Do you think the journalist responsible for this (a) did any research about the man and (b) didn't quite catch what he said due to pauls german accent

Like Woody Allen™s ubiquitous Zelig, Paul Van Dyk seems to turn up in all sorts of places. On his new retrospective DVD Global, the German DJ is seen spinning his euphoric trance beats everywhere from Berlin™s esteemed Love Parade to England™s outdoor Gatecrasher rave to futuristic clubs in both Tokyo and San Francisco.

The Global DVD casts a DJ™s life as a non-stop commute between cultures. Van Dyk is constantly hopping planes, trains and automobiles; the only time he gets to stand still is when he's behind the turntables. Global™s companion disc is the DJ's response to this life - instant hits of warm and fuzzy feelings, where symphonic keyboards and stirring wails prevail, and moody minor chords are banished to the chill-out room.

Van Dyk doesn™t deny his music's utopian aspirations. Growing up in East Germany, his first taste of electronic sounds came from listening to radio signals from the other side of the Iron Curtain. Moving to Berlin, he became an in-demand remixer for New Order and U2. His own floor-fillers, like œTell Me Why? and œFallen Angel,? were cherry-picked by Paul Oakenfold and Pete Tong for their DJ sets.

A decade in the business and Van Dyk is still on top. He spoke to VH1 about his lack of dance skills, surviving the break-up of the Smiths, and George W. Bush's secret education policy.

VH1: The acid house boom was 15 years ago. What is it about electronic music that has proven so resilient?

Paul Van Dyk: You can merge so many different styles and genres of music with each other - it™s always interesting. I love guitar music, but at the end of the day all the guitar bands have is two guitar players, a bass player, a vocalist and a drummer. I have millions of possibilities of different bass sounds. There™s a lot of low quality electronic music, but if you have an amazing piece, it™s uniting. You can communicate with people through the music; you can give them something, and reach them. I DJ in a country I've never been in, where I don™t speak a word of their language, and we connect through the music. This is something unique.

VH1: Have you ever seen dance music culture adequately represented in a film or DVD before now?

Van Dyk: This Global DVD is, as far as I know, the first one that™s trying to capture the whole thing. The dance scene itself plays the main part of the DVD. It™s not about me; I™m in there but I™m not the main focus point.

VH1: Name an unlikely spot that found you marveling over the global power of dance music.

Van Dyk: I was really surprised by the response in Beijing, because you cannot buy records in China. People know these things a little bit through the internet. When I played there it was really strange. They didn™t know my big hit œFallen Angel,? so therefore I didn™t have that as a secret weapon in my set. I really had to work hard with them to œget? electronic music.

VH1: It™s a famous part of your story that you were living in East Germany and were introduced to electronic music via the radio. Can you name one of the early electronic music tracks that really knocked you out?

Van Dyk: Something from a guy called Ron Allen. I think he was based in New Jersey. He did this sort of weird kind of deep but trippy and also energetic house music. Eventually he later became really famous.

VH1: Are you a good dancer?

Van Dyk: I™m more of a jumping up and down person. For me this music has a lot to do with energy. So if I dance I™m more hopping up and down kind of thing, with my hands in the air.

VH1: What would you change about electronic music if you could?

Van Dyk: Right now there™s all those weird ˜80s cover versions done in a kind of electronic-y dance pop style. For me this has nothing to do with electronic music; they™re just using some of our elements to bring their cheesecake across. Obviously I would change that, because no one really needs that.

VH1: What™s your favorite remix that you™ve done?

Van Dyk: Today I just heard the U2 remix, œElevation,? again. I think that™s a pretty good remix.

VH1: Is there any music that you would consider sacred and refuse to remix?

Van Dyk: I definitely would not do remixes of the Smiths. Bands like U2 always have this modern pop appeal. Therefore it fits. The Smiths will always be those little weird sounding indie rockers from Manchester. I™m a big fan of the Smiths still - I always was. I wrote a little poem when they split because I was so absolutely upset. Believe me, I™m a freak when it comes down to that!

VH1: Having worked with singers like U2, Saint Etienne™s Sarah Cracknell and even your wife, Natascha Siedel, what voices give you the shivers?

Van Dyk: In terms of the voices I like [everything from] Squeaky Leonard to David Bowie or some fluffy Jan Johnson. It goes all the way through.

VH1: So what would happen if David Bowie called you up and said, œPaul, we gotta work together??

Van Dyk: I would cancel every gig to do that! But I would make up for it, I promise!

VH1: Do you have a hobby?

Van Dyk: I wouldn™t say it™s a hobby, but I™m interested in politics. I™m always questioning things. When I hear some headline I like to know what the truth behind it is. I question the conspiracy freaks as much as I question the government™s official side of the story. The truth lies somewhere between.

VH1: What was the last good joke you heard?

Van Dyk: George W. Bush is at a school and he™s having a talk with the students. They™re 12 years old, and little Billy says, œI have three questions. First question, how can it be that you are the president when you didn™t get the most votes? Second question, what™s the real reason behind attacking Iraq? Third question, what is your plan for the future of Iraq after we attack them?? Suddenly the bell rings and there is a break. After ten minutes they come back and another student says to George Bush, œI have five questions for you. First, how can it be that you are the president when you didn™t get the most votes? Second, what™s the real reason behind attacking Iraq? Third, what is your plan for the future of Iraq after we attack them? Fourth, why did the bell ring twenty minutes early? And fifth question - what did you do with Billy??