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A man on a mission to bring each and every one into a state of trance
"Who am I? I'm just a humble law student from the Netherlands who's not into drugs or crazy after-partying or making lots of money. I'm just in this industry because I'm really, truly passionate about this music, and I hope that shines through."
Armin Van Buuren

Armin Van Buuren (born December 25, 1976) is a Dutch Trance music producer, DJ, and radio personality. He began making and playing music as a teenager, after listening to Jean-Michel Jarre's Oxygène.

His career began in 1995. He'd initially gone to university to pursue a law degree, but his music career began to took off, putting that on hold (he went back and graduated in 2003). He started off playing long sets at nightclubs through his home country before taking off and gaining international attention. In 2001, he began to air his well known radio show, A State of Trance, a weekly two hour long radio show showcasing the newest and hottest trance tracks. ASOT was so successful, that numerous other DJs and Electronic Music producers were inspired to created their own weekly radio shows.

Van Buuren's music style can run the spectrum of being very relaxing and calm to being fast and energetic. It can often shift between uplifting and progressive trance, with occasional influences from Classical Music and House Music. Along with his solo work, he's also one half of the duo Gaia alongside fellow producer Benno de Goeij.

Aside from his long career, Van Buuren has also been voted as the world's Number 1 DJ in the DJ Magazine Top 100 for a record five times, was nominated for a Grammy in 2014 for the song "This is What It Feels Like" (being the fourth trance artist ever to receive a nomination), was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau in 2011 for his services to music, founded his own record label called Armada Music, played the concert for King Willem-Alexander's coronation in 2013, and was chosen to remix "Let It Go" for Disney's Dconstructed album. He's been Happily Married to his wife Erika for several years and they have two children - daughter Fenna and son Remy.

His discography includes numerous mixtapes, compilations (including his yearly A State of Trance series), and these studio albums:

  • 76 (2003)
  • Shivers (2005)
  • Imagine (2008)
  • Mirage (2010)
  • Intense (2013)
  • Embrace (2015)
  • Balance (2019)
  • Feel Again (2023)

Tropes Related to Armin Van Buuren:

  • Audience Participation Song: "This is What it Feels Like", and to an extent, "Ping Pong" (where he gets the audience to wave their arms with him).
  • Catchphrase: "...A State Of Trance" and countless variants thereof
  • Crucified Hero Shot: Has become a signature gesture of his during live sets.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: His friendships with fellow producers Ruben de Ronde, Benno de Goeij (his co-producer and partner for Gaia), Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz can certainly count as this.
  • I Minored in Tropology: He has a law degree. He actually wanted to be a doctor but couldn't get into med school due to its application process.
  • It Runs in the Family: Came from a family of musicians, and his younger brother Eller is a fairly successful rock and electronic musician in his own right.
  • Keet: He's known for his very energetic, fun-loving personality on and off stage.
  • Kids Rock: "Blah Blah Blah" features guest vocals from the son of that song's co-writer, fellow trance producer BullySongs.
  • Loudness War: Many of his ASOT "anthems" can get really loud. Case in point, "Together (In A State of Trance)".
  • Lyrical Dissonance: "Youtopia" is a Grief Song sung from the deceased lover's POV, set up against a bright uplifting trance melody.
  • The Movie: The Rockumentary, "A Year With Armin Van Buuren", filmed in 2011.
  • Nice Guy: When asked about his thoughts on the "competition" in the EDM scene, he states he has no beef with any other artists.
  • Playing the Heart Strings: The title track of Intense begins on a soft violin.
  • Precision F-Strike: At one interview, he actually tells the journalists that called trance a Dead Horse Genre to "go fuck themselves".
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: He plays a James Bond-esque agent in the "Feels So Good" video.
  • Spiritual Successor: At least one article compares him to Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Surreal Music Video: For "Blue Fear".
  • Trance: His main genre, though he has also incorporated other genres in certain songs.
  • Workaholic: He admits it himself in several interviews, what with an extensive worldwide touring schedule, his radio show, production work and running the business of his record label. One incident his wife Erika notes in the documentary mentioned above was when he was sick with the flu, but refused to cancel an upcoming concert on such short notice, so he took large amounts of medicine, went up on stage, performed as usual, and when it was all over, he collapsed in a delirium.

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