Armin van Buuren, the world’s top trance DJ and producer, chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about his new mix album “A State of Trance 2021,” and his songwriting inspirations during the quarantine.
On the song selection process for “A State of Trance 2021,” he said, “Well, it probably won’t come as a surprise to you when I say it’s a pretty daunting task. Luckily, I’ve got a great team around me who help me out with a pre-selection of all the tracks I may want to feature on the album. After that, it’s a process of killing your darlings. I’d include a thousand records if I could, but I just don’t have the room.”
Regarding his music and songwriting inspirations during the pandemic, van Buuren said, “I actually enjoy doing video calls with other artists. It’s a different way to collaborate for sure, but it’s also more lowkey and relaxing at times. Those have given me a lot of inspiration lately, with some really cool collabs as a result.”
He opened up about life during the quarantine and the silver lining in it. “The silver lining is that I got to spend a lot more time on the things that often fall through the cracks when I’m on tour. I’ve been taking it easy during the pandemic, working out a bit more and spending time with my family. Without the pandemic, I wouldn’t have gotten to do that as much. Got to look at the positives, right?” he explained.
On being an electronic artist in the digital age, at a time when streaming and technology are so prevalent, he remarked, “It’s very different from my early days as an artist, that’s for sure. Back then, we were still walking around with actual CDs, sending physical copies to labels by mail. Each era has its charm though. I love the memories of old, but I also like that this digital age makes it a lot easier to discover new music and for new producers to get noticed.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, van Buuren responded, “That has to be ‘ASOT 1000′!” “Reaching the 1000th episode of my radio show is just an incredible milestone and I’m super happy I am given the chance to share this special chapter with so many fans from all over the world,” he exclaimed.
van Buuren was candid about his career-defining moments. “Well, my breakthrough tracks ‘Blue Fear’ and ‘Communication’ have been instrumental to the rest of my career of course. Getting nominated for a Grammy is also a big milestone that allowed me to think outside the box even more often, which I’ve been doing a lot lately,” he elaborated.
He listed Vangelis and Brian Eno as the two artists that he would love to someday do dream collaborations with. “That would be so awesome,” he admitted.
On his definition of the word success, he said, “My perspective may differ from others since I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy career success for a long time now, but to me, success is about confidence. I can do the things I love to do without hesitation or any shred of doubt in my mind. And that’s invaluable to me.”
van Buuren concluded about the new “A State of Trance 2021” mix album, “It was – and is – a tough year for everyone, but I hope this mix album can take your mind off of the not-so-fun things. A lot of amazing producers have done their absolute best to give you these tracks, and I couldn’t be any more proud of how it all turned out. Thanks for being there with me on this incredible ASOT journey,” he said.
To learn more about Armin van Buuren and his music, check out his official website.
