This past weekend, Armin headlined Electric Daisy Carnival at MetLife Stadium, which was an “amazing” experience for the esteemed DJ. “It was the opposite of a MetLife crisis,” he said with a laugh. “It was incredible. I was really blown away that my stage was completely full, and I was really glad with the reception.”
This past winter, Armin performed at New York’s Pier 94, along with such acclaimed electronic music DJs Andrew Rayel and Mark Sixma. “That was a special night. I really liked the venue. It was super cool, and I actually want to do it again. It was a special location, and kind of raw and underground,” Armin said.
His latest collaboration with rapper Mr. Probz, “Another You,” is making its way up the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts. “Mr. Probz comes from the world of hip-hop, so he has a completely different background. I know him from his track ‘Waves.’ He liked ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ and I liked the track ‘Waves,’ and we met up in July of last year, and he already had the chorus idea for ‘Another You.’ I just worked on it a little more, and we went back to the studio to write some more lyrics and to record some real strings. I don’t think there has ever been another track that I have invested more time on than ‘Another You’,” Armin said.
Throughout his career, Armin has performed in numerous venues worldwide, and several that stand out to him as his all-time favorites include Omnia Nightclub in Las Vegas, Ushuaïa, Ibiza, as well as Cavo Paradiso in Mykonos, Greece. “I really love those venues. Those are my favorite,” Armin said.
Speaking of Greece, Armin had nothing but kind words for the country. “What is not to love about Greece. That is where I met my wife. I love everything about Greece. I love the culture, I love the enthusiasm and the people, and I love the food, seriously,” he said.
When asked where he sees electronic dance music heading in the next five years, he said, “Mixing and merging. If you look at the history of music, any music in general, you always see new styles emerging.”
Armin ranked No. 3 in last year’s Top 100 DJs poll in DJ Magazine, where he was the No. 1 trance DJ in that list. “That felt good. To be twelve years in the Top 3 in the world is more than I could ever ask for,” the humble electronic producer said.
Particularly impressive about those twelve years in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 poll is that he ranked as the No. 1 DJ in the world for five times, which is a record in itself among DJs.
For Armin, the hardest part of his job involves traveling and being away from home. “The jet lag is not nice, especially if you are not feeling too well,” he said.
He revealed that the longest DJ set that he ever played was in 2002 and it spanned 12 hours and 21 minutes.
One of his career highlights was when his Grammy-nominated single “This Is What It Feels Like,” featuring lead vocals from Trevor Guthrie, was certified seven-times platinum in the Netherlands. “That was great. I actually got that award on national television and they didn’t tell me about it,” he said with a sweet laugh. “Out of everything that i had done, what was even more special was that it entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts and it went gold in America, without working through an American label.”
Each day, Armin is motivated by music, as well as by having fun in the studio. “That’s the most important thing,” he said.
His “Anthems” collection consisted of 20 songs, all of which were voted by the fans. When asked if he were to include an additional song on there, he noted that it would have been “Virgo.” “All of my songs are like my babies, so it is kind of hard to say, but I always liked my track ‘Virgo,’ since it was a different track,” he said.
He defined the word success as having “health and happiness” in life.
The respected DJ concluded our interview by expressing his gratitude towards his fans. “Thank you very much for all the years of support, and keep listening to ‘A State of Trance’,” he said.
For more information on Armin van Buuren and his new single “Another You,” check out his official website.
