Armin Van Buuren
with Andrew Rayel and Orjan Nilsen

Armin van Buuren has been named number one in the prestigious DJ MAG Top 100 poll four times in a row, as the first DJ in the history of the DJ Magazine and an indication of his prolific output over the more than 14 years he’s been dj’ing and producing. Being the official World’s Most Popular DJ is just one of his many achievements, but the driving force behind his success is an overriding passion for dance music.

The Dutchman discovered a passion for dance music by listening to mix-tapes and radio shows, and taught himself how to create his own. 20 years later, his very own radio show A State of Trance has grown out to legendary heights. Nowadays, 15 million listeners tune into his 2 hour selection of trance and progressive, every week. For 9 years in a row and more than 450 episodes already, the A State of Trance show has been and still is a weekly highlight to many dance music lovers.

Even a basic list of recent successes reads like a lifetime of work. Armin van Buuren isn’t ‘just’ the number one on the critically acclaimed DJ Mag Top 100, but also holds the ‘Best Global DJ’ and ‘Best Trance Artist’ title, awarded to him at the International Dance Music Awards and Beatport Awards, respectively. Radio show A State of Trance received the IDMA for ‘Best Mix Radio Show’ for 5 years in a row. Furthermore, Armin was awarded for ‘Best Podcast’, became the most popular International DJ at Australia's Sony inthemix DJ Poll and, in March 2010, received the ‘Gouden Harp’, the highest distinction a Dutch artist can get.