Armin van Buuren is a happy man, and with good reason. Holding firm at Number 1 in the prestigious public-voted DJ Top 100, he’s making the transition from talented young upstart to leading light in the echelons of trance – and beyond. 2008 Armin was selected nr. 1 DJ of the world by DJMag, 2007 and 2006 brought him second place in this list.

2005 has brought two new significant awards (Best Radio Show, and Best Compilation for A State of Trance 2004 at the Miami Winter Music Conference Awards), and a stunning new artist album, Shivers, showcasing his debut as a songwriter.

Born in Leiden, Holland (on December 25, 1976) to a musical family – his dad had a serious penchant for a diverse range of genres including punk and electronica “to get rid of the stress of everyday life”, while his brother is a prodigious guitar player – Armin indulged his passion for music from a young age, blowing all the money from his paper round on records. His mum won a computer when he was 10, “So as a little nerdy kid I was writing my own Basic programmes, and learnt about the technology from there.” He progressed from making the usual tapes for his friends, put together on a cheap set of decks that he wore out learning to mix, after discovering his uncle experimenting with different sequences on his computer. “I was so amazed at what he was doing, since that moment I’ve been addicted to creating music!”

In the early 90s, Holland’s upfront dance scene meant that although Armin was too young to go clubbing, he knew the music inside out from listening to the radio. “I loved dance music immediately – this great rebellious sound that was so different to the ‘beautiful’ songs of the 80s”. Citing electronic pioneer Jean Michel Jarre as a major influence (famed for his awesome visuals as well as his groundbreaking synth sounds), as well as Dutch producer Ben Liebrand, who later mentored him in his mixing and producing, Armin was soon cracking out consistently stand-out tunes that graced compilations across the globe, and his DJ bookings were looking pretty healthy to boot.