ARMIN VAN BUUREN [04.06.08] ARMIN ONLY Armin Van Buuren says that the long list of number ones after his name, testament to his popularity, is just a product of longevity and perseverance. It also probably has something to do with gigs like his upcoming Armin Only tour, where he plays a nine hour behemoth of a DJ set non-stop “I have a radio show that is really well listened to in Australia every week,” Armin says, attempting to explain his success thus far. “I've been coming to Australia every year and releasing a lot of tracks and albums there over the years with Central Station and I think it might have something to do with the fact that I've been around for a long time. I try to work hard on my performances and try to work the crowd. It's not something that happens over night. “100 percent of what I do is just mucking around. Most of the tracks I do exist by chance. There is never any golden rule for making music as far as I can see. You just work and try to combine ideas. Sometimes I'll work on a track and nothing happens, so I put it away and work on another track. And then you'll discover a sound that would go with that other track we're not using instead. Sometimes it is the product of collaboration. I meet a lot of people touring the world and I'm like why not do a track together. Then I go to the studio, try and do something and then end up with a track. It's not necessarily that I wanted to collaborate, it is just the way it happened.” Touring non-stop is another reason Armin is so well-known these days. He says it was a big factor in how his new album ‘Imagine’ was recorded. “I recorded a lot of the vocals in different countries because I have been touring so much. When I was making a track with Jennifer Renee, I thought I could fly her to Holland, but since she's from Indianapolis, I can rent a studio in the US and fly her there which would be cheaper. I find it really inspiring working in a new environment and it really worked for the track.” Armin feels that trance music has been evolving a lot lately, which explains the 'Dancing on the Ceiling' atmosphere of some of his latest productions - combining the cocaine disco feel of the 80s with the cocaine disco feel of trance. “For some people it's still that big riff sound, but for me it moved on years ago. What you see in trance right now is influenced from electro and minimal. A lot of the productions still have the melody of trance, but they have the production of a minimal record. I don't necessarily want to go back into songs because it's dance music so it's not supposed to be about songs. If it were songs then it would just be pop music. I guess it's good to experiment with it because there are good elements in songs that fit into trance. But the main thing will always be the instrumental components especially for a dance floor. “The album we are discussing right now is an album and my definition of an album is not a mixed CD or something that you would play on a dance floor. But because it's an album produced by a dance artist all the tracks should be danceable. That's why I also made the conscious decision to not do any down tempo tracks on this album. It's all just four to the floor tracks and every track has an intro and playback feel. You can play the tracks in your home or in your car and that's my definition of an album. It's a totally different approach to music and it's a totally different approach to what you do. It gives you some room for experimentation.” Carlisle ‘Imagine’ is out through Central Station. Armin Van Buuren hits the Commerce Building, Gregory Terrace on June 14. Also playing on a huge night are tyDi, Mark James, TV Rock, John Course, Xinobi, Nadi and many many more. back to top ^

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