himself as anti-war and has advertised this while performing, by wearing a shirt reading "Make peace, not war".^[15]

He has helped fight poverty by supporting social programs to help disadvantaged people in India, New York, and Berlin.^[16] He also participated in Rock the Vote in 2004 and 2008; he and Bono being the only non-American artists to join the campaign encouraging young people to vote.^[16]

Trivia[link]

• Paul van Dyk never flies in a plane of type McDonnell Douglas.^[17]
• He has the second largest Miles & More account (the frequent flyer program of Lufthansa).^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1994: 45 RPM
• 1996: Seven Ways
• 2000: Out There and Back
• 2003: Reflections
• 2007: In Between
• 2012: Evolution

TV shows[link]

• 2003: What's New, Scooby-Doo

Soundtracks[link]

• 2003: Zurdo
• 2004: One Perfect Day
• 2005: The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants
• 2005: Into The Blue
• 2008: The Dark Knight

Video games[link]

• 1999: Wipeout 3
• 2003: FIFA Football 2004
• 2004: Need For Speed: Underground 2
• 2008: Mirror's Edge
• 2009: Grand Slam Tennis
• 2009: DJ Hero
• 2010: DJ Hero 2
• 2011: Test Drive Unlimited 2
• 2012: Grand Slam Tennis 2

Awards[link]

• 1999 DJ Mag Music Maker^[18]
• 1999 Best International DJ
• 1999 Best International Award
• 1999 Man Of The Year By Mixmag
• 1999 Leader Of The Trance Nation
• 2003 Best European DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2003)
• 2003 Best Trance Track Paul van Dyk - Nothing But You
• 2003 Nominated Grammy Award For His Album: Reflections
• 2004 America’s Favorite DJ
• 2004 Best International DJ
• 2004 Best Event
• 2004 Best Music In A Commercial (Motorola)
• 2004 Ariel (Mexican Oscar For Best Original Score In Zurdo)
• 2004 Best Music Maker By DJ Magazine
• 2004 Big Winner At The Dancestar Awards
• 2005 WMC 2005 Best Track House Progressive/Trance: Nothing But You (Paul van Dyk)
• 2005 WMC 2005 Best International DJ
• 2005 America’s Favorite DJ
• 2005 Best DJ For Dance/Electronic Album For His Original Album: Reflections
• 2005 The International Dance Music Award (IDMA) For Best Euro DJ.
• 2005 DJ Mag No 1 DJ
• 2005 Mixmag's 1st No 1 DJ
• 2005 Best Produer Trance Awards
• 2005 Best Global DJ Trance Awards
• 2006 Best Global DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
• 2006 Best Record Label: VANDIT
• 2006 Best Producer (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
• 2006 Best Global DJ, Best NuNRG/Euro Track
• 2006 DJ Mag No 1 DJ
• 2006 Best Global DJ Trance Awards
• 2006 Best Producer
• 2006 Best Mix Compilation For The Politics of Dancing 2
• 2006 Cross Of Merit From The City Of Berlin
• 2006 Best HI NRG / Euro Track For "The Other Side" (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
• 2006 B.Z.-Kulturpreis 2006
• 2007 Best Ortofon European DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2007)
• 2007 Best DJ By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Producer By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Label VANDIT By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Remixer By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Live Act By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Resident By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Club Night CREAM, Ibiza By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Album In Between By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Radio Show VONYC By Trance Awards
• 2007 Best Website By Trance Awards
• His Regular 6 Hour Set At “Gatecrasher” Was Voted As The "Second Best Club Night Ever"
• Best International DJ By Musik Berlin, Zürich, Amsterdam, Londres, Paris, Milan, NY
• 2008 Best International DJ By The Ministry Of Sound
• 2008 Best International Producer By The Ministry Of Sound
• 2008 Shared Grammy For The Dark Knight Which Won (Best Soundtrack In A Motion Picture)
• 2008 Best DJ By Trance Awards
• 2008 Best Producer By Trance Awards
• 2008 Best Label "Vandit" By Trance Awards
• 2009 Best International DJ By The Ministry Of Sound
• 2009 Best International Producer By The Ministry Of Sound
• 2009 Best Track "Home" (Paul van Dyk Club Mix) By The Ministry Of Sound
• 2009 Best DJ National Paul van Dyk By Raveline Poll 2009
• 2009 Best Album 2009 "VOLUME" In The Raveline Poll 2009
• 2009 Best Trance Label National "VANDIT Records" In The Raveline Poll 2009
• 2009 Best trance DJ By Trance Awards
• 2009 Best Producer By Trance Awards
• 2009 Best Trance Track "Paul van Dyk Feat Johnny McDaid – Home" By Trance Awards 2009
• 2010 Best Full Length DJ Mix - "VONYC Sessions 09" By IDMA
• 2010 Best DJ National Paul van Dyk By Raveline Poll 2010
• 2011 Longest Running DJ In Top 10 Of DJ's Mag Top 100 DJ's (13 Year's)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul van Dyk

• Official website
• Paul van Dyk at the Internet Movie Database
• Artist Site at Ultra Records