‘For me, melody is the key ingredient to trance music’

Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren speaks to Keith A. Gomes about his upcoming gig at the Sunburn Festival in Goa, his long-term attachment to trance music and his creative journey across genres.

ally into new experimental music, and he was alone in that regard. His friends listened to the Beatles, which he liked, but he had his own path of electronic music. Maybe it’s in my DNA.

Q. You’ve been to Sunburn before, in Goa. How was the experience? A.

Beautiful. When you guys hear a song you like, you let me know in the best way possible. A lot of crowds in the world can learn from the enthusiasm and it always reminds me to seize the moment whenever I can.

Q. Your collaborations have led to many exceptional tracks. Which are your favourite artists to work with? A.

All my songs are my babies and I don’t have a particular favourite. On my new show it’s great to work with guys like Kensington, Mr. Probz, Cimo Frankel.

Q. Do trance and house have a shelf life, or do you see it evolving into something more in the future? A.

If you look at the history of music, it’s just repeating itself. I think what’s happening right now is that there’s a diversification. You can no longer speak about just EDM or trance music. You have to speak about all of the sub-styles. You have to speak about dubstep, deep house, trance. Even EDM is a genre now. There are all these different styles that now have their own following. There’s a lot of acoustic stuff made in electronic as well, so it’s a mix. I think mixing and merging of styles is the key to the future. Within trance you have all these subgenres now that weren’t there a few years ago. Each genre seems to have its own fans. For me most important is that a sound keeps developing.

Q. Last few words of advice for budding DJs? A.

Don’t be a prisoner of your own style. Embrace. You can mean that with everything — food, religion, politics, with music of course. It’s good to have a style, but don’t be afraid of the unknown. Life can be so much richer. And don’t forget to hug your loved ones because life is so short. Every day!