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Armin van Buuren | |
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 Van Buuren performing at the Armin Only Embrace show inKyiv, 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Born | Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren (1976-12-25)25 December 1976 (age 48) |
| Origin | Koudekerk aan den Rijn,Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | arminvanbuuren |
| Signature | |
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Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van BuurenOON (/vænˈbjʊərən/vanBURE-ən,Dutch:[ˈɑrmɪˈɲoːzəfjaːˈkoːbʏzˈdaːnijɛlvɑmˈbyːrə(n)]; born 25 December 1976)[1] is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Since 2001, he has hostedA State of Trance (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40 million listeners in 84 countries on over 100 FM radio stations.[2] According to the websiteDJs and Festivals, "the radio show propelled him to stardom and helped cultivate an interest in trance music around the world".[3]
Van Buuren has won a number of accolades. He has been ranked the number one DJ byDJ Mag a record of five times, four years in a row.[4] He was ranked fifth on theDJ Mag Top 100 DJs list in 2022,[5] as well as fourth in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020,[6] and third in 2017.[7] In 2014, he was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording for his single "This Is What It Feels Like" featuringTrevor Guthrie,[8] which makes him the fourth trance artist ever to receive aGrammy Award nomination.[9] In the United States, he holds the record for most entries, twenty-one, on theBillboardDance/Electronic Albums chart.[10]
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren[11] was born inLeiden, on 25 December 1976,[1] and grew up inKoudekerk aan den Rijn.[12] He was inspired by French electronic music composerJean-Michel Jarre[13] and Dutch DJ andRemixerBen Liebrand.[14] Van Buuren graduated from theStedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and studied law atLeiden University.[15] He began working as a DJ in Club Nexus in 1996,[16] playing multiple sets a week, most of which lasted six or more hours.[17] In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England and the United States.[18] As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, but he did return to graduate from law school in 2003.[19]
On 18 September 2009, van Buuren married Erika van Thiel.[20] Their daughter, Fenna, was born in July 2011.[21] On 27 July 2013, just hours before he was due to headline the main stage atTomorrowland, van Buuren announced that his wife had given birth to a son, Remy.[22]
On 16 February 2018, van Buuren explored his family history in an episode of the TV seriesVerborgen verleden, the Dutch version of the UK seriesWho Do You Think You Are?.[23]
In 1996, van Buuren releasedEP andPush on Timeless Records. van Buuren had his first success with a track called "Blue Fear", which was released under the Cyber Records label in 1997. Another successful track, "Communication", was released under the same label and became popular inIbiza, Spain in the summer of 1999.[24] After being signed toAM PM Records,[18] this track entered theUK Singles Chart at No. 18 in 2000.[25]
In the beginning of 1999, van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – "One", was well received. The second release, "Touch Me" under the name Rising Star, was signed toMinistry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released. By the time of his third release, Gimmick – "Free" was signed toR&S Records. During this year, he remixed the first two singles ofGouryella (Gouryella andWalhalla) and, under the guise of Rising Star, produced a remix ofL'Esperanza, a song byAirscape.[26][27]
In 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series, a mix ofprogressive house andvocal trance styles of music. His first compilation album,A State of Trance (not to be confused with his weeklyA State of Trance radio shows), sold 10,000 copies[28] and contains Van Buuren's remix ofMoogwai, "Viola". Teaming up withTiësto, two new projects were born: Major League – "Wonder Where You Are?" was released onBlack Hole Recordings andAlibi – "Eternity" was released on Armind. "Eternity" received club and chart success and was signed toPaul van Dyk's imprintVandit Records. Another major collaboration followed this. Together withFerry Corsten, Van Buuren recorded ariff titled "Exhale[29]" for the System F album,Out of the Blue. Released as a single, this track reached Gold status.[30] Under the pseudonymGaia he released "4 Elements" on Captivating Sounds, a sub-label ofWarner Brothers.[31]
His second album,Basic Instinct featured a new track:Perpetuous Dreamer – "The Sound of Goodbye". This track entered the Dutch charts in June 2001 at number 26. Later in the year, the track hit No. 1 on theHot Dance Music/Club Play chart.[32] The third album,In Motion was released 6 August 2001. A fourth album,Transparence, followed in 2002. In 2003, he worked with such artists such as DJ Seth Alan Fannin throughout a global tour on Dance Revolution in Europe, selling out to crowds of 20,000 people in the Netherlands.[33]
In March 2001, Van Buuren started his own radio show onID&T Radio[34] (traditionally broadcast in Dutch and later English since ASOT 183). In this weekly two-hour show, entitledA State of Trance, he plays the latest popular trance music tracks, and publishes the artists and track titles on his website. When ID&T Radio changed genres in 2004, Van Buuren movedA State of Trance toFresh FM and laterSLAM!FM, two Dutch radio stations. It is now a weekly feature onRadio 538, the Dutch radio station,[35]DI.FM, an online radio station,[36] and onXM Satellite Radio,channel 52 in the United States and Canada.[37] A complete list of stations that broadcastA State of Trance can be found at the ASOT section of Armin's website.[38]
In 2002, he had a residency at Glow in Washington D.C.,[39] and played across North America. He regularly appeared atAmnesia on the island ofIbiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. In October that year, Van Buuren was voted number 5 in theDJ Mag.
In June 2003, Van Buuren celebrated the 100th episode ofA State of Trance at Bloomingdale,Bloemendaal aan Zee, Netherlands and released his debut studio album,76, a 76-minute album divided into 13 tracks.[40] In the same year he was voted No. 3 in theDJ Mag and held third place for the next two years (2004, 2005). Also in 2004, Van Buuren remixed the24 theme song into a trance hit.
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On 2 June 2005, he celebrated the 200th episode ofA State of Trance at theMuseumplein ofAmsterdam. On 8 August 2005, Van Buuren released his second studio album,Shivers. On the album Van Buuren worked with artists such as Pakistani-American singerNadia Ali, English singerJustine Suissa and American trance duoGabriel & Dresden. On 25 May 2006, he celebrated with various artists the 250th episode ofA State of Trance at Asta,The Hague, Netherlands. He was voted number two in the 2006DJ Mag. On 17 May 2007, he celebrated with various artists the 300th episode ofA State of Trance at Pettelaarse Schans,'s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Van Buuren was elected best DJ in the world in the 2007DJ Mag edition. On 12 January 2008, Van Buuren was given the "Buma Cultuur Pop Award," the most prestigious Dutch music award.[41] On 17 April 2008, Van Buuren released his third studio album,Imagine. It features collaboration with singers such asJacqueline Govaert ofKrezip. The album debuted at number one on theDutch Albums Chart. The second single released from the album,"In and Out of Love", featuringSharon den Adel from the bandWithin Temptation, has spawned a music video that has been viewed over 304 million times on YouTube.[42] Since the release ofImagine, Van Buuren has been working withBenno de Goeij ofRank 1 on solo productions and remixes.[citation needed] On 1 May 2008, he celebrated with various artists the 350th episode ofA State of Trance at Noxx,Antwerp, Belgium. He was voted No. 1 in the 2008DJ Mag again.
He collaborated with his brother, guitarist Eller van Buuren, atTogether As One in Los Angeles, U.S., on New Year's Eve 2009, as well as on Armin's 2008 studio albumImagine. His performance with his brother at Together As One was also the last event of hisArmin Only: Imagine world tour. To celebrate the 400th episode ofA State of Trance, he performed at three shows with various artists in April, 2009 at Club Butan,Wuppertal, Germany,AIR, Birmingham, United Kingdom and Maassilo,Rotterdam,Netherlands.
Also in 2009, Foreign Media Games announced the production ofArmin van Buuren: In the Mix, amusic video game being produced in collaboration with Cloud 9 Music and Van Buuren's Armada Music label. The title was released on 12 November 2010 exclusively for theWii console.[43] He was voted number one DJ in the 2009DJ Mag for the third consecutive year.
On 3 March 2010, Van Buuren was awarded with theGolden Harp for his musical work and contribution to Dutch music, byBuma/Stemra at the 2010 Buma Harpen Gala inHilversum, Netherlands.[44][45] To celebrate the 450th episode ofA State of Trance, he performed with various artists at five shows across two continents. The locations were:The Guvernment, Toronto, Canada on 1 April 2010,Roseland Ballroom, New York City on 2 April and on 3 April again, Expo Arena,Bratislava, Slovakia on 9 April andCentennial Hall,Wrocław, Poland on 24 April.
On 23 June 2010, it was announced that Van Buuren's fourth studio album,Mirage was due to be released on 10 September.[46] The first single "Full Focus", was released throughiTunes Store on 24 June.[47] The song peaked at number 60 in the Netherlands. One of the confirmed tracks from the album is a collaboration with English singerSophie Ellis-Bextor called "Not Giving Up on Love", which was released as a single from Bextor's fourth studio album,Make a Scene.[48][49] Armin also wrote a song for English singerSeal, but due to the release of his greatest hits album,Hits, the collaboration never came together.[50] On 12 September 2010, Van Buuren launched "A State of Sundays", a new weekly 24-hour radio show aired on Sirius XM Radio.[51] On 20 October 2010, Van Buuren won the award for Most Popular International DJ presented by The Golden Gnomes.[52] A week later he was announced, for the fourth year running, as the number one DJ inDJ Mag.[53]
The 2010 edition ofArmin Only: Mirage kicked off in November 2010, inUtrecht, Netherlands, and was followed by shows inSaint Petersburg,Kyiv, Buenos Aires,Melbourne,Beirut,Poznań, Moscow andBratislava.[54]
In March and April, 2011, celebrating the 500th episode of his radio show, Van Buuren performed five live shows along with various artists; the first was inJohannesburg, South Africa at MTN Expo Centre, and the second inMiami'sUltra Music Festival. He then performed inArgentina atGEBA in Buenos Aires, followed by a large event at Brabanthallen inDen Bosch, Netherlands which included more than 30 DJs from countries all over the world and was attended by over 30,000 people. The final show was held in Sydney on 16 April atAcer Arena. In 2011, Van Buuren was appointed Officer of theOrder of Oranje-Nassau for services to Dutch dance and music economy.[55] That year he also received theKey to (Freedom) ofLeiden from the City Mayor, as well as being voted No. 2 in the 2011DJ Mag.
To celebrate the 550th episode ofA State of Trance, he performed with various artists on two different continents during fourth weeks. The show was calledA State of Trance 550: Invasion. The first event was celebrated atMinistry of Sound in London on 1 March 2012. On 7 March, Moscow held the second event atExpocentre.Kyiv's show was performed at International Exhibition Centre on 10 March. On 17 March, as part of theBeyond Wonderland festival in Los Angeles and on 25 March at theUltra Music Festival in Miami. On 31 March, the biggest and final edition of ASOT 550 took place in the Brabanthallen ofDen Bosch, Netherlands. On 19 October 2012, Van Buuren was announced for a fifth non-consecutive year as the world's number one DJ according toDJ Mag.[56]
To celebrate the 600th episode ofA State of Trance, van Buuren announced that he would perform with various artists all around the world in early 2013. The show was calledA State of Trance 600: The Expedition. It was announced that the show would tour the world, including stops inMadrid,Mexico City,São Paulo,Minsk,Sofia,Beirut,Kuala Lumpur,Mumbai,Miami,Guatemala City,New York City, andDen Bosch.[57][58]
The first single of van Buuren's fifth studio album,Intense, titled "This Is What It Feels Like", featured Canadian singer and songwriterTrevor Guthrie, and was released on 5 April 2013. The single nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording.[59] The tour for the album,Armin Only: Intense, was announced on 17 October 2013.[60]
30 April 2013 saw the abdication of QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands in favor of her son, KingWillem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who was sworn in and inaugurated that day, which wasQueen's Day as well. Van Buuren was the headline act in a performance to a live audience celebrating the King's crowning in Amsterdam. While he was performing live together with theRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra in theAmsterdam Harbor onJava-eiland, KingWillem-Alexander, QueenMáxima and their three daughters made an unplanned visit on stage.[61][62]
On 19 October 2013, van Buuren was ranked number two DJ in the world byDJ Mag. On 26 January 2014, Armin van Buuren attended the56th Grammy Awards, in relation to his Grammy Award nomination for the single featuring Trevor Guthrie, "This Is What It Feels Like" in the category ofBest Dance Recording.
On 8 May 2015, van Buuren released the first single from his sixth studio album,Embrace, which was released on 29 October 2015.[63] The single is titled "Another You" featuringMr Probz. Three weeks after releasing "Another You", Van Buuren also debuted another remix fromGame of Thrones official theme which is originally made by composerRamin Djawadi.[64]
On 16 October 2015 he released the next single fromEmbrace called "Strong Ones" featuring Cimo Fränkel. This was followed by the release of his collaboration withCosmic Gate "Embargo" on 22 October 2015. To accompany the album's release, van Buuren announced the return of theArmin Only series of parties.
This edition of the tour was titledArmin Only: Embrace and took place throughout both 2015 and 2016. As the title of the tour suggests, it was based around the collection of music that he showcased on his new album.[65]
On 2 February 2017, van Buuren officially opened a new A State of Trance radio show studio in Amsterdam as part of his celebrations for the 800th episode of the radio show. The studio is located in the Armada headquarters.[66] With the new accommodations made possible by the studio, he introduced a new segment of the radio show called Service for Dreamers where he invites fans to send in their favorite trance tracks that have a special meaning to them. Every week one track gets chosen to be featured live on the show and introduced by the fans of the radio show live, either by a walk-in, phone call, Skype or other means of contact.[67]
In 2017, van Buuren announced he will be releasing an onlineMasterClass sharing his expertise in electronic music production.[68]On 13 April 2017, Armin van Buuren performed at the Heineken stage inShanghai, in the first Formula 1 Festival along withAngela Zhang.[69]
Van Buuren performed a seven-hour-long set at the Romania Untold Festival on 6 August 2018, clocking from 2:00 a.m. to after 9:00 a.m.[70] This outlasted his previous 2017 ASOT performance, which had gone on for five hours.[71]
On 6 October 2019, van Buuren performed atRepublic Square, Yerevan, Armenia as an opening act for theWorld Congress on Information Technology (WCIT).[72]
On 25 October 2019, he released his seventh studio album,Balance.[73]
In January 2021, van Buuren celebrated the 1000th episode of A State of Trance with a 7-day long livestream, where he, co-host Ruben de Ronde and monthly show residentFerry Corsten presented a list of the top 1000 songs played during A State of Trance radio shows, as voted on by listeners of the show.[74] The livestream ran from January 14 to January 21, and the top song wasShivers, from Armin's 2005 album. As has been done for previous radio show milestones, a major ASOT1000 festival was planned inUtrecht, but due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, it has since been repeatedly delayed. The festival was held on March 4-5, 2023, by which point the weekly radio show have already surpassed 1100 episodes.[75]
On 31 March 2023, van Buuren released his eighth studio album,Feel Again.
On 28 June 2023, he released the original film concert and documentaryThis Is Me: Feel Again.[76]
On 12 January 2024, van Buuren released first part of his ninth studio album,Breathe In.[77] The full album,Breathe was released on 27 June 2025, along with the second part of the full albumBreathe Out.[78] The success of this release contributed to Armin van Buuren earning the fifth place in DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs ranking for 2025.[79]
On 31 October 2025, van Buuren released an acoustic piano album,Piano. It features fifteen tracks of piano with string accompaniment, each recorded in a single take.[80]
Documentary and concert films
In 2011, van Buuren was appointed Officer of theOrder of Orange Nassau for his services to music.[55]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mixmag Number 1 DJ 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | DJ Mag Number 1 DJ 2007–2010 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
