2013 seems to be a tripping year for dance music in India. It started off with EDM giants Swedish House Mafia’s One Last Tour and will continue with many more acts expected to make an appearance in the country. Which is why Dutch DJ and trance producer Armin Van Buuren’s mega ASOT-600 event couldn’t have come at a better time.

He celebrated the 600th episode of his radio show, A State of Trance with a live performance at Turf Club, Mumbai — an event put together by Submerge and Percept Live.
Incidentally, it’s his third visit to the country. “I was here in 2008, performing in front of a crowd of about 160 people. But when I landed this time, I was told that the venue was a sellout,” said Armin just before taking on to the stage to enthrall close to 10,000 fans. “But it’s not about the numbers. I like to play in front of a smaller audience. That way, you can make the space and music more personal. At a concert, there’s a sea of people thinking, ‘oh here’s the world’s number one DJ. Do something spectacular. Make the stage explode!’” he laughs.
A music lover since childhood, Armin took to spinning tracks only after getting himself a degree in law. “It was like a silent agreement with my dad. He said I could do whatever I want with my life as long as I secure my future with a law degree. And that proved really helpful because then, I didn’t have the pressure of making my first album a hit because I had to pay my rent. It gave me that much more creative freedom,” he says.
Like Armin, most top EDM artistes in the world are European (Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Tiesto, Aviccii), so is there a reason why most of the dance music comes from these quarters? “Dance music first exploded in Northern America and quickly spread to parts of Belgium, Germany, Holland and the UK. When I was growing up, in the early 90s, dance music was all over the place. Maybe in the next few years, there’ll be DJs from all over the world,” he says. Having been at the right place at the right time is what worked for him, believes Armin. “If I were born a decade earlier than I was actually born, I’d probably be discussing music with you while strumming a guitar.” But there’s another reason why dance music lured young Armin. “My parents hated it. So obviously, I had to pursue it,” he smiles.
While EDM has earned itself a fair share of fans across the world, there exists a strong section of music lovers who haven’t opened up to the world of electronica, often calling it “out of the laptop” music — with no live percussion or melody. “Well, computers can’t make music. You need a human to tell the computer what to do. It’s that simple. A computer can do a lot, but it’s not capable of churning out a number one hit track on its own,” he says, adding, “The computer’s the new-age guitar, drums and key board, but you’ve got to know to plug it right.”
Armin believes that music is music despite the various categories that people choose to slot it into — EDM and IDM especially. “I know it means Electornic Dance Music and Intelligent Dance Music, but I wouldn’t be able to tell what the difference is. We need to first be able define the two before we can differentiate them. And if we can’t do that, why are we having this discussion? You can label my music as House, Trance or Electronica. For me its just music,” says Armin whose biggest inspiration is other musicians. “I won’t tell you that I am inspired by the sunset or other such natural phenomena. For me it’s the sounds created by others like me.”
Ranked world’s number one DJ by DJ Magazine’s poll a record of five times, Armin treats his hit radio show as grounds for experiment on his music. His show, A State of Trance attracts 25 million listeners in 26 countries. “It’s like a friend in box because it talks to you. It’s the best way to connect to my fans and they talk back to me! How cool is that? Besides, it gives me a chance to share my music with my fans and test my tracks with them. Their inputs help me a great deal in putting together my music,” says Armin, who when young, had the radio show schedule as a wall accessory when his friends’ rooms were adorned with posters of music and films. “Besides, it brings me closer to my fans. I can tell them that I am going to be a father for the second time or that I am going to play for my fans in Mumbai,” he signs off.