Armin van Buuren is a popular DJ, producer and remixer from the Netherlands. He is best known as the radio host of the blockbuster State of Trance. His six studio albums have become international hits.
Armin was born in Leiden, South Holland. He started playing music when he was 14 years old and later he started playing as a DJ in many local clubs and pubs. Over time, he began to get great opportunities in music.
In the early 2000s, he gradually shifted his focus from legal education to music. In 2000 Armin started a compilation series called "State of Trance" and by May 2001 he had a radio show of the same name.
Over time, the show earned almost 40 million weekly listeners and eventually became one of the most revered radio shows in the country. To date, Armin have released six studio albums which have made him one of the most popular DJs in the Netherlands.
DJ Mag has named him the number one DJ five times, which is a record in itself. He also received a Grammy nomination for his track "This Is What It Feels Like". In the US, he holds the record for the most entries on the Billboard Dance/Electronics chart.
Childhood and youth
Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands on December 25, 1976. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Koudekerk aan den Rijn. His father was a music lover. So Armin listened to all kinds of music during his formative years. Later, his friends introduced him to the world of dance music.
For Armin, dance music was a whole new world. Soon he became interested in trance and electronic music, which started his career. He eventually began to worship famed French composer Jean-Michel Jarre and Dutch producer Ben Liebrand, also focusing on developing his own music. He also bought the computers and software he needed to make music, and by the time he was 14 he started making his own music.
After graduating from high school, Armin attended "Leiden University" to study law. However, his ambition to become a lawyer took a backseat when he met several classmates in college. In 1995, a local student organization helped Armin organize his own show as a DJ. The show was a huge success.
Some of his tracks ended up on the compilation and the money he made was spent on buying better equipment and making more music. However, it wasn't until he met David Lewis, owner of David Lewis Productions, that his career really took off. He dropped out of college and focused solely on making music, which was his true passion.
Career of Armin van Buuren
Armin first achieved commercial success in 1997 with the release of his track "Blue Fear". This track was released by Cyber Records. By 1999, Armin's track "Communication" became a super hit across the country and it was his breakthrough in the music industry.
Armin's popularity caught the attention of AM PM Records, a major British label. Soon he was offered a contract with the label. After that, Armin's music became recognizable internationally. One of his first tracks to be recognized by music lovers in the UK was "Communication", which peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000.
In early 1999, Armin also formed his own label, Armind, in partnership with United Recordings. In 2000, Armin began releasing compilations. His music was a mixture of progressive house and trance. He also collaborated with DJ Tiësto.
In May 2001, Armin began hosting ID & T Radio's A State of Trance, playing popular tracks from newcomers and established artists. The weekly two-hour radio show was first broadcast in the Netherlands but was later shown in the UK, US and Canada.
By the early 2000s, he began to gain more followers in the US and Europe. Subsequently, "DJ Mag" named him the 5th DJ in the world in 2002. In 2003, he embarked on the Dance Revolution global tour with DJs such as Seth Alan Fannin. Over the years, the radio show has become extremely popular with listeners. Since 2004, he has released his collections every year.
Albums
In 2003, Armin released his debut studio album, 76, which featured 13 dance numbers. It was a commercial and critical success and peaked at number 38 on the "Holland Top 100 Albums" list.
In 2005, Armin released his second studio album Shivers and collaborated with singers such as Nadia Ali and Justin Suissa. The title track from the album became hugely successful and was featured in the video game Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova in 2006.
The album's overall success earned him second place on DJ Mag's Top 5 DJs list in 2006. The following year, DJ Mag featured him at the top of their list of top DJs. In 2008, he was awarded the most prestigious Dutch music award, the Buma Cultuur Pop Award.
Armin's third album, "Imagine", went straight to number one on the Dutch Albums Chart upon its release in 2008. The second single from the album "In and Out of Love" became especially successful. His official music video has earned over 190 million "views" on YouTube.
This resounding national and international success caught the attention of a respected Dutch music producer named Benno de Goij who became his producer in all his next endeavors. DJ Mag once again ranked Armin at number one on its 2008 Top DJs list. He also received this award in 2009.
In 2010, Armin was awarded another Dutch award - the Golden Harp. In the same year, Armin released his next album Mirage. It was not as successful as his previous albums. The relative failure of this album can also be attributed to some pre-announced collaborations that were never achieved.
In 2011, Armin celebrated the 500th episode of his State of Trance radio show and performed live in countries such as South Africa, the United States and Argentina. In the Netherlands, the show featured 30 DJs from all over the world and was attended by 30 people. The big event ended with a final show in Australia.
A single from his fifth studio album, "Intense", titled "This Is What It Feels Like", received a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015 Armin released his latest album Embrace to date. The album became another hit. That same year, he released a remix of the official Game of Thrones theme. In 2017, Armin announced that he would be giving online classes for electronic music production.
Family and personal life of Armin van Buuren
Armin van Buuren married his longtime girlfriend, Erika van Til, in September 2009 after dating her for 8 years. The couple have a daughter, Fena, who was born in 2011, and a son, Remi, who was born in 2013.
Armin has often stated that music is not just a passion for him, but a real way of life.
