Producer/DJ Armin van Buuren, along with the Dutch independent record label he co-founded, Armada Music, are the latest winners of independent label organisation IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution Award. They join prestigious recipients such as Martin Mills, Mario Pacheco and Charles Caldas. IMPALA’s annual award recognises the exceptional efforts of an individual or organisation to promote and develop European independent music and the sector’s diversity.

In 20 years as an industry leading DJ and producer, Armin van Buuren rapidly grew from local DJ to global stardom, developing his very own, successful brand of music. He co-founded Armada Music in 2003 with Maykel Piron and David Lewis. Armin himself has claimed multiple accolades, including no less than 5 No. 1 spots in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs fan poll and, more recently, a Grammy nomination and an IMPALA platinum Award for his hit single, “This Is What Feels Like”.

Armada has accumulated multiple hits and has developed many sub-labels in various music genres; Trance, Progressive- and DeepHouse. The rich Armada roster includes household names such as Dash Berlin, Paul Oakenfold, W&W, Max Graham and Gosmic Gate. Armada Music has become a household name in the world of electronic dance music (EDM).

On receiving the Award during his special radio show live from “A State of Trance” #650 in Utrecht, The Netherlands, van Buuren commented: ‘What an honor to receive this award! 400,000 sales of ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ in Europe! It is truly amazing and I’m so proud of what we have achieved as an independent label in this genre over the past ten years. I believe that a healthy independent music scene in Europe will guarantee a constant flow of variety in musical culture.’

Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA added: “This award underlines the exceptional achievements of Armada Music and Armin. Armada’s essence as an independent record label: dynamic, creative, flexible and innovative, was recognised as outstanding. This awards is unique as the jury is made up of other independent label leaders across Europe.”

Kees van Weijen, Chairman of IMPALA and President of STOMP said: “The IMPALA Outstanding Contribution Award” presented to Armada Music and Armin van Buuren is in recognition of the way Armada as an independent dance label achieved the number 1 position in its field, and their vision in this fast growing genre worldwide.”

The Outstanding Contribution Award is one of two annual awards launched by IMPALA in 2011, to showcase European independent music and those who drive it. It aims to give recognition to the people and the initiatives that have promoted the interests of independent music in Europe.

Who could have guessed, that a song created about the most retro game in existence, ‘Pong’, would blow up into a 2014 EDM phenomenon in its own right? What began as almost a joke, quickly caught fire in the most unexpected of ways. It all goes back to a childhood love of video games and a fascination with a little white ball bouncing around a low-res TV screen.

Ping… Pong… Ping… Pong…

When Armin van Buuren witnessed the graphical wizardry his computer-savvy tech team had created for an upcoming ‘Armin Only’ show, he had only one thought: What can we do, in the middle of mind-blowing 3D graphics, to set a special moment apart? He had to act fast – which meant finishing the ‘Ping Pong Song’ in just two short days…

The song was, of course, never meant for release. The reaction from the crowd at Armin Only was so unexpectedly (and overwhelmingly) positive, however, that the inevitable question was raised: “Should we actually release this??”

The biggest fires start from the tiniest spark, and before long, the “Ping Pong Song” grew to become one of the most unforgettable moments of the Armin Only show — and a crew favorite. They even invented a special dance for it! With the incredibly catchy drop and hilarious visuals, fans will remember the “Ping Pong” moment of Armin Only for the rest of their lives.

This song is a strong reminder that large-venue music is, above all, a celebration. And what kind of celebration takes itself too seriously? With a barrage of smiley-face balloons dropping onto the crowd at the climax of the track, it’s hard not to go absolutely mental when this ear-worm comes over the main speakers.

March 24^th, 2014 will see the official release of this Armin Only gem, and don’t worry – there will be an accompanying music video before too long as well! Stay tuned, and if you’re one of the lucky few, you just might be able to see this once-in-a-lifetime performance for yourself at one of Armin’s next massive shows.

Out on Beatport March 24th.
Also included on A State Of Trance 2014 release March 28th on iTunes – pre-order now.

2014 is going to be an exciting year for listeners of Armin van Buuren’s A State of Trance radio show. Not only does it celebrate the 650th episode, but it also brings many, many more exciting highlights. The musical highlights can be found on the ASOT Radio Top 20, that brings the monthly essentials of the show, the label and the brand. The January 2014 pack brings the tracks of Driftmoon, Solarstone, Bryan Kearney, AYDA, Markus Schulz and many more.

Download on iTunes.
Listen on Spotify.
Download on Beatport.

Tonight on A State of Trance Armin announced his upcoming compilation ‘A State of Trance 2014′ and cover artwork! Stay tuned on Saturday as Armin will announce more during the #ASOT650NL live broadcast!

The year has only just kicked off, but for Armin van Buuren the highlights have already begun stacking up! Word just got in that Armin’s ‘Intense’ album is nominated for an Edison Pop Award in the Dance category!

The Edison Awards show is the Dutch version of the Grammy’s, and is the oldest music award in the Netherlands. It’s a great honour to be nominated, and we congratulate Armin with this incredible feat. ‘Intense’ is the fifth artist album of Armin, and includes singles ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, ‘Beautiful Life’, ‘Alone’ and collabs with Miri Ben-Ari, NERVO,Laura Jansen, Trevor Guthrie and more.

On March 31st, at the Edison Pop Awards show in Amsterdam, the winners will be announced.

‘Intense’ is available here:
Download on iTunes.
Download on iTunes Canada.
Download on iTunes UK/Eire.
Stream on Spotify.
Download Extended Versions on Beatport.
Order CD at ArmadaShop.com.
Order Limited Deluxe Box on ArmadaShop.

In this episode of Armin Only Intense Road Movie the crew head to Mumbai, India!

For more info and tickets for Armin Only visit www.arminonly.com.

Armin van Buuren has been nominated for a prestigious JUNO Award, for his recording of “This Is What It Feels Like” featuring Canadian singer/songwriter Trevor Guthrie. The song reached #6 in the Canadian Hot 100 Charts, and was certified 2x Platinum in Canada, selling over 190,000 copies.

The song was also nominated for ‘Best Dance Recording’ at the 56th Grammy Awards, and has achieved Platinum certifications in The Netherlands and Australia, reaching Gold and Silver status in Italy and The United Kingdom, respectively.The video currently has over 34 million plays on YouTube. The Dutch DJ is currently in the middle of his World Tours for both ‘Intense’ and ‘A State of Trance 650: New Horizons’,

The 2014 JUNO Awards Broadcast will take place on Sunday, March 30th, 2014 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

For more information about the JUNO awards visit: junoawards.ca.

Armin van Buuren, who’s currently in the middle of his A State of Trance 650 ‘New Horizons’ World Tour and Armin Only ‘Intense’ World Tour, received no less than 10 nominations for the upcoming International Dance Music Awards show. The critically acclaimed show, which will take place during the Winter Music Conference in Miami, USA, at the end of March, is one of the leading award shows in the Electronic Dance Music scene. The voting ballot, inviting all dance music lovers to vote for their favorites, will be open until March 5th.

The Dutch DJ, who won 5 of the prestigious awards last year, received 10 nominations within 9 categories. Armin van Buuren is in the running for ‘Best Global DJ’, ‘Best Trance Track’ (twice, for both ‘The Expedition’ ASOT 600 Anthem, and ‘This Is What It Feels Like’), as well as the awards for

‘Best Radio Mix Show DJ’, ‘Best Producer’, ‘Best Artist (Solo)’, ‘Best Full Length DJ Mix’ for his A State of Trance 2013 compilation and ‘Best Podcast’ for his A State of Trance Podcast. Last but not least, Armada Music, the record label of which Armin is the co-founder, has won the ‘Best Global Record Label’ five years in a row and is once again nominated for the much-coveted award.

Music lovers can vote for their favourites via armadamusic.com/idma.

IDMA nominations for Armin van Buuren:

Best Trance Track
The Expedition (A State of Trance 600 Anthem) – Armin van Buuren & Markus Schulz
This Is What It Feels Like – Armin van Buuren Feat. Trevor Guthrie

Best Compilation or Full Length DJ Mix
A State of Trance 2013 – Armin van Buuren

Best Global DJ
Armin van Buuren

Best Trance DJ
Armin van Buuren

Best Podcast or Radio Mixshow DJ
A State of Trance – Armin van Buuren

Best Artist (Solo)
Armin van Buuren

Best Featured Vocalist Performance
This Is What It Feels Like – Armin van Buuren Feat. Trevor Guthrie

Best Music Video
This Is What It Feels Like – Armin van Buuren Feat. Trevor Guthrie

Best Producer
Armin van Buuren

The 29th edition of the Winter Music Conference will take place in Miami, Florida, March 21-30, 2014. With over 60,000 visitors from over 70 different countries, including DJs, label owners and other delegates of the dance scene, the WMC is one of the major happenings in the dance music industry. One of the most anticipated events during WMC is the International Dance Music Awards show. The IDMAs generate over two million votes from music enthusiasts in 209 countries every year. During the show, awards in 57 different categories will be given.

Vote
People are able to vote for their favourites by going to armadamusic.com/idma. Voting ends Wednesday March 5th, 2014.

We’re extremely pleased to present to you the official timetable for the Utrecht edition of the A State Of Trance 650 ‘New Horizons’ World Tour. February 15th, 2014 marks the day when an outstanding lineup of the world’s top trance DJ’s will remind eager fans that The Netherlands is the place of birth of A State of Trance. Here’s where it all started, and here’s where the ASOT Cadets will land a memorable show for thousands of trance lovers.

With the Trance Family, the ASOT Cadets, and ten-thousands of listeners tuning in, the show promises to be absolutely massive. A new tour, a new celebration, and a new venue – it’s time to take it to the next level!

For those not able to witness the show in Utrecht, there will be a live video stream capturing every beat, directly broadcasted to you on: live.astateoftrance.com. Want to share your ASOT650 experience? Tweet to #TeamASOT on www.twitter.com/asot!

Grab your tickets while they last: www.astateoftrance.com/650

Wow! What a fantastic show Yekaterinburg. Thousands of people from all over the world were tuned in on live.astateoftrance.com to watch Ruben de Ronde, Alexander Popov, W&W, Aly & Fila, Simon Patterson & of course Armin van Buuren himself blow of the roof. You guys were amazing; #ASOT650RU was trending worldwide!

Curious about the tracks the DJ’s played? Here you can find tracklist of ASOT650 Yekaterinburg. of ASOT650 Yekaterinburg.

Next live show is in Utrecht!

From 20:00-07:00 (CET), you’ll be able to tune into our live video and audio broadcast, coming to you from the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht! Armin kicks off with another one of his infamous warm-up hours, after which the #ASOT650 episode is a fact. Tune in via live.astateoftrance.com and you’ll also see live pictures, tweets and much, much more!

Share your #ASOT650NL experience!
Let’s make sure that #ASOT650NL gets a worldwide trending topic and turn the world into a dance floor! Send your pictures, tweets, shout-outs and other crazy stuff to #TEAMASOT team on www.twitter.com/asot or www.Facebook.com/AStateofTrance. Follow us on Instagram for the hottest photo updates on www.instagram.com/asotlive. Your picture, tweet or shout-out might just end up on the ASOT website, or even…on the show!
Shout-out!

Head off to http://bit.ly/shoutout650 and upload your personal audio shout-out! Congratulate Armin on this highlight, or say hi to your friends on the other side of the globe!
Haven’t got your tickets for the other ASOT650 events? Hurry up, they’re selling fast! http://bit.ly/ASOT650tickets

Have an amazing ASOT650 experience!