The premiere in May is at the Zigo Dome in Amsterdam. The concert hall has 17,000 seats and 6,300 standing. However, part of it has been blocked in order to build the big stage on which Armin and all the artists from his Embrace project will perform in the evening. Imagine this project as a powerful machine pulsating with the talents of dancers, singers and musicians from different genres, lighting designers, sound engineers, make-up artists, hairdressers, wardrobe designers. At the bottom of the stage there is a video wall, 80 meters long and 7 meters high. Stageworkers and technicians install the equipment, smoke machines, lights and special effects, 470 lighting fixtures. From the ceiling of the hall hang all sorts of equipment. The team that developed the Embrace show has done Muse and AC/DC productions from their recent tours, as well as Cirque Du Soleil shows. 30 people are travelling with Armin. They work on the production and take the stage together. This is the largest production the world famous DJ has done to date. It represents his sixth studio album, released on October 29, 2015.

The Platinum Armin

Armin is one of the most influential figures in electronic music, a flagship of the trance movement. He has a twenty-year career behind him. He has played the world’s most famous clubs and the world’s biggest and best festivals. The electronic dance music tribune, DJ Mag magazine, has ranked him the #1 DJ in the world five times, four of which in four consecutive years. In the U.S., he holds the record for the highest presence on the magazine Billboard’s charts for electronic albums. 2014 Armin was nominated for Grammy. Since 2001, he has hosted a weekly two-hour radio show, A State of Trance, listened by more than 37 million people in 84 countries and broadcast by over 100 radio stations. Each year, the show’s audience ranks their favorite tracks in the A State of Trance Top 20. Each track from this chart makes it onto the “A State of Trance Year Mix” album, which Armin van Buuren mixes and releases at the end of December. At the end of 2014 these mix albums were certified as 4 times platinum.

Van Buren is constantly on the way. When he’s not hosting his radio show, he’s making music in his own studio or he is on his way to the next club or festival. He has done many shows in Bulgaria, two of them at Arena Armeec (Arena 8888). His shows were completely sold out and changed the idea of a concert and a party in our country. His latest production “Armin Only” is a combination of acrobats, musical groups and solo artists and has become an incredible experience for over 11 000 spectators. The Armin Embrace show at the Zigo Dome in Amsterdam is shaping up to be even bigger and more impressive.

The early afternoon before the premiere is a time for trying out the technique, the ballet dancers are rehearsing, the artist do their soundcheck and meet the medias.

The first person from Armin’s show that I meet is

Daniel Stockman, the production’s tour manager and producer.

Daniel works for Alda Events, the company that has been producing Armin’s shows for many years. Daniel takes part of Alda for 5 years. He has also organised both of his shows in Bulgaria.

– Yes, of course I remember Bulgaria – says Daniel. – Your country is very beautiful. I organized the “In State Of Trans” and “Armin Only”’ tours in your country. We travel a lot, but I remember both shows were great. My job is to take care of every member of our team. With my collaborators on this tour, we’re booking airline tickets for 30 people, taking care of the hotel, transportation, the meet and greet and the program in the different countries, makeup, press relations. The technical producer and I organise the briefings. So we visit some cities twice. The second time I usually arrive four days earlier. We build the stage, prepare the whole process. On the day of the show there’s a short rehearsal and soundcheck. Armin is on stage from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., and then there’s an afterparty that lasts an hour. Armin is like that – if you ask him to play for 10 hours, he’ll do it, and he will be glad. And we all do it that way, together. It’s not easy work of course, but we enjoy it all of us.

Where has been your most successful show to date?

It’s hard to say. Everywhere in the world people really like our show. We measure our success by the audience reaction. If it’s enthusiastic and happy, then we’ve done a good job. But there are places, like Ecuador and Thailand for example, where people express their elation differently – they cry at a show like ours. Quite surprising. We are grateful to the governments of those countries because our productions there happen with their permission.

How many people work on the crew of this show?

A total of 30 – eight dancers, 12 other artists, Armin and the crew. Usually before the show, we all get together – the artists and the crew, we keep silence for 10-15 seconds and then the evening starts.

Does Armin meet his fans?

Oh yes. First, they always find out how to reach him. And then, at every show we have a fan meet and greet and autograph signing just before the show. We usually invite between 15 and 20 people. That’s taken care of by the promoters – the concert promoters in the country we’re in. They set people up with some kind of competition, for example.

Armin played for King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands after their coronation. And in front of an audience of 15,000, the royals surprised everyone by coming on stage to dance with him. Which other famous people have attended his shows?

Oh, they are many. We also invite famous people. Today for the premiere, for example, many Dutch footballers, musicians and DJs will come.

Talking to Daniel, we walk the corridors of the Zigo Dome. We pass a make-up room where I see two ballerinas, Marit Nikolai and Yenis de Haan. Two hairdressers have just prepared their hair. Various costumes hang on a stand behind them. Daniel explains that the clothes are made by different Dutch designers.

– ‘We’ve each had nine appearances on stage,’ Yenis de Haan, the dark-haired ballerina, tells me. – For the whole show, we both have five dances in common, we also have solos. For each one, we dress up. We’re used to doing it in seconds. And if we have five minutes, it’s a straight break for us.

– Except when you come home from the stage all wet and have to not only change, but also have your hair dried – Marit Nikolai adds. – Turns out there’s a lot of work to be done backstage, too.

How long have you been rehearsing for this show?

Janice: – We are eight dancers. We started in January. We rehearsed every day for eight weeks, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Even though we are all academically trained, it was very hard. I also have a dance school of three years, with 200 students ranging in age from 3 to 73. Marit and I both teach and choreograph. We are used to a very serious rhythm.

Marit: Yanice is also involved in a theatre production. We both work as models and actresses. I was in the TV dance show “So you think you can dance”.

Yanice: The preparation of Armin’s show was very hard because the level of dance in this show is very high – we dance urban dance, but also classical ballet, house, different styles, you will see. 

What do you think will be your biggest challenge?

Yanice: – From my experience from previous shows I’ve been in – the time difference. The show more often ends at 4 o’clock at night. And sometimes we have to take the plane at 9 in the morning. Which means no sleep. We get back to the hotel, get our bags and head to the airport.

How do you manage to relax?

Marit: With yoga, massages. I really like one sport – floating, it’s like moving in water.

Yanice: I do yoga and massages too, but I also need to spend time with my family and see friends. It grounds me and gets me out of the wild pace of talking about work. I need to talk about simple, ordinary things, like food, the weather, topics shown on TV. And I love going to parties with dancing and good friends.

Marit: Me too, but don’t imagine that we’re the kind of people who would rush the dance floor to show how great dancers are.

What kind of music do you like?

Yanice: A variety of music. I like a lot of house as well. My mom is a fan of trance music and used to play Armin for me when I was little. And now I’m working with him.

Armin for “Embrace”

Armin van Buren is very easy to get along with, seems inspired by his work and does it with ease. The thousands of sleepless nights have not affected him at all. It’s interesting how someone who lives such a high speed before opening night and touring is so calm and smiling.

Why did you choose to call your album and tour “Embrace”?

The idea in Embrace was to embrace, to combine different styles, perspectives, instruments. My album cover was photographed by Anton Corbin (who works with U2). You’ll see me on the cover sitting in a car with different instruments sticking out of it. They’re all on the album: Spanish guitar, trumpet, drums… On the first track you’ll hear Eric Vlomans playing, a jazz musician. He is one of the best trumpet players in the world. And I’m very excited because it’s the first time a jazz musician is partnering with a trance artist. You’ll also hear the rock band Kensington, the melodic Cimo Frankel, Mister Probz and his hip-hop voice, and the skills of singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw. In it, I try to express how I feel about the world full of different music today. As a DJ and producer, I want to connect with this world full of inspiring combinations. To embrace this infinite universe of possibilities.

Is there a room for improvisation in the show?

Every “Embrace” show will be different because I improvise. Music is a feeling. It’s live, you can’t make it up in advance. If you listen to the Beatles’ first and last albums, you’ll notice how different is their sound. There’s a natural progression in everything. That’s how music lives on. Whether you call my music trance or otherwise, it doesn’t matter. What’s more important to me is making music that inspires and excites people. I want to see the audience going crazy.

You have a law degree and you became a world famous DJ.

First I was interested in studying medicine, but getting into that specialty in the Netherlands comes with a quota and is very difficult. I decided to study law to make sure I had something to work. I didn’t like it in the beggining, especially the first year. I was just doing what I had to do. After that I became interested. I majored in copyright and commercial law, and I was really interested in how the system worked. However, while I was studying, my career started to progress. I got my degree, to my father and grandfather’s comfort, but my passion is music.

You’re living on a pretty tight schedule. How do you manage to have a rest?

I play a PlayStation. When we bought the house my family and I live in, my wife and I agreed that I would have a playroom. There’s consoles and a big Darth Vader in the corner, human-sized. Naturally, I try to spend as much time as possible with my family as well. My wife and I have been together for 16 years. We met in September 1999 during a vacation on the island of Crete. My wife Erika is very beautiful. I fell in love at first sight and we got married in 2009. We have a son 3 years old and a daughter 5 years old.

What kind of music do your children like?

At the moment – music for children, but my daughter recognizes my pieces on the radio and that’s nice. I try to balance my schedule so that I have time to watch my kids grow up.

What do you remember from your shows in Bulgaria?

Оh! One of the highlights of my career was at Cocoa Beach in the summer. I played for four hours. Four thousand people came. The beach was full! And I remember that crowd and how the sun came up. It was a stellar moment for me as a DJ. It was magnificent. And my next show, “Armin Only Intense”, which we did in Sofia, was also an amazing experience. It was great to do a show like that in Bulgaria and the crowd was impressive. I’ve done parties for 20 to 60 thousand people, but the ones in Bulgaria were very special.

What inspired you to make music in this way and this kind of music?

I guess my dad. He listened to classical music and at the same time very modern music for his time. I grew up in the 90’s and back then in the Netherlands electronic music was the thing to listen to. The Netherlands was one of the first countries to adopt dance music as part of their culture. We were one of the first to start doing big rave parties. I invested a bit in equipment and started making my own tracks. I didn’t believe anything would come of it.

What do you think is the most important about the success?

The first is the level of your own expectations. You have to learn to be happy with what you achieve, even if it’s half of what you wanted. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” You have one set of expectations, but something different happens along the way and you have to rearrange things. If you learn to live with that dynamic and act practically, success will be easier to bear. It’s good to have plans, but it’s also good to work hard and if you get to a closed door, open it and walk through it. And I think the word “passion” is the most important. You have to really, really, really want something. If you don’t love what you do every day, you’re just wasting your time.

What do you dream about?

Right now I dream that everyone around me is happy and healthy. And maybe to have a house near the sea somewhere.

At 8 pm, both sides of the red carpet in front of the Zigo Dome are full of journalists, cameras, cameramen and just fans. The VIPs attending the party have been coming in for an hour and a half. The big hysteria occurs when Armin and his wife get out of a limo. Even more interesting are the ten seconds before Armin appears on stage. 12 500 people in the hall chant his name. Their movement looks like a primal explosion. As Armin appears, everyone erupts. And such a party begins that is worth experiencing. Because it will be remembered for a lifetime, I’m sure. It’s like a flight, a blast for all the senses. With erupting fires, smoke, effects, confetti, silver showers, dancing bodies. A party on top of all the emotions – and so for five hours. On 17 September 2016 it happened in Sofia, in Arena Armeec (Arena 8888).