ARMIN SEARCHES FOR "BALANCE" ON HIS LATEST ARTIST ALBUM

By Oliver Liwanag

Armin Van Buuren is arguably one of the most revered artists in electronic music today. This is understandable, given that Armin has had a career spanning 24 years, all while being voted into the Top 5 of the DJ Mag Top 100 for 18 years straight, an unmatched feat. When you add his record label Armada Music, A State of Trance radio show, A State of Trance events and headlining festivals around the world - there seems to be nothing slowing him down. Indeed, the release of Balance, Armin’s highly anticipated 7th studio album, and the first since 2015’s Embrace, adds a new chapter in the Armin Van Buuren story.

I must, however, preface by saying that Balance is NOT purely a Trance album. While this should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed AVB over the last few years, approaching this 28-track double album with such a presumption, will leave some fans severely disappointed. For Trance purists, who a few months earlier would have enjoyed the new Gaia album, Moons of Jupiter, this may be a hard pill to swallow. With all this in mind, one should approach Balance with a certain level of open-mindedness.

Prior to the release of Balance in October, Armin himself spoke about the sense of renewal and reinvention that manifested in the process of producing his new album. For Armin, “Balance is a new chapter in my book of life, the result of venturing into known and unknown territories while finding the balance in between”.

Balance challenges our perceptions of who AVB is an artist and producer, dismantling the boundaries and expanding the limits of his musical repertoire. Indeed, when you listen to Balance end-to-end there are elements of pop, house, big room and even hardstyle. Essentially, Balance is a multi-genre musical juggernaut, whereby AVB continues from recent releases where he has experimented with his sound.

For those that have followed AVB since his last album, will notice that a multitude of single releases over the last two years feature on Balance. As these releases started hitting the airwaves and dropping as parts of sets across some of the world’s biggest festivals, it was no surprise that there was heightened anticipation for this release. The journey started as early as 2017, with the release of the hugely popular track “I Need You” featuring Olaf Blackwood and “Sunny Days” featuring Josh Cumbee. In 2018, we saw tracks like “Blah Blah Blah” quickly become a festival mainstage favourite across the European and North American Summer festival circuit with its sing-a-long lyrical chant and thumping beat. We were graced with emotively charged pop-ballad “Wild Wild Son” featuring Sam Martin on vocals, which AVB premiered in an epic 7-hour set at Untold Festival in August of 2018.

AVB enlists a wide range of vocal collaborators, some proving to be quite left-field, continuing this theme of entering new territories. This is most evident on the tracks “Unlove You”, where Armin brings on American R&B singer, Ne-Yo, or “Sex, Love & Water”, a pop-disco-esque track featuring Australian singer, Conrad Sewell. Balance also provides some serious mainstage-bangers, tracks that always get the crowd going such as “Revolution”, “Turn it Up” and “Mr. Navigator”, proving that Armin is attune to EDM appeal.

While AVB canvasses from the broad spectrum of electronic music, for me, the most enthralling parts of Balance come when Armin diverges from experimenting with genre’s and takes us back to basics, if you will, leaning on his trademark Trance roots. This is most evident on Armin’s collaboration with Shapov on track “La Résistance De L’Amour”, or on “Show Me Love”, a track with Above & Beyond that premiered at ASOT900 Utrecht earlier in the year, as well as “Always”, an uplifting track complete with glassy vocals.

It’s obvious that Armin has entered a new frontier in his career. Balance is a project that attempts to marry this new era with his roots in Trance that has made him an electronic music luminary. This new frontier is challenging to many people who have been there since the beginning of his career but at the same time it is exciting to many who are just being introduced to the legend that is Armin Van Buuren.

While Balance may not be for some, it perfectly represents where Armin is at as an artist:

“thinking in possibilities, rather than definition”.

Armin van Buuren

Balance Tracklist:

Side 1

Sucker For Love feat. Avalan

Something Real w/ Avain Grays feat. Jordan Shaw

Wild Wild Son feat. Sam Martin

Phone Down w/ Garibay

Blah Blah Blah

Sunny Days feat. Josh Cumbee

Runaway feat. Candace Sosa

It Could Be (vs Inner City)

Unlove You feat. Ne-Yo

Therapy feat. James Newman

Waking Up With You feat. David Hodges

Sex, Love & Water feat. Conrad Sewell

Don’t Give Up On Me w/ Lucas & Steve feat. Josh Cumbee

Don’t Let Me Go feat. Matluck

Side 2

La Résistance De L’Amour (vs Shapov)

Million Voices

Show Me Love (vs Above & Beyond)

Song I Sing feat. HALIENE

High On Your Love feat. James Newman

I Need You w/ Garibay feat. Olaf Blackwood

Lonely For You feat. Bonnie McKee

Always w/ BT feat. Nation Of One

Turn It Up

Mr. Navigator (vs Tempo Giusto)

Revolution w/ Luke Bond feat. KARRA

All Comes Down feat. Cimo Fränkel

Miles Away feat. Sam Martin

Stickup

Catch Armin van Buuren headlining Festival X Australia this November / December:

Friday November 29th - Festival X - Brisbane

Saturday November 30th - Festival X - Sydney

Sunday December 1st - Festival X – Melbourne

For tickets: www.FestivalX.com.au