Armin Van Buuren Rescues Progressive Trance

[Simon]

Dutch progressive trance DJ Armin Buuren looks set to cement his reputation as the new Sasha with the release of his upcoming mix CD a State Of Trance, which comes out on React in May.

The seamlessly mixed double CD ebbs and flows in classic progressive, tech-trance style, via new though distinctly retrospective sounding tracks, standing up impressively to Sasha’s greatest mix CDs, Northern Exposure volume 1 and 2.

With the 20-something Van Buuren already swapping places with the 30-something Sasha in DJ magazine’s top 100 poll this year, his mix CD should see him soaring ahead, not least because of his increasing popularity with the ladies.

“Women throwing underwear at me, flashing themselves. All these things have happened, and more,” he told Singapore website Bedroomjocks.com this January.

“Being a DJ is the best job in the world, the best life you can imagine."

He also branded his musical style ‘more progressive and truly trance’ in the Singapore interview, a point he endorsed in DJ when he was asked what he considered to be ‘the best undiscovered dance music territory left’.

He’s clearly picked up Sasha’s baton.

Related Link: www.arminvanbuuren.com (http://www.arminvanbuuren.com/)

[empath]

wow-- that'll start an argument :)

[empath]

Btw, his new cd IS awesome-- if you want to listen to it, they're streaming it at http://www.clubglow.com

[Simon]

this is from press not me...

[Kuro]

The seamlessly mixed double CD ebbs and flows in classic progressive, tech-trance style, via new though distinctly retrospective sounding tracks, standing up impressively to Sasha’s greatest mix CDs, Northern Exposure volume 1 and 2.

From what I heard streaming from glow's site it's not even close to being in the same league as Northern Exposure.

[empath]

Do you really think Northern Exposure was that good? I don't think it holds up very well..

[Kuro]

Yes I do. I think the songs on there are better than almost everything I hear these days.

[znrg3k]

Buuren's 2004 sets DEFINATELY rocked! I'm pleased with him at the moment.. a good listen for sure.

[beema]

welcome to the bandwagon

this topic was relevant some time last year

[rajdeep]

From what I heard streaming from glow's site it's not even close to being in the same league as Northern Exposure.Yea, whoever made the claim could be just hyping up State of Trance.

[Tails]

*laughs*

A State of Trance standing up next to Northern Exposure?

Who wrote this thing? Obviously the pinnacle of journalistic integrity... Armin might be the next Sasha of 1999, but Sasha is Sasha, and there's very little comparing the two.

It looks like Armin is getting what he wants out of DJing though... “Women throwing underwear at me, flashing themselves. All these things have happened, and more,” he told Singapore website Bedroomjocks.com this January.

“Being a DJ is the best job in the world, the best life you can imagine."

Yeah, he's got my respect... :rolleyes:

[L)(G]

Do you really think Northern Exposure was that good? I don't think it holds up very well..

yes, Northern Exposure mixed by Sasha AND Digweed was phenomenal, especially volume 1 & 2. Back in '96 when the first one came out, it was dubbed as the best mix cd of all time. It still sounds rather fresh even 8 years later.

[znrg3k]

I prefer Digweed to Sasha... I was listening to Northern Exposure III this past week, a good listen.

[Tails]

Digweed is probably a bit more timeless than Sasha... but Sasha always seems to be pushing the boundaries of his sound. I always feel bad comparing them, becuase I love them both. I don't even think I mean what I just said about their differences... man I'm tired.

I still listen to the first disc of the first Northern Exposure compilation all the time. I think it refocuses me; I listen to it and think, "Yes, this is what progressive house/trance can sound like." I think a CD that old that still inspires me is just classic.

Still waiting for AVB to do that for me.

[uberclkgtr]

AvB has never done that for me, and I don't think he ever will. I still cringe at the trance set I saw him deliver at GLOW a couple years ago. :chilly: And I've never thought of him as progressive in any sense of the word. :shrug:

[MMIIMM]

Northern Exposure series is pure gold. To me its a awesome showcase of trance/house from the earlier days, but it still sounds fresh today.

[Unfeign]

northern exposure was meant to convey a sense of the artic north, wasnt it? that's why they have so much downtempo/ambient thrown in there. it's not a classic beatmatch-kind of set, it's more ethereal. i like armin van buuren ok, but i simply do not see him as the same style as sasha. van buuren does trance, sasha does deep progressive, and to a lesser extent progressive breaks. i dont doubt that van buuren's new mix is good, but comparing him to sasha is about as useful as comparing him to roni size.

[DjAmP]

*laughs*
It looks like Armin is getting what he wants out of DJing though... “Women throwing underwear at me, flashing themselves. All these things have happened, and more,” he told Singapore website Bedroomjocks.com this January.

“Being a DJ is the best job in the world, the best life you can imagine."

Yeah, he's got my respect... :rolleyes:

Looks like he is having the time of his life to me.. It's the whole "Rockstar" lifestyle.. Live it up.. He is already one of the greatest producers/dj's ever... It's not like he has to prove anything..

[Tails]

What I'm saying is that I rarely read interviews with Sasha or Digweed or other DJs that center on how attractive they seem to women. I'll always hear about Sasha's being in the studio, Digweed managing one of the most successful labels ever, etc.

"It's not like he has to prove anything" isn't a fair statement -- he has yet to prove himself to me as any good, so I'm not going to take underwear being thrown at him as a sign that he's a wonderful DJ or producer. I'd rather hear about the work he's been doing musically than how popular/cute he apparently is. Maybe this CD will change my mind, but rather than approach it with optimism because "I remixed or produced every track on the disc / these are all undiscovered artists I hunt for constantly," I approach it tenuously because the article gives the impression he's DJing for the wrong reasons.

It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I guess.

[znrg3k]

Trance for me as a genre refers to the old Oakenfold sound, the warm melodic driving music, not the euphoric cheese with vocals, predictable breaks and drumrolls that you hear now in the charts. There are a lot of different definitions of the genre, but to me it's just warm electronic dance music, anything from progressive to techno. Don't be a prisoner of your own style, is what I always say; don't get caught up in the bullshit of your own creativity!

This is just what I want; it's not love for music, it's a passion, and it goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it's about a way of living. Music is essential for my life.

:shrug:

Women throwing underwear at me, flashing themselves. All these things have happened, and more.

Being a DJ is the best job in the world, the best life you can imagine.

That was so god-damn shallow - we all know he gets the dj hoes and more than just their underwear lol.... superficial son-of-a-!@#$%

[neuroticinsight]

heh rediculous. i don't know if any mix cds will ever come close to the northern exposure mixes, and it certainly won't be any of his. northen exposure 2 east coast is so damn amazing its not even funny. who can argue with this?:
1. Believe performed by Gus Gus - 4:06
2. Soothe [Chicane Mix] performed by Furry Phreaks - 4:58
3. Burn the Elastic performed by Violet - 2:01
4. Geomantik performed by Prana - 3:56
5. Cycles of Time performed by Acoustic Hoods - 4:53
6. Dammerung performed by Frontside - 5:31
7. Blue [LP & Original Mix] performed by Doi-Oing Blue - 6:39
8. Little Bullet, Pt. 1 performed by Spooky - 5:35
9. Botz [Synthetik Mix] performed by Uberzone - 5:43
10. Reeferendum performed by Fluke - 4:06
11. Distant Voices [Angel Edit] performed by Lost Tribe - 5:37
12. Purple performed by Gus Gus - 6:40
13. Symphony performed by Hybrid - 12:40

expeditions is amazing as well, as is 1. not as big a fan of 2 east coast, but its still better than anything armin will ever mix (though it does have one of his tracks on it lol).

ps- i haven't ever noticed any downtempo tracks on ANY of the northern exposure mixes. am i insane or something? also, these mixes are all beatmatched, no layering or whatnot. and done on turntables as well.

[L)(G]

also, these mixes are all beatmatched, no layering or whatnot. and done on turntables as well.

Actually, part of the reason why Northern Exposure compilations (particularly 1 & 2) sound so ridiculously good, is that they were NOT mixed on turntables. They were mixed digitally in the studio, and certain tracks were edited, looped, etc. to make everything sound better and enhance the whole experience. For example, on NE 1 they kept looping the vocal from Raincry while mixing the R.I.T.M Out of Body Experience. As a result you have an astonising transition between the songs. And this is just one of the cd.

[neuroticinsight]

hmm maybe one and expeditions, but if you look in the sleevenotes for east and west they both say that they were recorded on turntables. :) i'll have to check out the sleeve for one. but yeah, i'm pretty sure expeditions was protooled though.

[neuroticinsight]

though they may have been edited in the studio after being recorded.

[L)(G]

hmm maybe one and expeditions, but if you look in the sleevenotes for east and west they both say that they were recorded on turntables. :) i'll have to check out the sleeve for one. but yeah, i'm pretty sure expeditions was protooled though.

yeah, it does say that on NE2. the example that i used was on NE1 (north) cd.

[neuroticinsight]

ahh ok. i guess we're both right then :) i was figuring one would have probably been recorded on turntables as well being older, but we know what happens when you make assumptions ;)

[OldSkool]

I don't know... It'll be pretty hard to top Sasha and/or Digweed

[DJ ORI]

recorded on turntables doesnt nessecarily mean mixed live. I guess the only way to find out is to dig and do a little research. :shrug:

[znrg3k]

I'm gonna become a dj some day and top them both! :green envy:

[electromander]

What I'm saying is that I rarely read interviews with Sasha or Digweed or other DJs that center on how attractive they seem to women. I'll always hear about Sasha's being in the studio, Digweed managing one of the most successful labels ever, etc.

"It's not like he has to prove anything" isn't a fair statement -- he has yet to prove himself to me as any good, so I'm not going to take underwear being thrown at him as a sign that he's a wonderful DJ or producer. I'd rather hear about the work he's been doing musically than how popular/cute he apparently is. Maybe this CD will change my mind, but rather than approach it with optimism because "I remixed or produced every track on the disc / these are all undiscovered artists I hunt for constantly," I approach it tenuously because the article gives the impression he's DJing for the wrong reasons.

It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I guess.

right on :yes:

[electromander]

not to be the one to join ridiculously late and then quote really old stuff or anything... :yawn:

[electromander]

east coast had to have been edited or something.. cuz that furry phreaks track doesnt exist as an unmixed track.. its a combination of the chicane jazz *and* cyanide ride mixes :atpc:

either way, everything ive heard from armin has been so far below the quality of sasha and digweed's stuff it isnt even funny.. probably because sasha and digweed do it for the sake of the music and it seems as though AvB does it for :loot: , :flash: , and :buttsex:

[NYGblue]

AvB sucks and is a sellout... End of discussion.

[Sunspot8785]

you can say what you want about AvB as a DJ but you cant deny that he's made some classic and great tracks n remixes as a producer.... nice n dreamy uplifters : )

[electromander]

very true.. much respect to AvB for production.

but great artists *do* sell out
if they didnt, we would never be upset when they did because we wouldnt have cared in the first place..
then again, would it be considered *selling out* then? :shrug:

[electromander]

:sillyme: posted it twice.. damn you, adelphia :rl:

[john c]

Im not a fan of Armin these days but how is he a sellout. He's been consistent his whole career. In fact, his lack of evolution is why Im not a fan anymore of his DJ sets. Sellout implies he's changed course for $. That isnt the case.

[Ducks1]

I like AVB. I don't know about him saving trance though. Too bad I'll never see him around here. I refuse to go to Fur for anyone.

[Sunspot8785]

Im not a fan of Armin these days but how is he a sellout. He's been consistent his whole career. In fact, his lack of evolution is why Im not a fan anymore of his DJ sets. Sellout implies he's changed course for $. That isnt the case.

To most people, "selling out" just means getting popular.

[Sunspot8785]

And what is this talk of "saving trance?" Trance isnt dead... sure it's not as good as the Suck Me Plasma days but it's still good and kickin

[tinkerbelle]

I think people say trance is dead every year. If trance is dead, then why are big trance djs the only ones who consistently sell out venues?

I don't think anyone needed to save trance, it just needed from fresh djs.

[electromander]

i still LOVE trance.. i think its really easy to like and thats why it got so big and now non-conformists will try to downplay it in the name of being different..
i actually just put together a real sweet trance mix about 3 weeks ago and i actually have an AvB track on it too

[electromander]

I think people say trance is dead every year. If trance is dead, then why are big trance djs the only ones who consistently sell out venues?

I don't think anyone needed to save trance, it just needed from fresh djs.


very true.. and with every music genre.. every artist has their own distinguishable sound to some degree and if you have the same artists in the spotlight all the time it doesnt matter how good they are, their sound is going to seem overplayed.. so thats why AvB is a great new dj. he freshens the genre up.. :burnout:

[john c]

How is AVB a "new" dj? Hes been in it longer than many.

[NYGblue]

Reasons Trance is dead:

Lack of new material. It contains the same breakdowns, same beats, and same structure. While some productions may be considered "good" they are not new or innovative in their sound. Potentially the only producer/DJ in the Trance scene who could even be considered forward thinking is John 00 Fleming who is really just going retro by recombining elements of Epic with Goa. How the scene started, rose, and then eventually died.

Why Armin van Buuren sucks:

-He can't mix.
-His productions are subpar cheese, trance pop that gets tons of airplay and promotion on ID&T, their label section that prints many of his productions on vinyl and plays them regularly on radio/TV.
-He is far more concerned with the glitz and glam as seen in recent interviews where his answers about what inspires his Djing career include the girls that are falling all over him (for obvious reasons) and allusions to monetary gain.
-Armin's success is arguably a product of his undeniable good looks and heavy promotion campaign through, once again, ID&T.

Look if you like him thats fine. But I love EDM and to me he is a god damn joke. ESPECIALLY compares to other Dj's doing their thing out there. In the Progressive scene and beyond. Armin is maybe only a couple of steps above Johan Gielen, arguably the WORST of Trance Dj's.

[john c]

Trance is not dead. Thats way too broad of an argument. Trancey Progressive isnt dead, and Psytrance certainly isnt. And theres a new genre people called Progressive Psy thats coming up. Fleming abandoned the epic sound for the most part too. I also disagree with Fleming goign retro. The new PSY is the most forward thinking music out there imo and is all about the future, whether in imagination or production techniques. On the other hand, you can argue Epic trance is stale and hasn't evolved in many years. Ill agree with you there. But you can't bundle all of the many sub-genres of Trance as if they are one collective genre.

And although I don't listen to Armin van Buuren, there are definitely cheesier DJs than him (although he is pretty commercial).Tiesto and Corsten IMO are cheesier than Armin. Ive heard Armin spin some progressive in early parts of his sets. I wish he did that more. Also, you can make an argument that all genres are getting stale. Theres a limit to how fast things evolve. I agree the Epic hands in the air sound needs to go away. But If you don't follow "Trance", you wouldnt know about the new underground sounds. You assume its dead, because you only hear the cheesy stuff. This goes for all genres IMO. Trance is lke House in that regardless of its evolution, it will be around for a very very long time in some form. Trance forever baby :) Just my 2 cents.

[2rip]

they've all got some strong points if you think about it. all in completely different areas of the ballpark. i'm more partial to sausage & dickweed tho for the sheer fact that i don't feel myself growing a vagina when listening to them.

[iminxtc]

wow-- that'll start an argument :)

couldnt agree more... that makes me kinda sick to my stomach to even read there names in the same sentence.

[Busy Child]

Im not sure what u guys are talking about Armin being a sellout acting cocky. I had a chance to sit down with him for a chat in Cafe Asia in DC and hes really down to earth always coming out to talk to fans and take pictures with them.

Sasha on the otherhand. . . . does he ever come out to talk to anyone? Hes one of the biggest drugged up prick DJs ever known.

[electromander]

...never met either of them.. :shrug: i gotta make my judgements by what i hear about them though and when i read that AvB spends more time talking about girls and money i have to assume that he isnt doing it for the music.. that ISNT to say that that is the case though.. that interviewer may have given a biased account of the interview, y'know

all i know is that i like most of his stuff and i LOVE sasha and digweed and i LOVE the music.. my whole point is that if they arent making music for the music they are selling out.. :slap:
as long as they are , then rave on :raveon:

[NYGblue]

Im not sure what u guys are talking about Armin being a sellout acting cocky. I had a chance to sit down with him for a chat in Cafe Asia in DC and hes really down to earth always coming out to talk to fans and take pictures with them.

Sasha on the otherhand. . . . does he ever come out to talk to anyone? Hes one of the biggest drugged up prick DJs ever known.

Oh wow he went and met with the TA's... :specialed:

As for Sasha, and for any other Dj, who fucking cares if they kiss their fans asses, its about the music. I would much rather go hear Sasha spin or buy one of his CD's then that crappy cheese Armin plays and puts out.

Mind you people also call Tiesto down to earth... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.... Armin is Dance Pop as far as I am concerned. Along with any other Dutch Trance Dj.

[Busy Child]

Oh wow he went and met with the TA's... :specialed:

As for Sasha, and for any other Dj, who fucking cares if they kiss their fans asses, its about the music. I would much rather go hear Sasha spin or buy one of his CD's then that crappy cheese Armin plays and puts out.

Mind you people also call Tiesto down to earth... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.... Armin is Dance Pop as far as I am concerned. Along with any other Dutch Trance Dj.


nope, he was having dinner before his show with a PR from glow and asked me to join them. Its not called kissin ass. Its called respecting those that support him.

Its an insult when someone could care less about the ppl that support them and help them get them to where they are today.

I saw sasha and diggers play in crobar several months ago and they both had a chance to keep playin on near closing time. Sasha wanted to dip out early and you could see him tryin to dip out by just leaving the decks. But diggers wanted to keep the party going. So they both dissappeared for a good 5-10 mins to duke it out then both came back on and laid out more tracks, obviously thanks to john digweed.

after that incident, sasha pretty much sealed his own coffin to me. He just wanted to come to crobar, slap some tunes, then dip out. He does good work, but it gives him no excuse to act like that.

[NYGblue]

nope, he was having dinner before his show with a PR from glow and asked me to join them. Its not called kissin ass. Its called respecting those that support him.

Its an insult when someone could care less about the ppl that support them and help them get them to where they are today.



Its that kind of attitude about artists that causes all this bullshit. They don't owe you anything more than good music. Past that you get into theatrics, which is what Armin does. Pandering to his fans.

I agree that Sasha can be a bitch, but there are some reasons for that, that do not need getting into as I am sure you know what they are. Digweed is emotionless behind the decks, nor does he feel the need to pander to his fans, do you dislike him for that? Clearly since Sasha draws your ire.

I really don't care how nice or mean a Dj is. And if Sasha wanted to bail and not complete a set then I agree thats shitty. But so is Armin playing the Clown role behind the decks. I saw him at the old Glow a couple of times I know what he is about. I found it disturbing how his tracks would play out for 5 min. while he would sip on his gin and tonic inviting blonde girls into the booth to hang out with him. I think he is full of shit. If you don't think so fine, but I find neither is theatrics nor his music entertaining.