Armin Van Buuren at Ultra Miami Music Fest
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Sinterklaas (Dutch tradition centred around St Nicholas) celebrations take precedence over everything in the Netherlands, but December 25 holds enormous significance in the Buuren household as Armin Van Buuren celebrates his birthday on Christmas day. “I got bigger presents for Christmas and my birthday; it’s how I got my first synthesiser,” says trance pioneer, DJ icon and record producer who has been ranked the Number One DJ by DJ Mag five times.
Armin Van Buuren
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Ahead of his India Tour in October 2023, Buuren appreciates Indian fans’ swiftness in embracing new sounds within dance music. “Indians’ open-mindedness truly is commendable,” says Buuren, adding, “I did notice that the event scene has picked up. There are a lot more festivals in India these days.”
The 17th edition of the Sunburn Arena 2023 features Buuren on a four-city tour, kickstarting on October 5 in Bengaluru, followed by Mumbai on October 6, Kolkata on October 7 and culminating in New Delhi on October 8. “To do that with a four-city arena tour is just crazy. I’m excited!”
Trance pioneer
Buuren has hosted A State of Trance, a weekly radio show broadcast to nearly 40 million listeners in 84 countries. On his missionary zeal to promote trance, he says it is hard to describe why one loves something. “I guess for me, it’s the pure emotion that is at the core of the music. That feeling is not confined to a genre, either. Every track with that feeling is trance to me, regardless of what strictly defined genre it is regarded as.”
Armin believes the progress of music is in its evolution. “EDM is still evolving and will never stop doing so. That’s the beauty of music, and dance music in particular. There will always be artists who push the sound forward and give birth to a new sound. Dance music will lose most of its appeal when it stops evolving.”
Collab revelries
A legend and an inspiration for aspiring DJs, Armin says he gets his inspiration from working with other artists. “There’s something so inspiring and liberating, even about embracing another artist’s perspective. My growth as an artist can largely be attributed to collaborating with a wide range of talented people,”
There isn’t a stage that Buuren has not performed, so can he pick his favourite festivals? “Too many to list, honestly. But some, like Tomorrowland and Untold, will forever hold a special place in my heart. So many great memories.”