 Armin van Buuren has been named number one in the prestigious DJ Top 100 poll for the third time in a row, in 2007, 2008 and 2009– voted for by over 300,000 people across the world, as an indication of his prolific output over the more than 10 years he’s been dj’ing and producing. Being the official World’s Most Popular DJ is just one of his many achievements, but the driving force behind his success is an overriding passion for dance music.
The perfect example of that given fact, is his weekly 2-hour radioshow ‘A State of Trance’. Listened to by 28 million EDM lovers, he continues to deliver his fans a selection of the best in trance and progressive, no matter how cluttered his tour schedule might be. Running up for its 400th episode already, the 8th birthday of the show will, like its previous birthdays, celebrated in style with a cross-country 72-hour live broadcast, with three events in Germany, UK and the Netherlands. In addition to the weekly show, Armin also started the weekly ASOT podcasts, which contain highlights and Armin’s favourite tracks from the previous episode, to ensure that trance lovers across the world will never miss another episode!
Armin’s desire to showcase more of the great music he hears, along with the number of people sending him tracks they wanted to release, led to the obvious step of starting his own label, Armada, in 2003. The label is a joint venture between Armin, Maykel Piron (former head of A&R for Warner Music) and David Lewis, who previously managed Armin. "What we wanted was a company that could offer everything for an artist: representation, a booking agency, and a record company. Artists can choose full management, or to just release a record or play out at gigs. Armada lets the artists choose what they want without telling them what to do".
Sold-out shows for Armin Only in 2005 and 2006 created eager anticipation of the third edition, which kicked off in a sold-out Jaarbeurs in Utrecht in 2008; over 16,000 fans attended and were enthralled by the DJ’s nine hour set. The theme of the night was ‘Imagine’, described by Armin as “the celebration of our sensations both in life and in club land.” Fans all around the world needed not to despair, as ‘Armin Only’ tour dates were also set for Romania, Poland, Belgium, Australia and USA; aside from his ‘normal’ tour in England, Scotland, Ibiza, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, with expected dates in, for an example, the Czech Republic. On New Years Eve 2008-2009, Armin managed to draw 35,000 people to his Armin Only show in the Los Angeles Sports Arena, making him the first Dutch DJ ever to have drawn such a big crowd to an own event.
"It’s not just love for music, it’s my passion. It goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it’s about a way of living. Music is essential to my life”.
FX -Who inspired you to want to make music in the beginning?
AvB - Kraftwerk, Enya, Klaus Schulze, Speedy J., Ben Liebrand, Underworld
'I’m a major fan of GURU and the DCAM synth squad.' FX -What have been the main turning points in your career since then?
AvB - The success of Blue fear and the top 20 chart entry in the UK with "Communication" in 2000
FX -Typically how do you start a new Armin van Buuren production and what elements do you begin with?
AvB - My first rule is to not have any rules. Every track or remix I do came about in a different way. Sometimes I start with beats, sometimes a bassline, or sometimes we start in the kitchen with a guitar and a piece of paper. Most importantly I like to listen to other tracks. I get my main inspiration from that.
FX -What kind of processing did you apply to the female vocalists on “Imagine”?
AvB - I use the focusrite liquid channel as a pre-amp but I don’t use it for processing that much. Most of the processing are waves C1 and logic compressors. I use logic’s EQ a lot! I like to use Autotune only when comping vocals and only on the takes I really like but are slightly out of tune. Mostly it’s just one word even that gets autotuned out of a whole song! ' The analog emulation is simply stunning. If you bounce down your track twice it will sound different every time! - Strobe.'
FX - What were Jacqueline Govaert and Jennifer Renne like to work with?
AvB - Really great! Jacqueline has a lot of experience with recording and performing live so it makes my job a lot easier and you only need three or four take to get it done. Jennifer was great as well but she has a totally different voice so I need to approach that differently.
FX - What projects are you working on at the moment? Do you have a new album in the pipeline, if so what direction will it take compared to “Imagine”?
AvB - I’ve just finished a new compilation CD called “Universal Religion Chapter 4” which includes 2 brand new remixes I just finished. The CD was recorded live in one take during my night in Amnesia in Ibiza. Also, I’ve just finished a new single with dutch singer “van Velzen” and I’m gathering a lot of idea’s for the next artist album ☺
FX - What FXpansion products do you own and how do you use them?
AvB - I’m a major fan of GURU and the DCAM synth squad. Guru has such a fresh approach on making beats and it’s very hands-on. DCAM are just great synths that really are different than most softsynths out there.
FX - Could you tell us if there are any tracks that we might have heard that you have used DCAM Synth Squad on and if so how did you use the synths on that track/album?
AvB - The bassline in my BT remix and the remix I did for Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren is actually an amended preset from the Strobe plugin.
FX - Do you create your own presets or do you use the factory presets?
AvB - I like to do a bit of both. You really notice the power of a synth when you start making sounds from scratch. Sometimes presets are great for instant inspiration.
FX - Do you have any DCAM tips or tricks that you would like to share?
AvB - Amber is great for strings and pads,and Cypher does the trick as an overall great synth but my favorite is Strobe. The analog emulation is simply stunning. If you bounce down your track twice it will sound different every time!
FX - Do you have any GURU tips or Tricks that you would like to share?
AvB - GURU has so many tricks it’s hard to explain them all but I really love the “random” functionality, you can make surprisingly great loops.
FX - Where do you see yourself in ten years time in terms of making music?
AvB - I hope I’m still making the music I love. I think there will be a big market for music in videogames and movies.
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