This is a man driven by an unbridled and relentless passion for music. Armin van Buuren is a born perfectionist, striving to stay on top of the scene he’s helped build. As the flag-bearer of the trance movement, he’s one of the most influential figures in EDM worldwide. Even though he lives an extraordinary life as one of the world’s most popular DJs, he has always remained a down-to-earth guy. Armin van Buuren is constantly on the move, whether creating music in his studio or en route to his next high-end club or festival show around the globe.

Armin: “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.”

For more than twenty years, the Grammy-nominated Dutchman has been living to the rhythm of his own international success. His five-time number one position in the critically acclaimed DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll has been the result of his loyalty to fans, his creativity in the studio, the perseverance with which he hosts his weekly radio show ‘A State of Trance’, and the energy he brings to the crowds in front of him. Despite the heavy pressure that comes with being one of the world’s most popular DJs, Armin has always kept his focus on the music. And that’s exactly what keeps him going.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Born in Leiden, the Netherlands (December 25, 1976) to a musical family, Armin indulged his passion for music from a young age. He spent all of the money he earned from his paper route on records. His mom won a computer when he was 10, piquing Armin’s interest in technology. “So as a little nerdy kid I was writing my own basic programs and learnt about the technology from there.” Armin progressed from making low-profile mix tapes for friends to high-end mixes when he started experimenting with different sequences on his computer through his uncle. “I was so stunned by what I saw him doing on the computer that I got addicted to creating music right there and then!”

“I loved dance music immediately – this great rebellious sound that was so different from the ‘beautiful’ songs of the years before.” Armin cites electronic pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre as a major influence, as well as Dutch producer Ben Liebrand, who later mentored him in his mixing and producing.

In the early days, Armin thought it was wise to have a back-up plan, and so he studied for a law degree. The final year of his course was inevitably stretched out as he juggled his studies with his increasingly hectic schedule; his rise to fame included lots of productions and remixes, as well as playing in front of packed clubs every weekend. It took him three years to graduate, but his determination made him succeed.

Despite having a Master’s degree in Law, the main ingredient in Armin’s life has always been music. Armin: “I see it as my responsibility to promote trance as a genre, and I want to support it in every way I can. Music should connect us. As long as the music keeps evolving like it is, I will continue and I don’t see any reason to slow down.”

THE DJ

No matter how many hours Armin van Buuren has travelled to get there, as soon as he enters the DJ booth, the Dutchman puts his full focus on the music, the crowd, and how those two will combine. Once the beats of his first record kick in, the room lights up and chanting starts to fill the air. To witness a set by Armin van Buuren is to be blown away — to lose yourself completely in the music and become one with the people around you. Mixing seamlessly, he has created his own sound and style, making his DJ sets a truly unique experience. He unites millions, not only through the gigs in his challenging schedule, but also through his ‘Armin Only’ and ‘A State of Trance’ world tours.

His busy life as a DJ has inspired countless people both personally and professionally. In 2009, Dutch author Coen Bom presented his on-the-road biography of Armin called ‘Eén op één’ / ‘Armin Only’, in which he reported on the hectic life of Armin and tried to find the secret behind the grand success of the humble Dutchman. In October 2012, the official documentary ‘A Year With Armin van Buuren’ was released, in which Armin was followed during an important year in his life, offering a unique look behind the scenes and inside his personality. Again and again, his life as a superstar DJ continues to inspire others.

Armin has had the privilege of performing at some of the world’s biggest and best festivals, clubs, events, and shows. One of the highlights of his career was Armin’s performance for the newly crowned King and Queen of the Netherlands in 2013, Willem-Alexander and Máxima. Together with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and in front of the monarchs and 15,000 fans, he performed both ‘The Bolero’ as well as an orchestral version of the title track from his ‘Intense’ album. During the ‘Koningsvaart’ (a special, cultural boat trip through the city of Amsterdam), the King and Queen surprised both the crowd and Armin by getting on stage and dancing along with him.

Without question, another memorable highlight of Armin’s career was his DJ set at the Museumplein in Amsterdam in July of 2010, during the ceremonial honoring of the Dutch national soccer team. Even though the national team lost in the FIFA World Cup final, they partied like they were the absolute winners with a crowd of 200,000 strong.

In 2013, Armin’s career hit a new milestone when he became the first solo dance artist to play in Madison Square Garden. The event was completely sold out, representing another crowning achievement for the DJ.

After the 2013 summer season had ended (along with his residency at the world’s biggest club, Privilege in Ibiza), Armin kicked off a new ‘Armin Only’ world tour based on his ‘Intense’ album, in collaboration with theatre director Jos Thie. More than 33 dates were set, with shows landing in cities such as Kiev, Mumbai, Saint-Petersburg, Helsinki, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Sydney, Johannesburg, and more. With the ‘Armin Only’ tour, Armin brandished a unique and exclusive show format, which unfolded like the many layers of his ‘Intense’ album. In total, more than 500,000 visitors attended, spanning 5 continents. A ‘Road Movie’ series was also created, documenting behind-the-scenes footage of the entire tour as it took place.

In 2014, Armin began a highly successful weekly residency at the famous Ushuaïa Beach Hotel in Ibiza, playing every Thursday night from June 26th to September 11th alongside top DJs from the Armada Music roster. After the residency, he released a compilation entitled ‘A State of Trance at Ushuaïa Ibiza’ to commemorate the season.

As if to underline the success of the residency, Armin returned to the Ushuaïa Beach Hotel a year later for another ‘A State Of Trance at Ushuaïa, Ibiza’ summer. His performances in the center of the Ushuaïa pool were met with widespread passion and enthusiasm amongst his fans, subsequently leading to the release of the second volume of his Ushuaïa compilation series: ‘A State Of Trance at Ushuaïa, Ibiza 2015’.

On January 26th, 2016, Armin van Buuren announced the first two dates of his brand-new Armin Only Embrace world tour, to which even more dates were added later on through a live announcement at A State Of Trance Festival Utrecht on February 27th. ‘Armin Only: Embrace’ has since seen a spectacular kick-off in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and has brought a spectacular offering to other cities, including Gdansk (Poland), Dubai (UAE), Sofia (Bulgaria), Minsk (Belarus), and Mexico City (Mexico and more.

In 2017, on Friday, May 12th and Saturday, May 13th, Armin van Buuren celebrated his twenty-year anniversary as an artist in one of the most prestigious venues of the Netherlands. Both shows in the Amsterdam ArenA sold out in no time, which allowed Armin van Buuren to celebrate the special occasion with tens of thousands of his most loyal fans and to create a memory able to withstand the test of time.

In the summer of 2017, Armin van Buuren returned to the White Isle for another highly anticipated summer residency. Gracing Hï Ibiza – one of Ibiza’s newest and hottest clubs – with sublime Wednesday Night shows alongside fellow-Dutchmen and friends Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Armin van Buuren does what he does best: rousing crowds beyond belief and giving them the time of their lives for the full duration of the show.

THE RADIO HOST

What started as an obsession for radio has turned into a weekly highlight for more than 41 million listeners, broadcasting to over 100 FM stations and fans from over 84 countries. In June 2001, Armin van Buuren aired the first episode of ‘A State of Trance’. Fourteen years later, he still hosts the weekly two-hour show, where he presents the biggest tunes of the moment and provides an interactive way for fans to discover new music. Regular features of the show are the ‘Tune of the Week’, ‘Progressive Pick’, ‘Service For Dreamers’, and the ‘Future Favorite’, which is based on an online voting poll.

Celebrating each milestone, Armin did an extensive world tour based around the 650th episode of ASOT in early 2014. The ‘New Horizons’ world tour landed in the cities of Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Almaty, Utrecht, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Miami. The 8-week tour took place in January, February, and March of 2014 and included nine shows in countries all around the globe, with events broadcast live on the A State of Trance website.

In continuation of the success of ASOT, Armin kicked off his A State of Trance Festival tour. ASOT Festival was a new concept developed for 2015 in conjunction with ASOT Episode #700. Armin van Buuren became the first DJ to have his own festival: the biggest trance festival tour in history. The tour invaded Utrecht, Buenos Aires, Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Sydney and Melbourne, Mexico, and other destinations worldwide. Episode #700 was also the first time that an entirely fan-created show was used, with fans being given the chance to present their favorite tracks on air. Fans were asked to submit voice recordings of themselves introducing their favorite trance tracks of all time, and the resultant songs and recordings were used to create an entirely fan-made episode, which marked the first time in the world a major dance radio show has ever done this.

After hitting the world with another series of A State Of Trance events (A State Of Trance 750), the very first edition of A State Of Trance 800 was also announced by Armin van Buuren during one of his radio show’s episodes. In February 2017, A State Of Trance 800 kicked off in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands, likely to be a springboard to other full-blown A State Of Trance 800 events.

Reflecting upon the ‘A State of Trance’ world tours, Armin says: “I’m deeply honored by all the positive things that are happening for the show and for the sound in general. I’ve always said ASOT is not only a show for, but also a show by the fans. The show wouldn’t be where it is without the fans, so it feels amazing to see so many people celebrating along. It’s crazy to see groups of fans going crazy to the same music that we’re playing on the other side of the world. People wearing banners, flags, and making their own private party. This is what I meant with ‘turning the world into a dance floor’.”

Each year, the listeners of the show are asked to vote for their favorite records of the year, with the ‘A State of Trance Top 20’ as the official result. Each track on this list ends up in the ‘A State of Trance Year Mix’, released at the end of December. Weeks of editing and mixing come together in a two-hour mega mix showcasing over a hundred tracks and countless memories. Several hundred thousand copies of the series have been sold to date, and the series has been going strong for over ten years. Another series that Armin has linked to the radio show is the ‘A State of Trance Classics’ compilation. After years of providing some of the most essential classics and all-time favorites in EDM, the series continues to commemorate the early days of dance music. Furthermore, Armin was awarded 4x certified Platinum for his ASOT Year Mix series in late 2014.

In addition to the radio show, Armin started the weekly ‘A State of Trance Podcast’ with a selection from the previous episode of the radio show, ensuring that listeners never miss out on any highlights. Every Sunday, Armin also hosts a 24-hour radio day called ‘A State of Sundays’, broadcast on one of the biggest radio stations in the United States: Sirius XM Satellite Radio. In addition to the A State of Trance shows, A State of Sundays also introduces its listeners to the sets and radio shows of other popular DJs and talented artists.

In 2017, Armin van Buuren opened a brand-new radio studio in the HQ of Armada Music in Amsterdam, from which the A State Of Trance episodes are broadcast live.

THE PRODUCER

Whenever he’s not on tour or having a daddy day with his daughter Fenna and son Remy, Armin locks himself up in the studio. Giving meaning to his famous quote “Don’t be a prisoner of your own style”, he explores the boundaries of EDM through his originals and remixes. Some of his most beloved works, such as ‘Communication’, ‘Burned With Desire’, ‘Blue Fear’, ‘Shivers’, and ‘Yet Another Day’, have grown into highly revered classics, withstanding the test of time.

Armin van Buuren can now look back on the success of his ‘76’ (2003), ‘Shivers’ (2005), ‘Imagine’ (2008), ‘Mirage’ (2010), ‘Intense’ (2013) and ‘Embrace’ (2015) albums. ‘Intense’ was nominated for the Dutch Edison Pop Award for ‘Best Dance Album’. The follow-up to his ‘Mirage’ album featured collaborations with Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari, Australian duo NERVO, and singers like Trevor Guthrie, Emma Hewitt, Laura Jansen, Fiora, and more. ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ ft. Trevor Guthrie (the first single off the album) was nominated for the Grammy award for ‘Best Dance Recording’ and also received a nomination for a Canadian Juno Award. It became a worldwide hit, reaching A-List rotation on radio stations all across the globe and receiving silver, gold, platinum, and double platinum certifications in countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, and Italy. The video has reached over 64 million views to date.

After indulging his fans with a fresh Armin van Buuren presents. Rising Star record (‘Safe Inside You’ feat. Betsie Larkin), an official remix of the ‘Game Of Thrones Theme’, and a collaboration with Electronic Music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre (‘Stardust’), Armin announced the name of his forthcoming artist album during his ASOT radio show on Thursday September 3rd of 2015.

‘Embrace’ emerged as Armin’s sixth full-length artist album on October 29th, filled with remarkable collaborations with the likes of Mr. Probz (‘Another You’), Hardwell (‘Off The Hook’), Cimo Fränkel (‘Strong Ones’), world-famous Dutch Jazz trumpeter Eric Vloeimans (‘Embrace’) award-winning Dutch band Kensington (‘Heading Up High’), U.K. singer-songwriter BullySongs (‘Freefall’ and ‘Caught In The Slipstream’) and fellow Grammy nominee Gavin DeGraw (‘Looking For Your Name’).

Said Armin of the stylistic diversity of ‘Embrace’, “Each of the instruments you see on the album cover – which was shot by Anton Corbijn – was an instrument actually used on the album! I thought it would be a real challenge to myself to try to create dance music using all of these disparate instruments. I really wanted to push myself past my comfort zone and create something very exciting not just for me, but for all the lovers of music out there. I hope you enjoy it.” Judging by the ecstatic reaction of audiences whenever Armin plays his album cuts onstage, he has, once again, succeeded.

In August 2016, Armin van Buuren put out his ‘Old Skool’ mini album. Inspired by the track ‘Old Skool’ on the ‘Embrace’ album, Armin van Buuren went on to revamp timeless classics such as Human Resource – ‘Dominator’, The Ultimate Seduction – ‘The Ultimate Seduction’, Speedy J – ‘Pull Over’, and more. The result, a seven-piece mini album, takes his fans back to where it all started by brandishing a piece of dance music history.

As far as Armin van Buuren’s past few singles go, he’s following through on the notion that involves going out of his comfort zone to do whatever inspires him the most. He has already turned 2017 into an excellent year by dropping three summer-flavored smashes: ‘I Need You’ (with Garibay feat. Olaf Blackwood), ‘Sunny Days’ (feat. Josh Cumbee) and ‘You Are’ with Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, the anthem for their joint summer residency at Hï Ibiza. It shows just how versatile and open-minded Armin van Buuren is and that’s exactly what makes him remain a top player to this day.

THE LABEL OWNER

In 2003, plans emerged to set up a record label: Armada Music. Together with Maykel Piron and David Lewis (Ar-Ma-Da), Armin built the foundation of one of the most successful record labels worldwide. Armada Music (voted ‘Best Global Record Label’ five years in a row) is home to more than 40 sub labels and releases productions by some of the industry’s biggest names and rising talents. Armin’s very own ‘Armind’, ‘A State of Trance’, and ‘Who’s Afraid Of 138?!’ labels have found a safe haven at Armada Music, as well as his ‘A State of Trance’ compilation series and artist albums.

With imprints such as Armada Trice, Armada Deep, Armada Captivating, and The Bearded Man as the main pillars of the record label, the label has branched out to a whole array of different styles and genres, with Lost Frequencies’ hit singles ‘Are You With Me’ and ‘Reality’ (feat. Janieck Devy) as sterling examples of ensued success.

Within the fourteen years of its existence, Armada Music has become one of the most diverse record labels in electronic music, with over eighty employees contributing to the enormous growth of Armada. In 2017, Armada Music was voted #7 in Mixmag’s “Label Of The Decade” poll.

Despite his ambitious and hectic schedule, Armin still serves as A&R of the Armind, Who’s Afraid Of 138?! , and A State of Trance labels.

Armin Van Buuren

Sir George Ivan Morrison  (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. His professional career began as a teenager in the late 1950s, playing a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands, covering the popular hits of that time. Van Morrison rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B and rock band, Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". His solo career began in 1967, under the pop-hit orientated guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl". After Berns's death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968). Though this album gradually garnered high praise, it was initially a poor seller.

Morrison has a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime. His live performances at their best are seen as transcendental and inspired, while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are highly acclaimed. His albums have - with few exceptions - performed well in Ireland and the UK, with more than forty hitting the UK top forty. He has scored eighteen top 40 albums in the US, twelve of them between 1997 and 2017.

Moondance (1970) established Morrison as a major artist, and he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances. He continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains.

Much of Morrison's music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B. An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as the album Astral Weeks. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic soul". He has received two Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the 2017 Americana Music Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, he was knighted for services to the music industry and to tourism in Northern Ireland. He is known by the nickname Van the Man to his fans.

Morrison has been heavily criticised for his objection to measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. His stance has been described as "dangerous".

Van Morrison

Greta Van Fleet is an American rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, formed in 2012. It consists of Kiszka brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam (bass guitar); and Danny Wagner (drums). They were signed to Lava Records in March 2017, and a month later they released their debut studio EP, Black Smoke Rising. Their debut single, "Highway Tune", topped the Billboard U.S. Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September 2017 for four weeks in a row. Their second EP, From the Fires, containing the four songs from Black Smoke Rising and four new songs, was released on November 10, 2017, alongside a second single, "Safari Song". From the Fires went on to win the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

Their debut full-length studio album, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was released on October 19, 2018, and topped the Billboard Rock Album charts in the first week after its release. The album's first single, "When the Curtain Falls", was released ahead of it in July 2018 and became the band's third number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. Anthem of the Peaceful Army also debuted atop the Billboard Hard Rock charts and reached the number one spot on the Billboard Top Album Sales charts in the first week after its release. A second studio album, The Battle at Garden's Gate was released on April 16, 2021.

Greta Van Fleet

La Oreja de Van Gogh (Spanish pronunciation: [la oˈɾexa ðe βaŋ ˈɡoɣ]; English: Van Gogh's Ear, literally The Ear of Van Gogh) is a Spanish pop band from Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. The band's lyrics and compositions are written primarily by Xabi San Martín, and additionally by Pablo Benegas and Amaia Montero (who remained in the group until her departure in 2007). The lyrical themes of their songs typically include love, friendship and relationships. Since their debut, they have sold more than 8 million albums worldwide.

In November 2007, lead singer Amaia Montero announced that she would be leaving the group to begin a solo career. Her replacement, Leire Martínez, was announced in July 2008; the first single featuring the new singer, "El Último Vals" (The Last Waltz), was released at the same time. The album from which the single was taken, A las cinco en el Astoria, followed in September 2008. Leire was discovered on the Spanish reality show Factor X.

La Oreja de Van Gogh

In 1999 Armand Van Helden went ballistic. After years of remixes and underground DJ tunes, suddenly he was the micro-bearded wonder behind the mutant disco anthems 'You Don't Know Me' (UK No.1) and 'Flowerz' (UK Top 20). The New York homeboy responsible for the Ibiza-quaking anthem 'The Boogie Monster'. His critically hailed album '2Future4U' was swiftly followed by his boxing ring soundclashes (as the Manhattan Mauler) with Brighton's own Fatboy Slim.

Before then he'd been a hero to househeads the world over. After that, everybody knew who Armand Van Helden was. When he played Ibiza's coolest club Space, it was sold out with Armand worshipping clubbers, shouting for his hits. It was the respect the Bostonian B-boy had waited for all his life.

Armand's name comes from a Dutch-Indonesian father and a French-Lebanese mother. A US Air Force baby, Armand grew up on bases around the world. Moving back to Boston in 1988, this hip hop and house-obsessed teenager quickly fell into a bad boy lifestyle, hustling to pay for a studio engineers course and generally making a nuisance of himself.

Moving to New York, he learnt a different kind of hustle: hanging out in full on rave clubs by night, looking for DJ gigs and record deals by day. Just one of a thousand young hopeful studio bucks. This all changed with 'The Witch Doktor', his 1994 single on cult US label Strictly Rhythm. Unlike most regular house records coming out of New York, 'The Witch Doktor' was evil: a voodoo brew of punishing techno drums and rave sirens. It was massive with discerning DJs on both sides of the Atlantic. Rent-paying remixes followed for a succession of cheesy pop acts: everyone from Jimmy Somerville to The Real McCoy and Ace Of Base was put through the Van Helden mangle. Of course, the results were always the same: a heady, hardcore mix of techno noise and house hedonism. And all the time he was putting out a stream of sample hardcore hip hop and house under a dozen aliases: Pirates Of the Caribbean, Funky Shelltoes, Hardheads. Some of these deeply underground break-beat assaults even found their way into the influential Heavenly Social-bound record boxes of the Chemical Brothers, making Armand an unwitting midwife at the birth of big beat.

In 1996, his unforgettable mix of Tori Amos' 'Professional Widow' went to Number One in the UK and his net worth went through the roof. His influential sub-bass heavy mixes of CJ Bolland's 'Sugar Is Sweeter' and The Sneaker Pimps 'Spin Spin Sugar' put him at the genesis of UK garage. Never one to play by the rules, his debut artist album for FFrr was a hip hop heavy mash up of rap, funk and ragga samples.

Now with a third, shockingly brilliant new album, it's time for house music's pretenders to take cover and to face the future. 'Killing Puritans' is the house album of the new millennium. Every year house music throws up one classic LP, one record that spins the world on its head, sets new standards and makes the competition shake their heads in disbelief. It's set to be everything Basement Jaxx's 'Remedy' was for 1999, and Daft Punk's 'Homework' was for 1997. Quite simply, the bomb.

The album's theme is in the title: Armand is tooling up to kill off puritans, both musical and political. Fighting back not only against the straitjackets of corporate house music but also the straitlaced killjoy policies of New York's Mayor Guilliani. The hooks and melodies that made last year's '2Future4U' so special are still there, but so is a volatile new anger. An utter disregard of fear and convention that borders on the punk.

If last year belonged to disco samples, then this year Armand has dug even deeper in the crates, unearthing early house, hip hop, 80s synth pop and yes, even heavy metal for his source material. Applying hip hop's rapping and scratching to house music, he has come up with his own radical new hybrids. 'Little Black Spiders' has Armand mashing Euro head-bangers The Scorpions into the most danceable heavy metal record ever. 'Full Moon' subpoenas white hot NY rapper Common to lay down some rhymes over a classy boogie groove that harks back to early Jungle Brothers. 'Flyaway Love' is the track for the DJs: pumping dark house, made with Space in mind and perfect for those Ibiza sunrises. 'Hybridz' even finds Armand picking up the mic himself to trade rhymes with his Mongoloids mate Junior Sanchez over a rhythm that's pure New York Sound Factory 1988. Best of all is the first single 'Koochy'. Perfect pop and headfuck house rolled into one, this is the essence at the heart of the album. Armand rapping over clicking electro, scratching and an eardrum hammering sample lifted from Gary Numan's electro pop classic 'Cars'. Every track as distinctive as the next.

Armand Van Helden

Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow comes four years after Are We There, and reckons with the life that gets lived when you put off the small and inevitable maintenance in favor of something more present. Throughout Remind Me Tomorrow, Sharon Van Etten veers towards the driving, dark glimmer moods that have illuminated the edges of her music and pursues them full force. With curling low vocals and brave intimacy, Remind Me Tomorrow is an ambitious album that provokes our most sensitive impulses: reckless affections, spirited nurturing, and tender courage.

"I wrote this record while going to school, pregnant, after taking the OA audition," says Van Etten. "I met Katherine Dieckmann while I was in school and writing for her film. She's a true New Yorker who has lived in her rent controlled west village apartment for over 30 years. Her husband lives across the hall. They raised two kids this way. When I expressed concern about raising a child as an artist in New York City, she said 'you're going to be fine. Your kids are going to be fucking fine. If you have the right partner, you'll figure it out together.'" Van Etten goes on, "I want to be a mom, a singer, an actress, go to school, but yeah, I have a stain on my shirt, oatmeal in my hair and I feel like a mess, but I'm here. Doing it. This record is about pursuing your passions." The reality is Remind Me Tomorrow was written in stolen time: in scraps of hours wedged between myriad endeavors -- Van Etten guest-starred in The OA, and brought her music onstage in David Lynch's revival of Twin Peaks. Off-screen, she wrote her first score for Katherine Dieckmann's movie Strange Weather and the closing title song for Tig Notaro's show Tig. She goes on, "The album title makes me giggle. It occurred to me one night when I, on auto- pilot, clicked 'remind me tomorrow' on the update window that pops up all the time on my computer. I hadn't updated in months! And it's the simplest of tasks!"

The songs on Remind Me Tomorrow have been transported from Van Etten's original demos through John Congleton's arrangement. Congleton helped flip the signature Sharon Van Etten ratio, making the album more energetic-upbeat than minimal-meditative. "I was feeling overwhelmed. I couldn't let go of my recordings -- I needed to step back and work with a producer." She continues, "I tracked two songs as a trial run with John [Jupiter 4 and Memorial Day]. I gave him Suicide, Portishead, and Nick Cave's Skeleton Tree as references and he got excited. I knew we had to work together. It gave me the perspective I needed. It's going to be challenging for people in a good way." The songs are as resonating as ever, the themes are still an honest and subtle approach to love and longing, but Congleton has plucked out new idiosyncrasies from Van Etten's sound.

For Remind Me Tomorrow, Van Etten put down the guitar. When she was writing the score for Strange Weather her reference was Ry Cooder, so she was playing her guitar constantly and getting either bored or getting writer's block. At the time, she was sharing a studio space with someone who had a synthesizer and an organ, and she wrote on piano at home, so she naturally gravitated to keys when not working on the score -- to clear her mind. Remind Me Tomorrow shows this magnetism towards new instruments: piano keys that churn, deep drones, distinctive sharp drums. It was "reverb universe" she says of the writing. There are intense synths, a propulsive organ, a distorted harmonium.

The demo version of "Comeback Kid" was originally a piano ballad, but driven by Van Etten's assertion that she "didn't want it to be pretty," it evolved into a menacing anthem. Cavernous drones pull the freight for "Memorial Day," which fleshes out an introvert in warrior mode. The spangled "Seventeen" began as a Lucinda Williams-esque dirge but wound up more of a nod to Bruce Springsteen, exploring gentrification and generational patience. Van Etten shows the chain reaction, of moving to a city bright-eyed and hearing the elders complain about the city changing, and then being around long enough to know what they were talking about. She wrote the song semi-inter-generationally with Kate Davis, who sang on a demo version when the song was in its infancy.

Since her last album, Van Etten has had a young son, and family life is joyful. Preparing and finishing these songs, she found herself expressing deep doubts about the world around him, and a complicated need to present a bright future for him. "There is a tear welling up in the back of my eye as I'm singing these love songs," she says, "I am trying to be positive. There is strength to them. It's -- I wouldn't say it's a mask, but it's what the parents have to do to make their kid feel safe."

Alongside working on Remind Me Tomorrow, Van Etten has been exploring her talents (musical, emotional, otherwise) down other paths. She's continuing to act, to write scores and soundtrack contributions, and she's returning to school for psychology. The breadth of these passions, of new careers and projects and lifelong roles, have inflected Remind Me Tomorrow with a wise sense of a warped-time perspective. This is the tension that arches over the album, fusing a pained attentive realism and radiant lightness about new love.

Sharon Van Etten

Nora Van Elken may not be the most well known amongst her peers, but she has been exponentially growing uniquely within the otherwise colorful deep house and downtempo music. She breaches different territories by allowing her own distinct vocals to have a sense of confidence within, specifically in her debut album and covers, as well as having a beautiful array of conceptual projects. But amongst the plethora of music she has put out, there are few projects of note to check out by this unique house artist, who on her own has made some bold moves in the music she made covers for and remixed, as well changing her musical landscape to be adjunct with the culture that influences it.

Nora Van Elken

The story of Grammy-nominated DJ, producer and scene-starter Paul van Dyk doesn’t begin in the 1991 techno incubator of Tresor, the 1995 Twilo-era Manhattan or the 1997 superclubs in Ibiza or London… It begins in 1985 and in his mom’s kitchen. It was there in Communist East Berlin that Paul van Dyk first caught the sounds of synthesised music broadcast over the West’s radio waves. It was among the most auspicious of meetings and its effect is difficult to overstate, having shaped the course of electronic music’s history for more than twenty years.

From the earliest ignition points of ‘For An Angel’, ‘Perfect Day’ and his ‘Age Of Love’ & ‘Love Stimulation’ remixes to 2015’s singles ‘Guardian’ & ‘Louder’, PvD’s gone from trance music’s standard-bearer to its most abiding & respected influence. He’s been deemed a ‘musical pioneer’ throughout his career with designations ranging from ‘originator’ to ‘icon’ and descriptions including ‘humanitarian’, ‘pacifist’ and ‘altruist’.

Onstage: A performer with a natural and instinctive stage touch, Paul circles the globe 16 times a year, entertaining club and festivalgoers numbered in the millions. On Rio de Janeiro’s Barra Beach during the 2008 New Year’s celebrations, he performed to an unprecedented (and then record-setting) audience totalling nearly 1.5 million people. Over the last five years, Paul has moved away from being a conventional ‘mixing-two-tracks’ DJ towards creating a hybridized live-on-stage, concert-like approach to his shows.

2016 marks the 17th year for PvD’s shows at Cream Amnesia in Ibiza, constituting one of club history’s longest-standing residencies. In 2010, van Dyk commemorated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and staged the We Are One event at the O2 World Berlin Arena which drew a 17,000-strong crowd and featured Armin van Buuren, The Blueman Group and Underworld on the bill. van Dyk has since hosted We Are One day-long outdoor festivals in 2013 and 2014 at the city’s historic Zitadelle Spandau. The 2015 edition featured a sunset-to-sunrise concept at Rummelsburg, a unique beach location in Berlin.

The Musician: As a music producer, Paul’s achieved comparable success to that of his onstage career. In 1994, he produced ‘For An Angel’, a track hailed by Mixmag as the 8th Greatest Dance Track of All Time two decades after it was recorded. In 1997, he remixed ‘Age of Love’ – a record that also regularly tops electronic music’s greatest-ever lists. The UK’s DJ Mag described PvD’s ‘Guardian’ release as “a surprising, listen-without-prejudice milestone”, rating it 9.5/10. ‘Come With Me’ – the anthem for 2014’s We Are One Festival (recorded alongside Ummet Ozcan) met similar praise from Mixmag. The electronic music bible said the track had “natural note arrangements”, featured “straight-to-the-heart-pianos” and (giving it 9/10) a “lightning strike of a riff”.

Remixer: Paul has also continued to build upon one of electronic music’s most-outstanding remixographies. His highly recognisable hallmark sound has been used to club-interpret mainstream music superstars like Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. He’s also remixed releases from acts like metal rockers Rammstein; timeless bands including U2, Depeche Mode and New Order; and cult electronic music artists like Deep Dish, BT, Faithless and Underworld. van Dyk has been – and continues to be – a regular film- and game-score contributor, resulting in numerous notable OST credits including his rework of Hans Zimmer’s ‘A Poor Choice of Words’ for The Dark Knight and ‘Still Alive’ for EA’s ground-breaking game Mirror’s Edge. 

Album Releases: van Dyk has a career-long history of releasing acclaimed albums. 1994 met his debut 45 RPM, followed by Seven Ways in 1996 and Out There And Back in 2000. The 2003 release of Reflections granted him the first-ever Grammy nomination to an artist in the then-new Best Dance/Electronic Music category. In Between followed in 2007 and 2012’s EVOLUTION saw PvD personally recategorize his studio work to the stylistically more-inclusive “electronic music”, achieving significant critical and commercial success. EVOLUTION was rated 6/6 by Raveline, the magazine commenting, “this evolution seems to be almost perfect”. Mixmag scored the release 9/10, observing that van Dyk had “achieved evolution in both name and nature”, while DJ Mag called it “impressive” and “multidimensional”. His albums have collectively sold in excess of 3 million copies.

In 2015, Paul van Dyk released his seventh full-length album The Politics Of Dancing 3 – a self-described ‘heritage’ album which “closes the first Politics loop” (started by the release of the first Politics of Dancing mix-compilation in 2001) and is “collaboration-centric” in nature. van Dyk has long been politically active in many fields and clarified during a 2006 interview that the Politics referred to in his album titles were “the politics of diplomacy”. He had previously observed at his shows “Palestinians dancing with Israelis, Lebanese people dancing with Israelis – without war, without anything in their minds other than treating each other respectfully. To me, only dance music has this power to reconcile the historic divisions of the planet like this”. 

Early History: van Dyk was brought up in East Germany – an experience that left a profound impression on him… “Behind the Iron Curtain, I felt that everything that I had to be strive to achieve in difficult circumstances – I value that much more now. That’s nevermore the case than it is with music. Growing up, I listened to radio stations transmitting from West Berlin. It became the only way to connect with the outside world and a freer society. As such, music had, and continues to have, the greatest possible resonance for me, and on my life.”

After a brief residence in Hamburg, van Dyk returned to Berlin at the start of 1991. He made his first behind-decks appearance in March that year during the opening month of the soon-to-be-illustrious Tresor. From there, Paul began to build an onstage and studio career which, by 1997, saw him reach dance music’s highest echelon. As the twin phenomena of superclubs and the DJ-as-a-Rock-Star arrived, he found himself not only synonymous with them, but he was elevated as a figurehead for the trance scene at large. van Dyk has since held sway over floors in every dance music-speaking country in the world. He holds the record for the longest unbroken run inside the ranks of the world’s Top 100 DJs chart; has twice reached the no.1 position and in 2013 was aggregated, vote-for-vote, year-for-year as the poll’s single most successful and enduring DJ.

Label Owner: As the owner of VANDIT Records, the last 15 years have seen Paul use his label dais to break the productions of those musically akin. In its early years, VANDIT released music by Armin van Buuren, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Agnelli & Nelson, Thrillseekers, Alex M.O.R.P.H., Nu-NRG and others. It’s lately focused on breaking newer talent, with acts like Chris Bekker, Las Salinas and Ben Nicky on its A&R roster.

PvD Radio Shows: A child of the radio generation, Paul was one of the first DJs to recognise and fully harness the medium to spread his sound. His long-running VONYC Sessions show is now broadcast on over 90 terrestrial and digital stations around the world, including iHeartRadio’s Evolution channel.

Awards: Throughout his career, van Dyk has garnered in excess of 60 international awards for a myriad of activities. Among those are the illustrious Landesverdienstorden (Berlin’s Medal of Honour, given in recognition of his work towards social justice), a string of IDMA awards and Mixmag’s Man of the Year accolade. In 2014, he received MTV’s prestigious Chiuku award, previously received by such artists as Shakira, Nelly Furtado, Eva Longoria and Morrissey. In 2015, PvD won Mexico’s Lunas del Auditorio award for Best Electronic Music Live Artist.

Political & Social Concerns: van Dyk dedicates considerable effort to several philanthropic endeavours. Among them are his Berlin-based Rückenwind (Tailwind) charity, which seeks to maintain a thirst for knowledge in underprivileged children, the Indian-based Akanksha Foundation, the FEED project and the Peace One Day movement. He is also well known for his longstanding political involvements, specifically for his dedication to anti-war movements and organizations like Rock The Vote.

Paul Van Dyk

Thought to be a technical and musical genius by many, Sander van Doorn is without a doubt one of the world’s most essential, influential and popular DJ/Producers in dance music today. Sander has become synonymous with excellence – both production wise and in front of the thousands he plays to, nightly. He is truly one of the strongholds in dance music. A generation defining artist, that reshapes our perception of what dance music can be and he does it all with that electrifying Sander van Doorn-smile.

With two full length albums, numerous hit-singles, remixes of the worlds biggest artists, his own successful record label ‘Doorn Records’ and a weekly radio show that will air its 250th show in September of this year. Add to that sold out gigs in all major venues and festivals like Ultra Miami, Electric Daisy Carnival New York and Las Vegas and his own stage at Tomorrowland it’s almost impossible not to have come across the name Sander van Doorn at least once in your life.

SvD-style

Every successful artist’s story reads as a fairytale and Sander’s begins back in 2004, with the release of ‘Loaded’. The production skills he showed in his first releases ignited an earthquake in the international EDM community and catapulted him in the top-10 of biggest DJ’s worldwide. Hailed and hyped by all the big names, his typical ‘SvD-style’ productions topped the club charts worldwide and resulted in his first full length album ‘Supernaturalistic’ (2008). More big names started knocking on his door, which led to the massive collaboration with Robbie Williams (Close my Eyes) and the renowned remix of Sia’s ‘Girl on Cocaine’.

He also scored international radio hits like; ‘Love is Darkness’ and ‘Koko’ which was premiered by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1. 'Koko' reached the #1 position on Beatport, The Cool Cuts Chart and the DMC UK Buzz Chart. Sander continued to work hard and the fruits of his labour resulted in his second album ‘Eleve11’ (2011). This gained him even more stardom and allowed him to perfect his already infamous live performances.

Spitting

While most artists take a short break after releasing an album, Sander kept spitting out Aclass releases like ‘Chasin’, ‘Nothing Inside’, ‘What Did I Do’ with Block Party singer Kele, ‘Drink To Get Drunk’, ‘Who’s Wearing The Cap’ with Laidback Luke and ‘Kangaroo’ with youngster Julian Jordan.

In 2014, Sander van Doorn once again proves to be one of dance music’s most skilled producers. With releases like “Guitar Track” together with Firebeatz, “Get Enough” and of course the festival anthem of this summer “Gold Skies”. This massive collaboration together with Martin Garrix and DVBBS is played out by countless DJs and held on to the #1 position in the Beatport charts for a long time. On big festivals like Electric Daisy Las Vegas, “Gold Skies” was one of the most played tracks, so it’s safe to say that this infectious track is a true summer hit and there is more in the tank for 2014!

Sander Van Doorn

Jorn van Deynhoven, aka JvD, hails from Holland and emerged as one of the hottest names in global trance in 2014. Following an amazing run of releases that saw him remix the likes of Armin van Buuren and Dash Berlin, arguably his biggest production accolade to date came when his ‘New Horizons’ track was voted as the official anthem for A State Of Trance 650 at the start of 2014.

When Armin van Buuren’s ‘A State Of Trance’ brand wanted an anthem to be produced for their landmark 650th Episode and World Tour, they called upon trance producers from around the globe to pitch in with their tracks. After Jorn’s recent run of form in the studio, it was no surprise that his offering was shortlisted as one of the finalists, and he then won a worldwide public vote from the trance and wider dance music community, beating off some fierce competition from the likes of Andrew Rayel and MaRLo in the process. ‘New Horizons’ has all the hallmarks of a timeless anthem, combining Jorn’s distinctive driving groove, classic melodies and arranged into a dramatic composition that was a fitting centrepiece for the ASOT 650 world tour.

Aside from the ‘New Horizons’ single, Jorn has also made massive waves with his remixes of Craig Connelly feat. Christina Novelli ‘Black Hole’ (voted #4 in the ASOT Tune Of The Year poll), Armin van Buuren feat. Richard Bedford ‘Love Never Came’ and Dash Berlin feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn ‘World Falls Apart’, not to mention his own tracks such as ‘Six Six Zero’ and ‘Headliner’, all of which are certified fan favourites, topping sales charts and having continued playlisted support from leading DJs.

Jorn’s DJ career went stratospheric in 2014 also with fans worldwide flocking to see the man behind many of the biggest tunes the trance scene has to offer. He set new benchmarks in his DJ career with standout shows & performances across Europe, North & South America, Asia and Australia. Particular highlights included the 20,000 capacity ASOT 650 Holland main stage, festivals across Europe such as Tomorrowland in Belgium, Nature One in Germany, Emporium in Holland and Audiolake in Poland, the 10,000 capacity Armada Beach Festival in Argentina, Istmo Fest in El Salvador, plus a five city Armada branded tour of Australia.

Moving into 2015, Jorn is off to a flying start with his release schedule already; February sees his remix of the Svenson & Gielen classic ‘Twisted’ out on the High Contrast label, while March sees Jorn’s hotly anticipated new single ‘Freaks’ released on Armin van Buuren’s Armind imprint. Also due for release over the coming months is Jorn’s new vocal single, plus his remix of Cosmic Gate & Emma Hewitt ‘Going Home’

2015 looks destined to be the year of the ‘Anthem’ Man – Jorn van Deynhoven!

Jorn Van Deynhoven

Armin van Buuren

Rijksmuseum: Het museum van Rembrandt, Vermeer en Van Gogh

The Van Buren is Downtown Phoenix, AZ's new live music venue. With a state of the art sound system, The Van Buren is known to host memorable live events!

The Van Buren

Van Andel Arena is a 11,005-seat multi-purpose arena, situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. After a $75 million construction effort, the arena opened on October 8, 1996, and since has attracted over five million patrons.