Find out Armin
(InternetDJ) How do you manage to keep your sound so warm, analog machines over digital? Or do you have a few tricks up your sleeve that we don't know about? (Armin Van Buuren) I still use an analog desk in my studio. Besides that I'm using a lot of analog compression as that gives me the best overall result. If you want to know more, please check the virtual studio section on my website www.arminvanbuuren.com. (InternetDJ) Do you produce everything yourself or do you call in extra pairs of ears to help out? (Armin Van Buuren) I've always been a big fan of engineering everything myself and I've done so since 1991 ever since I got my first Atari. I try to use the sounds like the records that I play on dance floors. When I make a new bass drum for example, I usually know its a good bass drum because I've tested it! Sometimes I like to master my tracks with somebody else or in somebody else's studio, just to get a fresh look on your sound. But I'm still the one that makes the final decisions. (InternetDJ) I believe you studied law in University, that knowledge must have come in handy when dealing with the industry's legal eagles? (Armin Van Buuren) Definitely! But in the end of the day what they don't teach you in school is how to work with people. Rules can be rules, you're still dealing with people at the end of the day. That means that personal relationships are much more important than contracts in my experience. You only grab your contract if something's very wrong. Overall I think its very important to protect somebody's work of art and the time he or she has invested in it to create it. This is something that is forgotten often in these digital times. (InternetDJ) When you are not producing cutting edge tracks or playing 12 hour sets where in the world do you go to unwind and what do you get up to? (Armin Van Buuren) I love diving, reading & sunshine. In Holland I often go ride on my bike with my iPod as that gives me peace of mind. And I like to spend time with my friends & family as much as possible. They are very important to me. (InternetDJ) You are forced to pick one record that will play on repeat every minute of everyday for the rest of your life. What would it be and why? (Armin Van Buuren) The Orb – Blue Room (extended version), simply one of the best works of dance music/ambient ever made. (InternetDJ) We don't seem to be as bombarded with the type of pop music some people confuse with trance as much. Will trance regain its integrity now that the era of artists like DJ Sammy and Lasgo are over or will there always be a stigma attached? (Armin Van Buuren) I guess trance has become a little bit of a dirty word now that its much more popular in general. I even noticed how some artists and DJ try to prevent using the word trance for their own production because they're afraid to admit it is! I think we should stop using different names & styles for slightly different types of music in general anyway. Everyone seems to have a different definition of trance or progressive. If one person would name a place "Paris" and another "Rome", then how the heck are we supposed to ever find this place! I think the whole discussion should be about dance music itself. (InternetDJ) Will Trance evolve into something unrecognisable from the classic sounds from the mid-nineties? Or does it need to retain some of the vintage sound to work? (Armin Van Buuren) I don't know. I guess music is always evolving. Trance for me ("Paris") has a much broader definition anyway then most people ("Rome"!). The only thing I can say here is that dance music will always be here, but things will change. And change is good. Never be a prisoner of your own style. (InternetDJ) How has your live setup changed in the past few years, have you embraced mp3s and laptops or is it still just cd and vinyl? (Armin Van Buuren) Laptops are build for home or office use. The package for a laptop doesn't say: "for use in smokey clubs, with vibrant surfaces an…