Blue Fear and Compilation Series
Armin Van Buuren’s first breakthrough came with Blue Fear, which was released through Cyber Records when Buuren was only nineteen years old. The track was made in euro trace mold and debuted on the UK charts. It was followed by yet another hit track titled Communication. It was released in Spain as well and earned fame there. After that, Buuren officially began his career as a DJ at Leiden’s club Nexus. Here he trained himself in playing long sets. The Dutch artist was finally introduced in the US and England by Dave Lewis, whom he met in 1999. This led to his mainstream exposure and eventually he got listed on the DJ Magazine in November of 2001, at 27th spot.
In 1999, Armin Van Buuren started a label in collaboration with United Records and marketed three releases through it, all of which were well received. However after “Gimmick – Free” he signed to R&S Records. This led to his teaming up with the DJ maestro, Tiesto. In 2000, Van Buuren decided to start his personal compilation series. His very first compilation album, “A State of Trance” sold around 10,000 copies. The music style he used was vocal trance with progressive house. The second release in the compilation was “Basic Instinct”, which featured Perpetuous Dreamer – The Sound of Goodbye, a track that debuted at number 26 on the Dutch charts and eventually at number one on Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
A State of Play and Shivers
In March of 2001, Armin Van Buuren decided to start his own radio show titled ‘A State of Trance on ID&T Radio’. He continues to host the show till day and plays the latest trance music, fresh from the industry. The same year he toured all across North America and had a residency at Glow. He moved up the ranks, reaching 5th position on DJ Magazine. In June of 2003, Buuren celebrated A State of Trance’s 100th episode at Bloomingdale. His debut studio album by the name of “76” also hit the market that year and this time around he made it to number three on DJ Mag.
After celebrating his radio show’s 200th episode in June of 2005, he announced the release of his second studio album “Shivers”. It came out in August and included his collaboration with artists like Nadia Ali and Justine Suissa. It took him two more years before he finally made it to the top of DJ Magazine. Only a year later, he was also honored with “Buma Cultuur Pop Award”, which is considered as the most prestigious of all Dutch awards.
From Mirage to Intense
In 2010, Armin Van Buuren was given the Golden Herp Award, another prestigious Dutch music award. The same year Buuren celebrated his radio show’s 450th birthday, for which he collaborated with several other artists and performed at different locations, including Canada. He then announced his fourth studio album titled “Mirage”, which was later released in September. After three years break from recording, during which he continued to perform live and produce music under different projects, Buuren released his fifth studio album Intense, which was a grand hit. In 2013, he was also ranked at number two on DJ Mag. Now he is planning an eight-city trek in its support.