In 2013, van Buuren scored the biggest hit of his career to date with the Trevor Guthrie-assisted 'This Is What It Feels Like', and he will spend the majority of 2014 taking his 'Armin Only' tour around Europe, Australia and the US.
Armin van Buuren
He is marking the New Year with the release of brand new single 'Save My Night', which is being released in partnership with Heineken as part of the company's safe drinking campaign 'Dance More, Drink Slow'.
The DJ caught up with Digital Spy and other journalists in Amsterdam to talk about his new partnership with Heineken, the success of last year's 'This Is What It Feels Like' and his thoughts on the worldwide explosion of EDM.
Can you tell us a bit about the track that you have worked on with Heineken for the campaign?
"The song is a positive, uplifting track called 'Save My Night'. The idea is a little bit inspired by the emails I get from fans. Some of them are really heartbreaking, saying, 'Your music has saved me'. I've even had emails saying, 'I was about to hurt myself but your music has cured me'. Music can really change lives in a very positive way.
"To support that feeling with this campaign is only logical. This track has three lines, 'The music saves my soul/The beat saves my life/Tonight this DJ saves my night'. I've experienced nights where the atmosphere can really change if the DJ grabs the atmosphere and lifts everybody up. That's the power of music, it's a natural kick."
What is the worst case of drunken behaviour that you have seen at an event?
"I've seen many silly things. Fortunately I've never had a death incident at an event that I have seen, but I've seen people get hurt. I want to stress that at 99.9% of my gigs, nothing happens. People have an amazing time, and especially with the music I play. Trance doesn't have that stigma of alcohol misuse. People are mainly there for the music and I think it is really remarkable that Heineken - such a global and established brand - is willing to stick its neck out for this positive message.
"Dance music is growing so fast right now everywhere in the world and it is definitely a very positive thing. But with the growth of EDM also comes the dark side. There will always be stupid people but if you have an event of 1,000 people it's a lot easier to control than an event of 300,000 people.
"I think right now the time has come to bring a positive message, because if you support 'Dance More, Drink Slow', it's not only you who will enjoy the night more but you also give other people a better night. It's not only yourself but it's also other people that you're ruining the night for. I think that responsible drinking is a very good way to start."
Armin van Buuren for Heineken
'This Is What It Feels Like' was a massive worldwide hit last year. Have you thought about how you will try to follow up that success?
"Not necessarily. I think I'll leave it up to you guys to put stamps on music, but I just do whatever feels right in the studio. I've never made music to stay away from pop or make pop, or make trance or make non-trance. That is over-thinking it. What you do in the studio is have a good time and experiment with sound. I always say 'follow your heart, not the chart'. You try and make music that uplifts people. Was 'This Is What It Feels Like' made for chart success? No.
"I had a hit single in the UK in 2000 called 'Communication'. It was an instrumental trance track, and for two years I was stuck in a writer's block after that. I failed miserably for two years because I was trying to make a follow-up. The thing I learned from that is not to make a follow-up. Try and do new things."
There is a trend at the moment to fuse dance music with other genres like disco. What are your thoughts on that?
"I grew up listening to disco. I actually just met Giorgio Moroder here in Amsterdam during the Amsterdam Music Festival. What a hero! Disco was the foundation for a lot of electronic music that is popular right now. Giorgio Moroder has had a massive influence on trance music. I think a lot of artists will say the same thing. The disco generation was definitely the spark for the whole EDM movement that is happening now.
"I want to stress that what is happening now is not just a hype or phenomenon. A lot of people thought that it would go over, but now it has spread like a virus through all kinds of other current musical genres. Even pop music is using a lot of electronic ways to make music. I think when we look back at history, at this time, I think we will see that it is like what happened with The Beatles in the '60s. It's happening again with electronic music.
"If you listen to US pop radio you will hear a lot of EDM, and I'm not saying that is necessarily a good thing by the way. There are good and bad sides to the commercialisation of the genre. We cannot turn our heads from the fact that it is moving a generation of people and it is a cultural phenomenon like what happened with The Beatles, only it doesn't have a face as much as it did with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones."
You say that the amount of EDM on US radio isn't necessarily a good thing. What do you mean by that? Are there any current musical trends that you aren't a fan of?
"On a very personal level I don't know if I'm happy with every commercial collaboration between electronic dance music acts and hip-hop and R&B. It's not something I would put on for my enjoyment. It's not going to go away, whether I like it or not. It opens a lot of doors. For example, you can love or hate David Guetta, but the fact is that he has opened a lot of doors for all of us."
You've already mentioned the fact that EDM and trance is so popular right now. Who is really exciting you in the industry at the moment?
"From a trance point of view it would be Andrew Rayel from Romania. He is signed to my label as well. Recently, I think Mark Sixma is doing really amazing stuff. General EDM, I would say Hardwell, who is also signed to my label Cloud 9. He's the new number one DJ in the world, so he's doing really well and I'm really proud of what he's achieved. He's definitely a leader as well."
