Armin van Buuren: Breathing In [UNTOLD Dubai 2024 Interview]

“I want to focus on being here in the moment, and that’s why ‘Breathe In’ is so important. Your breath is your anchor and it’s always with you,” says Armin van Buuren.

A new chapter is beckoning for UNTOLD Festival. Venturing out to Dubai for its first edition outside of Romania, this is special for all involved, especially Armin van Buuren. Someone who has shared a special connection with the festival since its inception in 2015, UNTOLD has been home to some of his most iconic sets, some of which have lasted over six hours.

Now, as UNTOLD Dubai writes its first chapter, we caught up with the man of the moment to get his thoughts on this exciting new beginning, and just what exactly makes it such a special event for him.

Your relationship with UNTOLD and its audience is super special. Now that we’re in a different location, how are you approaching this whole collaboration, and how do you feel about the UNTOLD audience as a whole? 

“We’re jumping into the deep with what we’re doing here, but I like that. I remember playing the very first UNTOLD, and I remember the very first Tomorrowland I played, and it wasn’t anything like it is now. UNTOLD has become this hub in Eastern Europe where everyone goes, but it wasn’t when I played there for the first time. It was big, but it wasn’t that big yet, and I liked that. You have to take a leap of faith and just go for it. 

I’ve been very good friends with the people from UNTOLD. With some festivals you have a connection and with UNTOLD I have. It’s because I’ve had a long relationship with the trance community in Eastern Europe and for some reason, I’ve always felt more accepted there than in other countries. There’s a strong connection with the love of melodies and uplifting sounds, especially in the early days of my career around 2005-2006. I remember DJing in countries like Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine, and to me it feels like people actually care about the melodies, and the records you play. They’re not posing, they’re actually there for the music and it makes my job so much more enjoyable. 

When I play a six or seven hour set at UNTOLD, it doesn’t feel like work. Six hours is a long time, but when I stood there I had all this music ready to go, and I’m just excited and in the moment, and before you know it another hour goes by. An hour is around fifteen songs, so that’s not a lot. I think it’s the crowd that keeps me going because people in Romania actually care about what you play, and that makes all the difference, you feel it.“

Starting off the year with a bang, Armin van Buuren also released his 9th studio album ‘Breathe In’. Seeing him pick up the pace and introduce a faster BPM, it is also a deeply personal body of work.

Talk to us about your new album ‘Breathe In’. 

“‘Breathe In’ is a logical followup to ‘Feel Again’. I started meditating and realising how simple yet fundamental your breath is. I was coping with a lot of anxiety right before I went on stage – I still have that – and I would always have one or two glasses of champagne, and now I’ve been completely sober for four years already, I haven’t touched alcohol and it makes me feel amazing. Through therapy and meditation I realised how stupid it is to drink alcohol to calm your nerves. There’s nothing wrong with drinking a glass of wine with dinner but I don’t do that anymore because I was drinking for the wrong reasons, to get rid of my anxiety and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for me. Whatever people do, they must decide for themselves, but for me it wasn’t working. My breath has become the anchor. 

It took me a long time to get into meditation because I didn’t like it all. I started with an app five or six different times because my mother told me I should try it, but then I started thinking that there are so many well educated people that actually do meditation every day, and they can’t be stupid. Having that moment of meditation, simply going to your breath and having a body scan and calming yourself for five minutes brings you down to the essence and puts you in the moment. 

My mind is always on, it’s already halfway through my set at Ultra and 70% into my set at ASOT but I want to focus on being here in the moment, and that’s why ‘Breathe In’ is so important. Your breath is your anchor and it’s always with you, and whatever happens, I’m going to be okay because I have my breath.” 

How does it parallel what you want to say to your audience? 

“I don’t want to tell my audience what they want to do; I believe in personal freedom. It’s definitely not a situation where I’m trying to say “you have to meditate”, absolutely not. I tell my fans this is what works for me, and if it works for you then that’s great but if it doesn’t, that’s fine too. ‘Feel Again’ and the show that I did for it was already a step towards that and ‘Breathe Again’ is the next step. It’s about really focusing on trying to be in the moment because our lives are so fast, we’re always on our phones or busy with the next big gig, or seeing what we’re missing on Instagram. 

There’s so much stuff going on, and ‘Breathe In’ is trying to bring you into the moment and tell yourself that it’s okay, we’re all okay in the end. I think it’s life-saving actually if you can go there, and really try to be in the moment.”

From a musical perspective, what is ‘Breathe In’ about? 

“Lyrically, you can see a lot of it points towards the theme of meditation, it’s a very positive album in that sense. For ‘Balance’ I was looking for my own balance and ‘Breathe In’ is really being in the moment. I’m super happy with the higher BPMs and the tracks like ‘Lose This Feeling’, which at the time when I dropped the track, higher BPMs weren’t as big as they are now. It’s the fastest album I’ve ever done, and it feels like everything is coming together. 

It already sets me up for the next album, which I’m already working on. I feel more creative freedom than ever.” 

In recent years, trance has also seen a massive shift in attitudes towards the sound, breaking from the confines of genre and letting in key players from the likes of techno, melodic tech-house and more to create interesting new fusions. No one has embraced this more than Armin van Buuren, who has recently collaborated with the likes of ARTBAT, Reinier Zonneveld and more.

There’s a big fusion happening between trance and melodic techno sounds, where even the ASOT lineups are different now. What do you think of this shift?

“Trance needed that. It’s watering down a little bit. We all had our own circle and our own little box and now the doors of the box have been opened and we’re inviting new people in. It feels to me as if the young generation is rediscovering trance. I’ve held onto trance for 21 years with the radio show, and now a lot of people say “you stay true to your roots” and it’s been hard, I have to admit. Around 2004 I got so much backlash, and especially around the time of ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, I got so much criticism. Sometimes it was so hard, and it was like “why are you being so harsh?” Now that seems to be all gone, it feels like there’s more possibilities than ever before. You can work with ARTBAT now, you can work with everybody. I didn’t expect people like Alok and David Guetta to release tracks that are 140 BPM, but it’s great, it’s fantastic.

I don’t own trance, I never said that, I’m just proud and happy that they’re rediscovering early trance melodies and it feels, in hindsight, like we were right. We were right in the early days of A State of Trance. We were doing something that wasn’t just trying to be famous or popular, it was authentic. A lot of the classic trance tracks are coming back in remix form and it’s great.“

‘Breathe In’ is out now via Armada Music.