i know a lot of people are bashing tiesto, and agree with some point of views. but nobody can put on a show like he does.. its that whole atmosphere that he gives off.. its just so unique. Armin is a good Dj but i dont understand how he earned the #1 position this year, in all fairness fair play to him.. but in my opinion he just isnt that special..

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www.soundcloud.com/rinster

Even when I was into trance, Armin was a snooze fest, and I've seen him 3 times. (He was playing events with other DJs I liked).

So ya... I really don't understand the cult following of Armin, he's never broken down musical barriers or played super edgy... I think he's a "play it safe" kinda guy, which is cool normally but if you're a DJ you have to take risks and keep things interesting, let the rockstars tour around and play all their hits over and over and over... DJs should be bringing something new and fresh to every show.

Ferry at least tried new shit, as does Tiesto. They both suck now IMO, but at least they try and push something new/different.

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quote:

Originally posted by Rinster just curious to know what people like so much about him.. what makes him that special?... when i saw him on Planetlove this year i only listened 15mins of his set and walked out. im not saying he is a bad dj, i really like some of his tunes..

15 minutes??

Think a dj need at least 60 minutes to be judge by the crowd ... 15 minute aren't enough to make once own idea about the dj set, don't u think???

Armin as producer... I love so much 'till Birth of an angel/Shivers.. after that..too much elektroproggy release I ddin't like so much...

Armin as dj, imo, he's still one of the best dj around.. even if many other, maybe less known, djs are defintely better than him...just to name one..Galen Behr..

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Ok here is my take on this. I've probably written this in other threads but let's have a repeat.

I remember back in 2000 when Tiesto and Ferry were dominating the epic sound and Armin emerged as a new star. Alot of people including me were really positive towards Armins style. He wasn't an epic only DJ but was mixing different styles and his compilation series were excellent. A State of Trance, Basic Instinct, In Motion and Transparance were all great and really well mixed.
Also when Armin started his ASOT radio show it was really good in the beginning. You can tell that he experimented alot with different styles and his style had a darker trademark sound.
Just check the TL of this early episode:

01 John Creamer & Stephane K - I Love You (ambient mix)
02 Jimmy Van M @ Sanctuary - Sanctuary
03 Orinoko - Island (Saints & Sinners remix)
04 Walter Solo - Coming From Another World
05.Lemon8 - Pressure
06 Dj Nukem vs Chab - Forward (Piece Process rmx)
07 Cape Town - Stringrizer
08 Dirty Vegas - Days Go By (Lucien Foort rmx)
09 Trisco - Musak (Steve Lawler rmx)
10 Rank 1 - Such Is Life (deep dub)
11 Spicelab - Oscillator
12 Signum - Five Yards
13 Barthezz - On The Move (Riva rmx)

I think it was during 2003 when his sound started to change to the negative. When his sound became more and more influenced by Markus Schulz. It went more vocal oriented and the pace dropped. This combined with the fact that different labels started spitting out shitloads of Above & Beyond clones, which Armin happily spun, didn't raise the quality of the show.
Today I can barely stand 1 minute of the show. The techy and dark sound of his early shows is totally gone.
I don't hate Armin. In fact I even think he is a very talented DJ. I just find it sad that such a promising DJ took such a commercial route.

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I totally agree with how the pace of his sets have dropped and he most definately doesnt play the wide ranging stuf he used to play on the "non-stop in the mix" part of the old ASOT.

Hes just went so commercial now chasing the DJ mag number one slot. Maybe if hes gets it he will regress to that old style circa 2002-2004

Saw him at AgeHa last weekend, and I thought he was good, although he did play alot of his early works. I agree on the A&B clones that go round, but his label picks up some quality stuff at the same time, and to be fair, if he plays the likes of Kamil Polner and Nitrous Oxide, he gets a thumbs up from me. I was able to dance to his set for 3 and a half hours straight, so in my eyes he's doing something right.

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...0&forumid=16&s=

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Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Social outcasts are often of the opinion that they must have a drink before being able to loosen up with their inhibitions, thus being able to have a good time. There's a word that sums up this sort of behaviour, and that word is 'reject.'

Last edited by _Ocean_Drive_ on Oct-20-2007 at 12:28

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 Ok here is my take on this. I've probably written this in other threads but let's have a repeat. I remember back in 2000 when Tiesto and Ferry were dominating the epic sound and Armin emerged as a new star. Alot of people including me were really positive towards Armins style. He wasn't an epic only DJ but was mixing different styles and his compilation series were excellent. A State of Trance, Basic Instinct, In Motion and Transparance were all great and really well mixed. Also when Armin started his ASOT radio show it was really good in the beginning. You can tell that he experimented alot with different styles and his style had a darker trademark sound. Just check the TL of this early episode: 01 John Creamer & Stephane K - I Love You (ambient mix) 02 Jimmy Van M @ Sanctuary - Sanctuary 03 Orinoko - Island (Saints & Sinners remix) 04 Walter Solo - Coming From Another World 05.Lemon8 - Pressure 06 Dj Nukem vs Chab - Forward (Piece Process rmx) 07 Cape Town - Stringrizer 08 Dirty Vegas - Days Go By (Lucien Foort rmx) 09 Trisco - Musak (Steve Lawler rmx) 10 Rank 1 - Such Is Life (deep dub) 11 Spicelab - Oscillator 12 Signum - Five Yards 13 Barthezz - On The Move (Riva rmx) I think it was during 2003 when his sound started to change to the negative. When his sound became more and more influenced by Markus Schulz. It went more vocal oriented and the pace dropped. This combined with the fact that different labels started spitting out shitloads of Above & Beyond clones, which Armin happily spun, didn't raise the quality of the show. Today I can barely stand 1 minute of the show. The techy and dark sound of his early shows is totally gone. I don't hate Armin. In fact I even think he is a very talented DJ. I just find it sad that such a promising DJ took such a commercial route.

Nail
On
Head

Exactly that. Top post.

i think people also need to take into consideration, how much a dj tours....
seen armin this year for 6 hours at a melbourne gig, absolutely blew the roof off the place, amazing track selection all in all good party.

Why would i vote for a dj that i have never seen live?

quote:

Originally posted by RebeL9 Alot of people including me were really positive towards Armins style. He wasn't an epic only DJ

Neither were Tiesto & Ferry. In fact; they've both been MUCH more diverse than Armin. Armin has been a cheap clone of them since the very beginning he started spinning trance (after his housey period).

The transparance cd's are really great; but I don't get why exactly you bring them up as so 'innovative' when other Dj's dominating the scene; even paul van dyk; were more diverse than Armin.

Armin has always been about "play it safe" and never pushed boundaries; in contrast to Pvd, Tiesto & Ferry; both production and dj-wise.

Push.. nail on head.

In 2001 when ASOT started, their wasn't the availability to check Tiesto or Ferry livesets every week, as they did not have a radioshow at the time. However, i'd definitely say they were more diverse throughout their careers. In '01 there was that whole "epic trance" backlash anyway, so most trance DJs were playing some prog/darker tracks at the time.

I also wouldn't base Armin's decline on Schulz influence. If anything that is the other way around, that Schulz' dark progressive tendencies are being dropped (at least live) in favour of teh tech-trance.

In 2003 people saw Tiesto become number 1 based on the back of large concert style gigs around the world, and this "big-room" sound of tech-trance mixed with mcprog; was then made "THE" direction for Armin and other copycat DJs to take, to try to emulate their peer.

As Tiesto found out, that road is littered with problems. Playing only stadium and concert sized gigs, requires the big sound. It requires the artist tracks and hardly any deeper material that could be considered as 'boring' to the 25'000 morons in front of the booth.
Damaging the fanbase, and the reputation of the DJ aside... it also encompasses something like a comfort zone.

The DJ doesnt get to read or see the criticism that fans direct at their "hero" as most of the time they are worshipped by either morons or arse lickers. Without any constructive critique of their debasement, how are they to know they've sunken to new lows by spinning only that cookie cutter shit. Protected by their own interim of managers, label honcho's and basic somebody's, the DJ can become very self focused and actually believe in what they're doing is something "good" for the scene. The flagship Armada, is even becoming as sub-label and image conscious as BHR before them...

ASOT continues to be a "target" for neo-producers spending their time on fruityloops and other software based music production programs, attempting to reach some kind of mass production Tyas style.

I'm sure that any of the big names could decide to spin quality over this trite, any time they like. Their fear of what it would do to their popularity is currently preventing them from doing so though. Too much of a good thing, and all that. Do you appease the 2500 strong nerd fanbase online, or the 200'000 first-timers that come to your show just because it is you.

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Last edited by MichaelBoogerd! on Oct-20-2007 at 14:37

i really find it interesting how you base armin on his radio shows/compilations....
I would prefer to base a dj on their live performaces, track selections, crowd interaction, mixing skills ect.