Paul van Dyk is a popular German musician, composer, and also one of the top DJs on the planet. He has been repeatedly nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award. He billed himself as DJ Magazine World's No.1 DJ and has remained in the top 10 since 1998.
For the first time, the singer appeared on stage more than 30 years ago. Like 30 years ago, the celebrity still gathers an audience of many thousands. The trance DJ says he has always set ambitious goals for himself.
The DJ has repeatedly mentioned that his task is to create not only driving tracks, but also music that will cause “goosebumps” from the first seconds. And if there is no declared effect after listening to dance music, then a particular music lover is not from his audience.
In 2016, Paul van Dyk got his fans a little excited. He had an accident that left him unable to walk and talk. Today, the top DJ has almost completely recovered and pleases the “fans” with his work.
Childhood and youth of Paul van Dyk
The modest name of Matthias Paul is hidden under the creative pseudonym Paul van Dyk. He was born on December 16, 1971 in the small town of Eisenhüttenstadt, in the GDR. The boy was brought up in an incomplete family. When he was 4 years old, his parents divorced. Matthias was forced to move with his mother to East Berlin.
The young man has been passionate about music since childhood. He was genuinely delighted with the work of The Smith. Mattias was inspired by the performance of the band's frontman Johnny Marr.
The guy even enrolled in a music school to learn how to play the guitar. However, it only lasted a few days. Mattias realized that the repertoire at the school was far from his own musical preferences.
The forbidden radio stations of West Germany became a real outlet for the young man. As well as the records that we managed to buy on the so-called "black market".
The fall of the Berlin Wall opened up access to music clubs in another part of the capital. Matthias was under an impression that was equal to euphoria.
Paul van Dyk: creative path
In the early 1990s, Paul van Dyk made his debut as a DJ at the popular Tresor club in Berlin. Actually, even then the young artist took a creative pseudonym already known to the public.
From that moment on, Paul van Dyk became a frequent visitor to nightclubs. Thanks to his talent and love for what he does, in 1993 he became a resident of the E-Werk club.
Being behind the console and getting good money, Paul van Dyk was still not enthusiastic about his occupation. As a DJ, he worked as a carpenter during the day.
“I mostly left nightclubs at 5 o’clock in the morning, and after a few hours I started ordering my clients,” Paul shared with reporters.
However, such a regime could not last forever. Soon the singer's body began to "protest", and the celebrity had to decide whether to work as a carpenter or music. It's not hard to guess where Paul van Dyk stopped.
Debut album presentation
The artist presented his debut album to the public in 1994. We are talking about the 45 RPM album. The collection was published in Germany, and 4 years later in Great Britain and the United States of America. The main hit of the disc was the track For an Angel. The presented composition is still considered the hallmark of Paul van Dyk.
A year later, Paul van Dyk became a welcome participant in electronic music festivals. In 1995, the young musician visited one of these festivals, which took place in Los Angeles. There were more than 50 thousand spectators at the festival, the artist gained even more new fans.
On the wave of popularity, Paul van Dyk expanded his discography with a second studio album. The new record was called Seven Ways. After the presentation of the studio album, music critics secured the status of a "pioneer" of trance music for the DJ. Some of the compositions on the collection were produced by representatives of the musical show business from the USA.
In the late 1990s, the artist made a difficult decision for himself. He terminated the contract with the label that recorded the first two albums and created the Vandit Records label. Actually, the third album Out There and Back was released here. Music critics noted that the compositions of this collection are distinguished by their melodiousness and "soft" sound.
The record was warmly received not only by critics, but also by fans. This motivated the DJ to go on a world tour. A visit to India inspired the celebrity to record Reflections. The album was released in 2003. The dreary and melancholy composition Nothing but You deserves considerable attention.
Receiving a Grammy Award
In addition to the fact that the album Reflections took a leading position in national European countries and the United States, it was nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award as "Best Electronic Music Album". Critics recognized the talent of the singer at the highest level.
Soon the discography of the DJ was replenished with the fifth studio album In Between, which was successful.
On the fifth studio album, music lovers can hear the voices of guest musicians such as Jessica Satta (Pussycat Dolls) and David Byrne (Talking Heads). The composition Let Go was recorded with the participation of the talented Raymond Garvey (Reamonn). Later, a track was released, for which a video clip was also released.
However, the fifth studio album in terms of the number of collaborations still gave way to the sixth studio album. We are talking about the plate Evolution. The presented album is literally full of "juicy" duets with world-class stars.
Paul van Dyk's personal life
In 1994, when Paul van Dyk started his musical career, he met a beautiful girl, Natalia. Later, the DJ said that it was a bright, but completely rash relationship. In 1997, the couple signed, but soon the couple filed for divorce.
The second time the artist took his beloved down the aisle only after 20 years. This time, the sexy Colombian Margarita Morello won his heart. The events that happened to the celebrity in 2016 influenced the decision to legalize the relationship.
In 2016, the artist performed at the festival in Utrecht. He inadvertently stepped on the fabric, which, like the stage cover, was black. The DJ could not resist and broke.
This resulted in a fall and numerous injuries. The singer was urgently hospitalized with a double fracture of the spine, a concussion and an open craniocerebral injury. He remained in a coma for several days.
As a result of the injuries, the speech centers were damaged. The singer learned to speak, walk and eat again. He had to spend three months in the hospital. Treatment and subsequent rehabilitation lasted a year and a half. However, according to the artist, he will have to fight with some of the consequences of the injury until the end of his days.
After a lengthy rehabilitation, Paul van Dyk has expressed considerable support for his mother, relatives and fiancee. He said that he would not have been able to overcome difficulties without their support.
In 2017, the artist proposed to his fiancee Margarita. The couple then got married. Photos of the celebration can be seen on the official page of the artist in Instagram.
Paul van Dyk today
After Paul van Dyk's health returned to normal, he took to the stage. His debut after rehabilitation took place in October 2017 at one of the major venues in Las Vegas. Interestingly, during the DJ's performance, doctors were on duty behind the scenes. As the singer admitted, he was exhausted from severe back pain, but did not leave the stage.
Later, the DJ told reporters that most of all he was afraid that due to brain damage he would not be able to perform as before. Despite all the fears, Paul van Dyk performed brilliantly.
In Las Vegas, he presented a new studio album From Then On. The release of the record was postponed earlier due to an accident.
Music critics noted that the artist's tracks contained the pain that he experienced on the fateful day. What are the songs I Am Alive, While You Were Gone and Safe Heaven worth.
In 2018, the singer announced that he was returning to touring and recording singles. And also for recording video clips, visiting festivals. But, unfortunately, he did not plan to work at full capacity. Problems with the spine made themselves felt.
Soon the discography of the DJ was replenished with another album, Music Rescues Me. The album was warmly received by fans and music critics. The compilation was released on December 7, 2018.
2020 is a year of incredible musical experiments and novelties. This year there was a presentation of two albums at once. The collections were named Escape Reality and Guiding Light.
The latest album, which includes 14 tracks, was the completion of a trilogy that began in 2017 with From Then On and continued with the release of Music Rescues Me. The virtuoso pianist Vincent Korver took part in the creation of the new collection. As well as Will Atkinson and Chris Becker, singer Sue McLaren and others.
