My problem is that I am taking my own responsibility at least. I have a problem when people make generalized comments about it, like DJ's have to take their own responsibility and bring people back. There's a lot of acoustic stuff made in electronic as well, so it's a mix. It's no longer just dance music because it's made with electronic stuff. There's all these different styles that now have their own following. You have to speak about deep house, trance, EDM is even a genre now by it's own. You have to speak about all of the sub-styles. You can no longer speak about just EDM, or dance music. I think what's happening right now, there's a diversification. If you look at the history of music, it's just repeating itself. There was a time when fans in Liverpool were complaining that the Beatles didn't play the Cavern Club anymore because they were simply so big, they had to go to London. We just have to face the fact that the Beatles are more popular, The Rolling Stones are now more popular. Music like that is not something you would likely hear being played at the Forum but I don't think so, it's less likely. Good news, part of it will be, like deep house. I don't think it's ever going to be underground and niche again. First of all, there's a thing called evolution that we cannot stop in music. “There's a couple of things I would like to say. “How or could you see electronic music going back to where it's more like a niche tribal culture than something this mainstream that doesn't have these problems?” How many other people would have more credibility on such a critical issue as electronic music massively gains in popularity?
The Armin Only: Intense experience signifies in ways, a homage to a different way that electronic music was presented before it became so popular.
I asked this in particular because as Armin spoke through the interview, he clearly iterated his position as not only an icon of electronic music, but as a fan who has seen it's progression take place first-hand, on levels I honestly can't appreciate. I believe the onus is on us to reintroduce that in some form. When it went more mainstream, it lost a lot of that built-in protection. Dance music started as a subculture with a tribal instinct to take care of its own.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there. “What do you think can be done to combat drug-related deaths at festivals, and do the festivals themselves have an obligation to lead the charge?” Her response: “A combination of education and enhanced security. Compared to a festival slot or a club gig, it' all apples and oranges. There are significant differences for an artist in their “creative control” if they are playing a solo event. because basically we got screwed over, but now we're here, proper.” 35,000 people, it was so emotional, so great. In 2008, I did the Imagine show at the Los Angeles Sports Arena which was fantastic, phenomenal. People have been waiting for the return of the Armin Only concept. I'm especially excited because in 2010, I had to cancel the show because we worked with some sort of douchebag of a promoter who didn't book the venue. In New York, Madison Square Garden we did the show, now the Forum here. For example, on social media, during A State of Trance radio show, it's a draw between New York and Los Angeles. “It's simply the biggest number of fans here if you compare to anywhere else in the world.