September 2, 2024 • 19 mins
Fresh back from vacation, the legend Armin van Buuren joined us on America's Dance 30 to celebrate the incredible success of his smash "In The Dark"! Armin shared how the song was born w David Guetta & Aldae, why he was shocked it actually happened, how long ago they started working on it, and how many different Vs there were of it before its release. Armin also talked which artists he'd love to collab with that he still hasn't!
He also shared about Ibiza and how best to enjoy the paradise island, what major show he has coming up that he's really excited about, and who he would DJ a set for if it could be anyone dead or alive.
We also got to know Armin better w "Armin In The Dark" or "Armin With The Lights On"!!
Find out if he'd rather do the following in the dark or w the lights on:
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
He also shared about Ibiza and how best to enjoy the paradise island, what major show he has coming up that he's really excited about, and who he would DJ a set for if it could be anyone dead or alive.
We also got to know Armin better w "Armin In The Dark" or "Armin With The Lights On"!!
Find out if he'd rather do the following in the dark or w the lights on:
- watch a scary movie
- take a nap
- play a live set
- produce his next #1
- how he proposed to his wife
Follow: @AmericasDance30 on all socials!
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on stations around the world!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yo, man, what's up.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm good. Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome back from vacation.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Hopefully I'm not the first face you're having to deal with.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
No, absolutely not. I came home on Friday from Greece.
We have absolutely an amazing time.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
How was it. I've never been.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It was so beautiful. We were very lucky. We were
in three different spots.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
We started in Athens, I went to Nafflio, we were
on a boat for a week in the Peloponnesos, and
last week we spent in Santorini, one of the islands,
which so beautiful, so amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I love Greece. It's such a beautiful country.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My brother and his wife just went there a couple
of months ago and just sent me all these pictures
from is it Santorini?
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Santorini. There's a lot of Americans actually in Santorini. I
was really surprised, but yeah, it's such a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Honestly, I'm so jealous.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Well, not only welcome back from vacation, but armand Van Buren,
welcome back to America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Thank you, thank you for having me on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Dance Counting Down.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
The biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Congratulations on in the Dark with David Ghetta and all
Day going number one.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
That is so incredible, That is insane.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
You didn't tell me that.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, I'm glad I could break the news to you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I wish I had a trophy or something to give you,
but I don't.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I mean, can you imagine I just did three weeks
of absolutely nothing and then you tell me I'm number one?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So it kind of feels weird.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, welcome back to reality. Arman is always number one.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now means a lot lot.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My most important question for you is is it as
weird for you as it is for us armand Van
Buren fans that it's taken this long for an Armin
Getta collab.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I'm pretty pretty surprised myself. But looking at my schedule,
looking at David's schedule, it was just, you know, it
was almost impossible to find a time to properly sit
down in the studio. We did try a few things
a couple of years ago, but nothing came out of that,
you know, and we didn't want to share the news
until we actually finished something that we were both super
(02:21):
satisfied with I mean, he.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Has a very distinct sound. I have a sound, and.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
We had to find middle ground, which honestly wasn't easy,
even though we're the best friends and you know, we've
been friends for I think over fifteen years now. I
mean I went to his parties, his you know, his
family gatherings and stuff, and we had dinner multiple times,
we played back to back with each other, but it just,
for some reason, it just never came together until we
(02:47):
found this song, which was co written by all Day
and it was just a song that well, accidentally it
ended up on his desk and my desk around the
same time, and we met up in La together and said, okay,
you know, let's try and finish this and make it
a proper single, and let's see if we can go
somewhere because the song to me is just magical, and
(03:09):
he had the same feeling, like, you know, it would
be a shame if if we couldn't do something with this.
So it was in the air, but honestly, it was
a bit of a struggle to get it finished because
you know, he has a lot of demands. He has
a big team of people, as you know, I have
a big team of people that also has a lot
of demands, but we.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Just really loved the song and we wanted to make
it work.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So the production was a bit of work, but yeah,
we put a lot of love into it, and yeah,
we were equally excited about the results.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So yeah, to see this going to number.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
One is just I mean, it's kind of proved like
that we were right in a way, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
We were right right absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Well, we're going to delve a little more into it
a little later on about how it was born. But
is there anyone else that you've known forever that you
haven't collabed with that you want to collabor with? I mean,
you struck David Ghetto off the list, you struck Steve
Aoki off the list who you hadn't worked with.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Is there anyone else?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Well, for example, Skrilex, remember meeting him and hanging out
at his parties in the early days. I have huge
respect for him and we've you know, we've been talking
for a long time. You know, for some reason, it
just never came together. But who knows in the future.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Cascade is one of those guys. I love him.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Ryan, where you know, we meet each other all the
time at festivals and events. It's just it feels like
my older brother in a way. But that's also one
of the guys. I think, you know, that will be
a dream one day to dream collapse to come together.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
But you know, let's see.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
For me, I think I want to stress this. I mean,
of course, name dropping is important. I mean, we all
know David Getta and his legacy, and he's such a
such a nice and humble guy, and he has such
a legacy behind him. He's probably one of the biggest
DJs ever out there. But you can work with the
biggest name, but it doesn't mean you can have a
number one on America's Dan's thirty, you know what I mean.
(04:59):
It needs to have a song that really resonates with
the fans, and that's a big responsibility. I mean, I
know I can name drop here and I'm super proud
of this track with David Ghetto, But I think first
and foremost what matters to us is the fact that
this song really resonates with the crowd and has such
an impact on the dance for when we play it.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, it's an amazing song. It's got incredible vocals. It's
got incredible synth and bassline to it. It really is
a great song. Before we delve into it and talk
about how it was born, let's get to know Armin
van Buren a little better. With Armin in the dark
or Armin with the lights on. I'm just gonna ask
you a bunch of random questions. Just tell me if
(05:39):
you'd rather do it in the dark or with.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
The lights on? All right?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Armand van Buren watching a scary movie in the dark
or with the lights on.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
In the dark? For sure. I love a good horror movie.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
What's the last one you saw?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I think it wasn't it the updated scream It was
a new version of scream Out.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I think. Yeah. We always love that one. Hello Sidney, I.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Could see you having a rule in it next time.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I love that one.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Arman taking a nap in the dark or with the
lights on.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I can take a nap anywhere. Man with lights on,
lights off, Like I can sleep anywhere. That's one of
my talents. Actually, you know, during so much working so much,
we're like when I'm on a plane, noise around me,
I put my noise caancing headphones on.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
I'm gone.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You know, it's frustrating for my manager because he sits
next to me. He's like he needs all these things
that he wants to discuss, like, well, we need to
discuss this tour, we need to discuss this video.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I gotta admit though, taking a nap though with the
lights off, is dangerous. It's like living on the edge
because you don't know how long that nap is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It's true, It's very true, true now.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
But I actually I'm not gonna lie. Like recently I
discovered how much I need eight hours of sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah. I know there's a lot of people out there
who can live.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
On five six hours, but for me, I need my
eight hours every night for sure.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Once again, I'm jealous of you. I couldn't even imagine
what eight hours of sleep is like.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Working too hard, way too hard? Tell my boss, is that.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Now armand playing a set at night in the dark
or during the day with daylight?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh no, in the dark I have I've just invested
a lot of time and money into my visual show
and I'm super proud of that.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So yeah, that that to me is really important.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah, absolutely, Now, producing your next number one in the
studio in the dark or with the lights on.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Well, actually, you see my studio and this is in
the dark was partly produced in this same space. You
can see these big windows because we're talking on video here.
So I actually spend a lot of time and money
into having a studio with daylight because the most videos
I get into all these spaceships, you know what I mean.
And I actually really love the fact that I have
(08:06):
daylight here because you know, I'm used to playing in
the dark, so I get I get jet lagged really easy.
So this is one of my favorite things to sit
in this studio and actually have daylight, and it makes
me feel much more comfortable. I also have fresh air
coming from the outside all the way in, so it's
not air conditioning, it's actually fresh air coming from the
outside in the studio. So I can sit here in
(08:27):
this chair for like thirteen hours, and trust me, I
do that sometimes, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So yeah, I prefer producing in the light.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Now, finally, did you propose to your wife in the
dark or with the lights on?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I proposed to my wife in front of the Opera
House in Sydney.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Oh wow, yeah, so that was.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
In the light. Yeah, for sure. The rest we do
in the dark.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
That's for another chat. Armin van Buren. Let's talk about
this smash. So how long ago did you guys start
work working on it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I would say about a year ago. Yeah, I can
look it up in my chat.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I think it's about a year ago that we found
out that we both liked the same track, and yeah,
I sent him a first version that he absolutely didn't like,
and then we started working together, you know, bouncing back
and forth. And you know, it's actually really funny how
you make music nowadays. You know, I still work with
a lot of people in the same studio and I've
(09:28):
been with Getta in the same studio, but most of
it the work gets done remotely, and it's great because
of you know, I'm very mobile right now, Like since
like five years, I traveled with my studio basically on
the plane. However, I can't really finish any tracks when
I'm on the road. I really need to be in
a proper studio to properly hear what it sounds like.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
I'm big speakers, So yeah, I know, it's fun. So
it's a great way of working on it.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And you mentioned that he didn't like the original. Some
that I love to find out is.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
We love the original demo, but I started working on
it together with my good friend in the studio and
we took a different angle just to try, you know,
and I think not a lot of people know this,
but this is what I do, like for a living.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
You know, I sit in the studio, I try to
fool them.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Out with chords and ideas, and I listen to a
lot of current music and try to translate it.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
And you know, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's just a way how you make music, or at
least how I work.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
And will that version ever see the light of day?
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Oh hell no, no, no. There's a bunch of really
bad noise on my hard drive. You know, I'm surprised
that I didn't crash yet, you know, but that's the beauty
of it, you know, beauty of creation is that every
little step, I mean, I can play the first versions
of this is what it feels like my big anthem
(10:51):
that was released in twenty thirteen, and the first attempts
were just horrible. Yeah, sometimes you just need to It's
like sculpt, you know, you're sculpting your statue, you know.
It's kind of and I like that working that way
so it actually a very inspirational way of working.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Well.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Something I love to find out about songs is how
many different v's there are from when you start working
on it, all the tweaking that goes on to when
you finally put it out mastered.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Do you remember what the final v was of in
the dark?
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I can look it up. I'm in the folder right now.
We did about it's not that bad. We did twenty
two versions, so it's not that bad.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
How many versions were there of? This is what it
feels like.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Oh, you don't want to know. I think that's one
of those.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
This is what it feels like, one seventy two alternate
three fifty six kind of version.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I'm sure that you guys wouldn't even hear the difference
between version two hundred and version three fifty six. But
at one point you just get so like you zoom
in on the details, which I actually think you're kind
of killing a sort of a spontaneity, if you will.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
I remember making.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
The production on another You with mister props, and the
very first idea I put down in like half an hour,
like it was very basic, very basic chords, kick baseline,
that's it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And I wasn't really happy with it, but it had.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
A certain magic to it, and I tried to like
sort of escape that first demo, and it took me
like months to go back to the first the very
first idea, to find out that this is the best idea.
So the actual version that you that made the final cut,
that is another you, is pretty much the original demo
that I made in the studio in like half an hour.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
But I mean in the basics.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
I mean, obviously the little detail, the production details take
a few days to finish, but the rough idea, the
chord idea, the structure, the very basic structure of the song,
you know, the kicking baseline, they're from the original demo.
So sometimes there's a certain magic to those thirty minutes.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's so amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I got to tell you, just totally off the subject,
but I got to tell you a funny story about
Trevor Guthrie.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I don't know if you know this story.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
We actually had him in town performing and Sultan and
Shepherd were playing live before him but didn't know that
he was on after them, and they dropped the song
before he went on and performed. We're side stage, just
going oh, my god BT had to run on stage
(13:18):
to tell them to stop playing it because he was.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
I had a similar thing when I played a tour
in China and I played in the city I can't
even pronounce the name. It was a beautiful city, by
the way, really nice people, and it started in a card.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
It blasted my own tracks really loud, so.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
I had to ask the driver to turn the volume down,
but he didn't speak English, so I had to listen
to my own music really loud for about an hour.
Then I got to my hotel and then I went
to the venue and the DJ before me, I kid
you not.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Was playing every single track I ever produced, and I
still had to go on stage.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
But apparently the way they saw it was a kind
It was kind of an you know, they're paying tribute
to me, and they wanted me to play everything again.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
But I was like, what's the point If you're playing
all this music? Why did you invite me here? You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
How did you start that set?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Did you change stuff and start with an unfamiliar or
did you just do your normal set.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
I always have a few new tracks that I'm working
on or in our demos or studio. Things so I
started off with half an hour of brand new stuff,
and I remember the crowd staring at me, like, let's
just dude playing. And then I started playing my big
hits again and everybody's like, oh, that's arm and see.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
We love him. So it's not always what you expect.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
It's not always how I wanted to be, my little
control freaking mind, you know, I wanted to be this way,
but sometimes you just can't control the night. And it
turned out it was one of the best nights on
the tour. So you know, who am I to say
something about that?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Actually, speaking of your shows, you've also got your residency
at Ushuaia every Sunday in September.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
For somebody that's never been to Ibitha, what is it like.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Well, actually, i'll tell your story.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
The first time I touched down in Ebiza, I was
kind of let down because I was so hyped up
about Ebiza. I was like, Okay, now I'm in heaven,
a place close to heaven or paradise. This is paradise.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
It took me a couple of years to really understand
the magic of Ibiza. I mean, of course, if you
want to go get wasted, if you want to have
a great time, you know, hang out with your friends
and listen to the best DJ as you can, because
that's what Abitha is known for.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
But to me, what the real magic of Abitha is
about is you know, driving up.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
To the north of the island, visiting one of those
remote beaches, having an amazing lunch on the beach, being
on a boat for a day, you know, sailing to Fomintera,
get a nice lunch there, finding one of those cool
restaurant spots that serve excellent food, you know, visiting the
hippie market in the north, or visiting the old Arbeita town,
(16:02):
visiting one of those rare smaller parties where like two
hundred people are just having an amazing time after a
lunch at some you know, at some small beach.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
There's a there's a certain magic about that that you
have to find. I think you have to take the
time to find it. Don't expect when you land that
that magic will hit you instantly.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
I mean, it's a beautiful island, but the first time
I got there, it's like, yeah, you know, it's pretty
much just an island.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
But there is definitely magic to it and has you know,
it has a mut music culture. You just feel like
when you come to Rome, for example, you just feel
the history right and I have that with Ebitha.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
You you come there and you just feel that the nostalgia,
you feel the lyric sound. It just touches you. If
you're open to it.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I mean, and I guess you can have any time
you want Anybitha. You know, you can have the party time,
you can have the relaxing time. I remember I was
going on holiday and Ebiza with my family and I
was there for three weeks and didn't go to a
single club and just had a completely amaz.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You've done a great job of selling it, thank you.
Besides your shows in Ibitha, You've also got an amazing
show at Red Rocks coming up.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I'm so excited I'm returning. Actually is my second time.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
I played it in two thousand and six and I'm
back and it's going to be so wild. It's going
to be Thursday, the fourteenth of November, and I'm going
to be ready for that.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
That is such an incredible venue. I actually got flown
there to see Cascade in Dead Mouse. It was my
first time there, and I was like, where am I
right now?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Just visually it is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I know it's a special place for sure.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
My question about that is do you go up the
steps or do you just stay on the stage.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
No, I'll go up the steps. Come on, man, it
is brutal.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
I was like, I could do this halfway up. I
was like, okay, maybe I'm not as in shape as
I thought I was.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I know, right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Congratulations on all your shows there, and of course congratulations
on another number one Within the Dark.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
That is so incredible.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I'm honored. Man, I'm kind of blown away. It's just
it's insane. I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Such a great song.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
By the way, one of your biggest fans, Lydia, submitted
a question, and it's a really good question. If you
could play a set for anyone, dead or alive, who
would you want to play a set for and what
would be the first song you would open with.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
I think I would play tribute to like show Migiel jar.
I think it's his birthday today as well. You know,
he's one of the pioneers of electronic music. I have
a few heroes like that, you know. Dutch master mixer
Ben Lebloom Show, Migil Vangelis, who unfortunately passed away. You know,
those are the guys that may that used the synthesizer
in a time where the synthesizer was considered not even
(18:44):
an instrument, you know, and they were on the basic
that they started producing music with this thing that was
created by guys with big white suits.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, I think that that's really remarkable, and I think
we owe everything in dance music to them. Everything that's
happening right now, it's because in the seventies a couple
of guys really started making electronic music, like Georgia Moroder
is one of those other.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Guys that I want to mention. You know, it's such
a suchi a legend.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I mean, really, it's so crazy to think back to that. Well,
speaking of birthdays, happy early birthday to you, because I'm
not sure if we're going to speak before then. I
know it's in December, So happy early birthday, Arman. Thank you,
Thank you so much for your time with us on
America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Thank you so much for having me, and again I'm
over the moon. Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Americas Dancer counting down the Biggest dance songs in the country,
AM America's Dance thirty
Yo, man, what's up.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I'm good. Good to see you.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Welcome back from vacation.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Hopefully I'm not the first face you're having to deal with.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
No, absolutely not. I came home on Friday from Greece.
We have absolutely an amazing time.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
How was it. I've never been.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
It was so beautiful. We were very lucky. We were
in three different spots.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
We started in Athens, I went to Nafflio, we were
on a boat for a week in the Peloponnesos, and
last week we spent in Santorini, one of the islands,
which so beautiful, so amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
I love Greece. It's such a beautiful country.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My brother and his wife just went there a couple
of months ago and just sent me all these pictures
from is it Santorini?
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Santorini. There's a lot of Americans actually in Santorini. I
was really surprised, but yeah, it's such a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Honestly, I'm so jealous.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Well, not only welcome back from vacation, but armand Van Buren,
welcome back to America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Thank you, thank you for having me on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Dance Counting Down.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
The biggest dance songs in the country.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
This is America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Congratulations on in the Dark with David Ghetta and all
Day going number one.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
That is so incredible, That is insane.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
You didn't tell me that.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, I'm glad I could break the news to you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I wish I had a trophy or something to give you,
but I don't.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
I mean, can you imagine I just did three weeks
of absolutely nothing and then you tell me I'm number one?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
So it kind of feels weird.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, welcome back to reality. Arman is always number one.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now means a lot lot.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
My most important question for you is is it as
weird for you as it is for us armand Van
Buren fans that it's taken this long for an Armin
Getta collab.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
I'm pretty pretty surprised myself. But looking at my schedule,
looking at David's schedule, it was just, you know, it
was almost impossible to find a time to properly sit
down in the studio. We did try a few things
a couple of years ago, but nothing came out of that,
you know, and we didn't want to share the news
until we actually finished something that we were both super
(02:21):
satisfied with I mean, he.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Has a very distinct sound. I have a sound, and.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
We had to find middle ground, which honestly wasn't easy,
even though we're the best friends and you know, we've
been friends for I think over fifteen years now. I
mean I went to his parties, his you know, his
family gatherings and stuff, and we had dinner multiple times,
we played back to back with each other, but it just,
for some reason, it just never came together until we
(02:47):
found this song, which was co written by all Day
and it was just a song that well, accidentally it
ended up on his desk and my desk around the
same time, and we met up in La together and said, okay,
you know, let's try and finish this and make it
a proper single, and let's see if we can go
somewhere because the song to me is just magical, and
(03:09):
he had the same feeling, like, you know, it would
be a shame if if we couldn't do something with this.
So it was in the air, but honestly, it was
a bit of a struggle to get it finished because
you know, he has a lot of demands. He has
a big team of people, as you know, I have
a big team of people that also has a lot
of demands, but we.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Just really loved the song and we wanted to make
it work.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So the production was a bit of work, but yeah,
we put a lot of love into it, and yeah,
we were equally excited about the results.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So yeah, to see this going to number.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
One is just I mean, it's kind of proved like
that we were right in a way, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
We were right right absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Well, we're going to delve a little more into it
a little later on about how it was born. But
is there anyone else that you've known forever that you
haven't collabed with that you want to collabor with? I mean,
you struck David Ghetto off the list, you struck Steve
Aoki off the list who you hadn't worked with.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Is there anyone else?
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Well, for example, Skrilex, remember meeting him and hanging out
at his parties in the early days. I have huge
respect for him and we've you know, we've been talking
for a long time. You know, for some reason, it
just never came together. But who knows in the future.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Cascade is one of those guys. I love him.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Ryan, where you know, we meet each other all the
time at festivals and events. It's just it feels like
my older brother in a way. But that's also one
of the guys. I think, you know, that will be
a dream one day to dream collapse to come together.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
But you know, let's see.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
For me, I think I want to stress this. I mean,
of course, name dropping is important. I mean, we all
know David Getta and his legacy, and he's such a
such a nice and humble guy, and he has such
a legacy behind him. He's probably one of the biggest
DJs ever out there. But you can work with the
biggest name, but it doesn't mean you can have a
number one on America's Dan's thirty, you know what I mean.
(04:59):
It needs to have a song that really resonates with
the fans, and that's a big responsibility. I mean, I
know I can name drop here and I'm super proud
of this track with David Ghetto, But I think first
and foremost what matters to us is the fact that
this song really resonates with the crowd and has such
an impact on the dance for when we play it.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, it's an amazing song. It's got incredible vocals. It's
got incredible synth and bassline to it. It really is
a great song. Before we delve into it and talk
about how it was born, let's get to know Armin
van Buren a little better. With Armin in the dark
or Armin with the lights on. I'm just gonna ask
you a bunch of random questions. Just tell me if
(05:39):
you'd rather do it in the dark or with.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
The lights on? All right?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Sure? Sure?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Armand van Buren watching a scary movie in the dark
or with the lights on.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
In the dark? For sure. I love a good horror movie.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
What's the last one you saw?
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I think it wasn't it the updated scream It was
a new version of scream Out.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I think. Yeah. We always love that one. Hello Sidney, I.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Could see you having a rule in it next time.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I love that one.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Arman taking a nap in the dark or with the
lights on.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I can take a nap anywhere. Man with lights on,
lights off, Like I can sleep anywhere. That's one of
my talents. Actually, you know, during so much working so much,
we're like when I'm on a plane, noise around me,
I put my noise caancing headphones on.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
I'm gone.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You know, it's frustrating for my manager because he sits
next to me. He's like he needs all these things
that he wants to discuss, like, well, we need to
discuss this tour, we need to discuss this video.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
I gotta admit though, taking a nap though with the
lights off, is dangerous. It's like living on the edge
because you don't know how long that nap is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
It's true, It's very true, true now.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
But I actually I'm not gonna lie. Like recently I
discovered how much I need eight hours of sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah. I know there's a lot of people out there
who can live.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
On five six hours, but for me, I need my
eight hours every night for sure.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Once again, I'm jealous of you. I couldn't even imagine
what eight hours of sleep is like.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Working too hard, way too hard? Tell my boss, is that.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Now armand playing a set at night in the dark
or during the day with daylight?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Oh no, in the dark I have I've just invested
a lot of time and money into my visual show
and I'm super proud of that.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So yeah, that that to me is really important.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah, absolutely, Now, producing your next number one in the
studio in the dark or with the lights on.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Well, actually, you see my studio and this is in
the dark was partly produced in this same space. You
can see these big windows because we're talking on video here.
So I actually spend a lot of time and money
into having a studio with daylight because the most videos
I get into all these spaceships, you know what I mean.
And I actually really love the fact that I have
(08:06):
daylight here because you know, I'm used to playing in
the dark, so I get I get jet lagged really easy.
So this is one of my favorite things to sit
in this studio and actually have daylight, and it makes
me feel much more comfortable. I also have fresh air
coming from the outside all the way in, so it's
not air conditioning, it's actually fresh air coming from the
outside in the studio. So I can sit here in
(08:27):
this chair for like thirteen hours, and trust me, I
do that sometimes, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
So yeah, I prefer producing in the light.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Now, finally, did you propose to your wife in the
dark or with the lights on?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I proposed to my wife in front of the Opera
House in Sydney.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Oh wow, yeah, so that was.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
In the light. Yeah, for sure. The rest we do
in the dark.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
That's for another chat. Armin van Buren. Let's talk about
this smash. So how long ago did you guys start
work working on it?
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I would say about a year ago. Yeah, I can
look it up in my chat.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
I think it's about a year ago that we found
out that we both liked the same track, and yeah,
I sent him a first version that he absolutely didn't like,
and then we started working together, you know, bouncing back
and forth. And you know, it's actually really funny how
you make music nowadays. You know, I still work with
a lot of people in the same studio and I've
(09:28):
been with Getta in the same studio, but most of
it the work gets done remotely, and it's great because
of you know, I'm very mobile right now, Like since
like five years, I traveled with my studio basically on
the plane. However, I can't really finish any tracks when
I'm on the road. I really need to be in
a proper studio to properly hear what it sounds like.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
I'm big speakers, So yeah, I know, it's fun. So
it's a great way of working on it.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And you mentioned that he didn't like the original. Some
that I love to find out is.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
We love the original demo, but I started working on
it together with my good friend in the studio and
we took a different angle just to try, you know,
and I think not a lot of people know this,
but this is what I do, like for a living.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
You know, I sit in the studio, I try to
fool them.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Out with chords and ideas, and I listen to a
lot of current music and try to translate it.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
And you know, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's just a way how you make music, or at
least how I work.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
And will that version ever see the light of day?
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Oh hell no, no, no. There's a bunch of really
bad noise on my hard drive. You know, I'm surprised
that I didn't crash yet, you know, but that's the beauty
of it, you know, beauty of creation is that every
little step, I mean, I can play the first versions
of this is what it feels like my big anthem
(10:51):
that was released in twenty thirteen, and the first attempts
were just horrible. Yeah, sometimes you just need to It's
like sculpt, you know, you're sculpting your statue, you know.
It's kind of and I like that working that way
so it actually a very inspirational way of working.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Well.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
Something I love to find out about songs is how
many different v's there are from when you start working
on it, all the tweaking that goes on to when
you finally put it out mastered.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Do you remember what the final v was of in
the dark?
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I can look it up. I'm in the folder right now.
We did about it's not that bad. We did twenty
two versions, so it's not that bad.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
How many versions were there of? This is what it
feels like.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Oh, you don't want to know. I think that's one
of those.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
This is what it feels like, one seventy two alternate
three fifty six kind of version.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You know.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I'm sure that you guys wouldn't even hear the difference
between version two hundred and version three fifty six. But
at one point you just get so like you zoom
in on the details, which I actually think you're kind
of killing a sort of a spontaneity, if you will.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
I remember making.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
The production on another You with mister props, and the
very first idea I put down in like half an hour,
like it was very basic, very basic chords, kick baseline,
that's it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
And I wasn't really happy with it, but it had.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
A certain magic to it, and I tried to like
sort of escape that first demo, and it took me
like months to go back to the first the very
first idea, to find out that this is the best idea.
So the actual version that you that made the final cut,
that is another you, is pretty much the original demo
that I made in the studio in like half an hour.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
But I mean in the basics.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
I mean, obviously the little detail, the production details take
a few days to finish, but the rough idea, the
chord idea, the structure, the very basic structure of the song,
you know, the kicking baseline, they're from the original demo.
So sometimes there's a certain magic to those thirty minutes.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's so amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I got to tell you, just totally off the subject,
but I got to tell you a funny story about
Trevor Guthrie.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I don't know if you know this story.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
We actually had him in town performing and Sultan and
Shepherd were playing live before him but didn't know that
he was on after them, and they dropped the song
before he went on and performed. We're side stage, just
going oh, my god BT had to run on stage
(13:18):
to tell them to stop playing it because he was.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
I had a similar thing when I played a tour
in China and I played in the city I can't
even pronounce the name. It was a beautiful city, by
the way, really nice people, and it started in a card.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
It blasted my own tracks really loud, so.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
I had to ask the driver to turn the volume down,
but he didn't speak English, so I had to listen
to my own music really loud for about an hour.
Then I got to my hotel and then I went
to the venue and the DJ before me, I kid
you not.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Was playing every single track I ever produced, and I
still had to go on stage.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
But apparently the way they saw it was a kind
It was kind of an you know, they're paying tribute
to me, and they wanted me to play everything again.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
But I was like, what's the point If you're playing
all this music? Why did you invite me here? You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
How did you start that set?
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Did you change stuff and start with an unfamiliar or
did you just do your normal set.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
I always have a few new tracks that I'm working
on or in our demos or studio. Things so I
started off with half an hour of brand new stuff,
and I remember the crowd staring at me, like, let's
just dude playing. And then I started playing my big
hits again and everybody's like, oh, that's arm and see.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
We love him. So it's not always what you expect.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
It's not always how I wanted to be, my little
control freaking mind, you know, I wanted to be this way,
but sometimes you just can't control the night. And it
turned out it was one of the best nights on
the tour. So you know, who am I to say
something about that?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Actually, speaking of your shows, you've also got your residency
at Ushuaia every Sunday in September.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
For somebody that's never been to Ibitha, what is it like.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Well, actually, i'll tell your story.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
The first time I touched down in Ebiza, I was
kind of let down because I was so hyped up
about Ebiza. I was like, Okay, now I'm in heaven,
a place close to heaven or paradise. This is paradise.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
It took me a couple of years to really understand
the magic of Ibiza. I mean, of course, if you
want to go get wasted, if you want to have
a great time, you know, hang out with your friends
and listen to the best DJ as you can, because
that's what Abitha is known for.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
But to me, what the real magic of Abitha is
about is you know, driving up.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
To the north of the island, visiting one of those
remote beaches, having an amazing lunch on the beach, being
on a boat for a day, you know, sailing to Fomintera,
get a nice lunch there, finding one of those cool
restaurant spots that serve excellent food, you know, visiting the
hippie market in the north, or visiting the old Arbeita town,
(16:02):
visiting one of those rare smaller parties where like two
hundred people are just having an amazing time after a
lunch at some you know, at some small beach.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
There's a there's a certain magic about that that you
have to find. I think you have to take the
time to find it. Don't expect when you land that
that magic will hit you instantly.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
I mean, it's a beautiful island, but the first time
I got there, it's like, yeah, you know, it's pretty
much just an island.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
But there is definitely magic to it and has you know,
it has a mut music culture. You just feel like
when you come to Rome, for example, you just feel
the history right and I have that with Ebitha.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
You you come there and you just feel that the nostalgia,
you feel the lyric sound. It just touches you. If
you're open to it.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I mean, and I guess you can have any time
you want Anybitha. You know, you can have the party time,
you can have the relaxing time. I remember I was
going on holiday and Ebiza with my family and I
was there for three weeks and didn't go to a
single club and just had a completely amaz.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
You've done a great job of selling it, thank you.
Besides your shows in Ibitha, You've also got an amazing
show at Red Rocks coming up.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I'm so excited I'm returning. Actually is my second time.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
I played it in two thousand and six and I'm
back and it's going to be so wild. It's going
to be Thursday, the fourteenth of November, and I'm going
to be ready for that.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
That is such an incredible venue. I actually got flown
there to see Cascade in Dead Mouse. It was my
first time there, and I was like, where am I
right now?
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Just visually it is unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I know it's a special place for sure.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
My question about that is do you go up the
steps or do you just stay on the stage.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
No, I'll go up the steps. Come on, man, it
is brutal.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
I was like, I could do this halfway up. I
was like, okay, maybe I'm not as in shape as
I thought I was.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I know, right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Congratulations on all your shows there, and of course congratulations
on another number one Within the Dark.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
That is so incredible.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
I'm honored. Man, I'm kind of blown away. It's just
it's insane. I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Such a great song.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
By the way, one of your biggest fans, Lydia, submitted
a question, and it's a really good question. If you
could play a set for anyone, dead or alive, who
would you want to play a set for and what
would be the first song you would open with.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
I think I would play tribute to like show Migiel jar.
I think it's his birthday today as well. You know,
he's one of the pioneers of electronic music. I have
a few heroes like that, you know. Dutch master mixer
Ben Lebloom Show, Migil Vangelis, who unfortunately passed away. You know,
those are the guys that may that used the synthesizer
in a time where the synthesizer was considered not even
(18:44):
an instrument, you know, and they were on the basic
that they started producing music with this thing that was
created by guys with big white suits.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Yeah, I think that that's really remarkable, and I think
we owe everything in dance music to them. Everything that's
happening right now, it's because in the seventies a couple
of guys really started making electronic music, like Georgia Moroder
is one of those other.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Guys that I want to mention. You know, it's such
a suchi a legend.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I mean, really, it's so crazy to think back to that. Well,
speaking of birthdays, happy early birthday to you, because I'm
not sure if we're going to speak before then. I
know it's in December, So happy early birthday, Arman. Thank you,
Thank you so much for your time with us on
America's Dance thirty.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Thank you so much for having me, and again I'm
over the moon. Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
Americas Dancer counting down the Biggest dance songs in the country,
AM America's Dance thirty
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