DJ’s United for Loveparade charity theme
Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk have collaborated on a track called ‘Remember Love’, an homage to the 21 victims and visitors of the 19th edition of the world-famous Loveparade event. All proceeds will be donated to charity.
The Loveparade tragedy
July 24th 2010 is a date the dance scene will never forget. At the Loveparade, celebrated in Duisburg, Germany, more than 500 people were injured and 21 people were killed after panic broke out due to overcrowding in the tunnel entrance of the festival terrain. The Loveparade attracted more visitors than it could handle, resulting in mass hysteria and the death of 21 young dance lovers. Organizer of the Loveparade, Rainer Schaller, declared that this has been the final edition of the legendary event, that on average attracted a million dance-lovers to its yearly editions and had its first edition in 1989 in the city of Berlin. The dance scene, along with its DJ’s, has been in shock ever since and to help remember the spirit of the famed dance event, three world-famous DJ’s have now united to create awareness and support the victims family-members and persons injured.
How ‘Remember Love’ got into being
Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk have all played on several editions of the Loveparade, some of them even in the early years, when the Loveparade was still held in its original concept, in Berlin. They joined forces to produce a track, ‘Remember Love’. The initiator of the track, was Paul Oakenfold. “I think the Loveparade represents a big part of the essence of the dance movement”, he explains.“It’s a gathering for people from all over the world to come together to share their love for electronic music. I was watching television and a newsflash came up about the Loveparade. I really felt for the people that were there. I just thought we should do something to help them. In many other music genres artists come together, like ‘Live Aid’ and after the Haïti-disaster. We should do something. So I wrote this song and contacted Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk. I asked them if they were interested, cause I thought it was a good idea to have England, Holland and Germany coming together. Us coming together to do a track and all the money goes to help people. I think this is the first time this has ever been done in the dance scene, to give back, to help people.”
Both Paul van Dyk and Armin van Buuren responded positively. Armin van Buuren, who played in front of over 1 million party people at the 2008 edition of the Loveparade, confirms:“For the first time an Englishman, a German and a Dutchman teamed up and became united in the studio, creating a track that I hope people will love and treasure. Our purpose was united in the sense that we wanted to pay homage to those whose lives were lost, and to have their memories live on in the spirit of our record.”
Paul van Dyk, who has been part of the Loveparade ever since the first years, when it was still a political demonstration for peace and international understanding through music, was devastated when he heard about the Duisburg tragedy:“In its last years outside Berlin, the vibe of the Loveparade was a far cry from its original spirit. With ‘Remember Love’, we want to recapture the essence of the Loveparade and try to assist those who suffered by donating all proceeds to charity. It was a great honor to work with Armin van Buuren and Paul Oakenfold on this very important project. Please help us help others.”
‘Remember Love’
‘Remember Love’ will be available under the collaborative name of DJ United from September, 10th on, exclusively on Beatport for 2 weeks. The track will be premiered in the radioshows of Armin van Buuren (A State of Trance), Paul van Dyk (VONYC Sessions) and Paul Oakenfold (Perfecto on Tour) in the week before release. The collaboration is, according to Oakenfold, a true mix of the sounds of the three DJ’s/producers. Oakenfold:”’Remember Love’ has the melodic feel which represents my sound, the emotion and movement which I love of Armin’s sound and the energy and uplifting touch that no one does better than Paul van Dyk. I think it’ll be interesting for people to hear how three artists come together making one song.”
Bank details for international donations:
All proceeds will be donated to the Association of Non-statutory Welfare in North Rhine-Westphalia Germany (LAG), which started an appeal to support the victims family-members and persons injured. An account was opened for donations: Caritas Bistum Essen, bank account number 14 400, bank code 360 602 95 (Bank im Bistum Essen), BIC GENODED1BBE, IBAN DE75 3606 0295 0000 0144 00, keyword ‘Loveparade’.
