Armin van Buuren gets bigger and bigger every month but how does he handle i:vibes.nu interview questions?
Armin van Buuren, the dutch born deejay/artist and producer and label owner has been involved in the electronic music scene since the late 90's. He was responsible for making such tracks as universal religion, communication and doing remixes for a wide variety of artists. He has recently become much bigger, in part to his A State of Trance show on ID-T radio show and his label Armada. The man also holds a law degree but you probably already knew that. So without further ado, here is the AvB interview!
Note:The questions were taken from a variety of comments by many users.
7 Questions with Armin Van Buuren
i:Vibes: Some people say your label Armada is pushing lame formulaic boring trance on the masses, what is your position on this comment?
A: As we have more than eight different labels, we're supporting eight totally different sounds from different genres. Armada has labels for trance, tech-trance, progressive, techno and even house! Above that we're currently releasing the tracks of over 30 different artists who all have a different sound, all in the last year! Can U compare the work of Motorcycle to Remy? Or Signum to Harry Lemon? Or M.I.B. to Perry O Neil? Or M.I.K.E to Against the Grain? Or Oceanlab to Micha Daniels? If you're talking about our sound, I dare to say that we have one of the most diverse dance companies in the world.
i:Vibes: Has Armin van Buuren soldout, some people say you are more concerned with the money, rather than the love of the music? Where is Armin's priority in 2004?
A: If I would have been concerned about money I would have made use of my law degree and become a lawyer. The love of music is still the ONLY drive to be on a plane and travel to a gig almost every day. Some gigs actually cost more money than they make. My priority in 2004 and 2005 is to make a beautiful artist album, to help new artists to accomplish their goals (with Armada), and to play all over the world on the best parties.
i:Vibes: How much longer are you going to do ASOT, do you think it is near the end of its shelf life? If not, where do you see it going?
A: ASOT will actually be expanding as there's lot of interest from a lot of different radio stations all over the world. You can hear ASOT not only on ID&T radio and on ID-T.com, but also on several websites and weekly on BUZZ in Boston USA. More stations will follow soon!
i:Vibes: What's the difference between the Armin of 2004 and the Armin of say 2000?
A: he's grown 4 years older, both musically and mentally
i:Vibes: Do you think that deejays have become pop stars? Why or Why Not? and is it a good or bad thing?
A: Some DJ's have become so popular that they reach a broader audience than just the underground club scene. I guess anything that's good becomes big at some point, you can't stop that. But when that happens, it's important to know where you're coming from and to keep loyal to the sound that's made you where you are today. I think it's good that dance music and DJ's are bigger now than they were because it opens a lot of doors for exciting new things. On the downside I think it's a shame that there're a lot of people who jump in just for the money. That's why the word "trance" became a dirty word, when it used to be a cool word! But when that's over, what remains is the true love for dance music.
i:Vibes: You said that you would release some proper house tunes, when is this going to happen, under what alias and is it going to fall under the typical Armin sound?
A: Yes I'm working on a new house tune as we speak but I don't know under what name I want to release this yet. But I'm really excited about this one! Maybe I'll breathe live into Gimmick?
i:Vibes: Has trance hit its best before date yet, or will it?
A: The cheesy vocal predictable top 40 riff music that some call trance, yes. The true underground sound that used to be called trance, no. Trance is just a name, and everybody seems to have a different definition for it!!!!!!!! Don't be blinded by a label!
We thank Armada for allowing us to do the quick interview with Armin and we thank Armin van Buuren himself for taking time out of his hectic schedule to answer some questions.
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