Paul van Dyk
(born yes(yes--) as Matthias Paul
in Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, German Democratic Republic) is a Grammy Award–nominated artist, and one of the world's leading electronic dance music DJs and producers. [1] He was named "World's No.1 DJ" by DJ Magazine in both 2005 and 2006, and has remained in the "Top 10" since 1998. [2] As of 2007, he has sold over 3 million albums worldwide. [3]
A trance producer in the early-late 1990s, Paul quickly achieved popularity with his famous remix of Love Stimulation
by Humate in 1993, and his hit single, For an Angel
, but in recent times he no longer likes to describe his music as trance, but rather simply as electronic dance music. [4]
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PAUL VAN DYK TICKETS
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History
Early life and musical beginning
Paul Van Dyk grew up in
East Berlin in a
single parent household;
[5] his father left him and his mother when he was only four years old.
While living there, he worked as broadcast technician
[6] and began training to become a
carpenter.
Paul van Dyk claims his musical education came from radio.
[7] Because where he grew up there were no record stores at which to buy music, he kept in touch with the world beyond the
Berlin Wall by secretly listening to the popular but forbidden
Western radio stations RIAS (
Radio in the American Sector) and SFB and
mixtapes occasionally smuggled into the country and copied among school friends.
[8]
Shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, van Dyk and his mother were given permission to leave
East Germany and moved to
Hamburg to live with his aunt.
In 1990, van Dyk moved back to Berlin. His first appearance as a DJ was in the
Tresor in March 1991.
[9] A couple more dates followed and he was soon given the chance to perform at Juergen Kramer's famous Dubmission parties in the Turbine club, together with the highly popular young resident DJ Kid Paul. The shows were called Paul vs. Paul. His mixing style drew the attention of
Cosmic Baby and the two collaborated as The Visions of Shiva. Their single "Perfect Day" was released by the renowned Berlin independent label
MFS (Masterminded For Success) Records, run by English ex-patriat producer Mark Reeder and manager Torsten Jurk.
In February 1993, van Dyk and
Kid Paul hosted an installment of the weekly three-hour "
HR3 Clubnight" radio show perform for a nationwide audience on German radio. The second and final Visions of Shiva single "How Much Can You Take?" was released, and van Dyk and Cosmic went their separate musical ways. By late summer, Paul released his first DJ-mix compilation "X-Mix-1 - the MFS Trip" and remixed Humate's trance hymn "Love Stimulation".
The growing popularity of the Dubmission parties forced venue changes, first to Cafe Moskau and then into the larger
E-Werk where van Dyk began hosting regular MFS nights.
1994–2007
In 1994, Paul released
The Green Valley EP
,
Pump This Party
and
Emergency 911
. Meanwhile, MFS acquired many remixes for Paul and Reeder's close friendship with artists such as
New Order gave Paul the opportunity to mix the track "
Spooky" from the
Republic
album. Persuaded by Reeder, he finally recorded his debut LP
45 RPM
with
Johnny Klimek and VOOV. Reeder also compiled the album's running order and design, and chose the album's title as a reflection of the 45 rpm speed typical for dance
vinyl.
Reeder compiled
Seven Ways
which established van Dyk as a
trance pioneer and was van Dyk's first real success in
Britain. Reeder had successfully convinced his old friend Rob Deacon (formerly of Volume) to license the album for the UK and his new
Deviant label.
Seven Ways
was voted the #1 album by readers of DJ Magazine.
In early 1997, Paul van Dyk began collaborating with U.S. music producer,
BT. Together, they produced tracks such as
Flaming June
,
Forbidden Fruit
and
Namistai
(1999). The singles "Forbidden Fruit" and "Beautiful Place" did not cause a great impact at first, but with the release of
Seven Ways
and "Words" appearing at the height of the British
superclub phenomenon, van Dyk's own material began to attract attention. "By the time they realised I was a German, it was too late!" van Dyk said. Van Dyk also remixed a well known early-90s track,
Age of Love in 1997.
[10]
In 1998,
45 RPM
was re-released in the UK and in the US. To mark the event, and in homage to the defunct E-Werk, Paul released a remix of "
For An Angel". Van Dyk took up a residency at
Sheffield's
Gatecrasher and declared himself
anti-drugs, which led to home-made "No E, Pure PvD" T-shirts, also a sly note to journalists that his surname contained no "
E". In 1998, Paul remixed
British trance duo,
Binary Finary's famous "1998" single, which was a successful version that took Binary Finary to the top of the German Dance charts.
[11]
In mid-1998, Van Dyk left MFS Records and took a controlling share in the new label
Vandit Records. In 2000, Paul flexed his skills with his melodic, dancefloor-friendly
Out There And Back
, which included the hit single "
Tell Me Why (The Riddle)", a collaboration with
Saint Etienne. It also included the European hit
We Are Alive
, a remixed version of the
Jennifer Brown song
Alive
. His first mix album
The Politics of Dancing
(2001) was followed by a world tour and a DVD release
Global
(2003) and the Mexican film "
Zurdo", for which van Dyk composed the soundtrack.
Reflections
(2003) derived from van Dyk’s trips to
India, was a more melancholy affair, and includes the single "
Nothing But You", a collaboration with Hemmstock & Jennings. It was nominated for a
Grammy in the category of Best Electronic Album. The mix album
The Politics of Dancing 2
(2005) was preceded by a single "
The Other Side," featuring
Wayne jackson; a song dedicated to the victims, and their families, of the
Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that struck Thailand on December 26, 2004.
2007–present: 'In Between'
Paul van Dyk released his fifth studio album,
In Between, worldwide on August 14, 2007. The album, which he created over a three-year period, debuted at number #115 on the
Billboard 200 and #2 on the
Billboard's
Top Electronic Albums and
Top Heatseekers. The album also reached #16 on the Mexican Albums Chart and #5 on the Mexican International Chart. The album was released accompanied by a special edition limited to two thousand copies which included a mixed version of the full album, along with an eight-track bonus CD and an eight-page photo anthology.
[12]
thumb
The album was produced primarily by Paul van Dyk himself, and features a wide range of collaborators including
David Byrne of
Talking Heads,
Jessica Sutta of the
Pussycat Dolls, Ashley Tomberlin from Luminary, Alex M.O.R.P.H, Lo Fi Sugar, Rea Garvey of
Reamonn, Ryan Merchant and
Wayne Jackson. It also features a vocal sample from Ben Lost from Probspot's "Blows My Mind" on the song "Another Sunday". In June 2007, Paul van Dyk embarked on the worldwide "
In Between Tour" to promote the album.
[13]
Paul van Dyk hosts a show on Radio Fritz every Saturday at 20:00
GMT. In his latest
[when?] gigs, he blurs the line between DJ'ing and live performance engineering by utilizing two 17"
MacBook Pro laptops sporting Mainstage (Logic 8 Pro) and
Ableton Live software on both, two MIDI keyboards, enabling a more fully-featured club experience more akin to a concert than a standard night out at a dance club. On-the-fly remixes, mashups and compositions are just some of the capabilities of this new performance method.
In May 2008, Paul van Dyk set up a remix competition with digital download network Beatport.com, inviting aspiring producers to remix his single 'Far Away' which appeared on his 2007 album 'In Between'. Paul has recently appeared as one of the DJs at
Trance Energy 2009.
Personal life
He is married to Natascha van Dyk, who also appears on some of his releases (vocals on "Together We Will Conquer"). The two were married in
Cancún,
Mexico.
Politics
Since 2001, Paul has taken an interest in
politics. His creation of
The Politics of Dancing compilation was inspired by electronic dance music's universal acclaim by different people around the world. "
Palestinians are dancing with Israelis. Lebanese people are dancing with Israelis – without war, without anything in their minds other than treating each other respectfully
", said van Dyk in 2006.
[14] He also has called EDM "
...a political and diplomatic tool that could be used
."
Having grown up with little freedom, his musical career has helped him voice his opinions about politics. He opposes the
Iraq War and the
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. He describes himself to be
anti-war, he showed his anti-war beliefs in gig in New York, Paul wore a shirt reading
"Make peace, not war"
which he said to have been criticized by a fan.
He took part in to
fight poverty, as well as participation in social programs to help disadvantaged people in India, New York and Berlin.
[15] He also participated in
Rock the Vote in 2004 and 2008, the only non-American artist to join the campaign and encouraging young people to vote.
He also believes that
U.S. foreign policy is an important factor that affects other nations around the world.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1994: 45 RPM
- 1996: Seven Ways
- 2000: Out There and Back
- #12 UK, #19 Germany, #41 Australia
- 2003: Reflections
- #8 Germany, #3 U.S. Top Electronic Albums
- 2007: In Between
- #20 Germany, #63 UK, #88 Switzlerland, #115 Billboard 200, #2 Top Electronic Albums
- 2009: Volume: The Best of Paul van Dyk
- #18 Germany, #34 UK [16]
- 2010: Sixth studio album
[17]
Remix albums
- 1998: Vorsprung Dyk Technik: Remixes 92-98
- 2004: Re-Reflections
- 2008: Hands on in Between
Singles
- 2009: "Home"
- 2009: "For An Angel 2009" - #68 UK Singles Chart, #21 Germany
- 2008: "Let Go" - #13 U.S. Hot Dance Club Play, #21 Germany, #7 Netherlands, #3 Greece
- 2007: "White Lies" - #3 U.S. Hot Dance Club Play, #73 Austria, #38 Germany,
- 2005: "The Other Side" - #33 Germany
- 2004: "Crush" - #48 Germany, #42 UK
- 2003: "Time of Our Lives/Connected" - #41 Ireland, #34 Eurochart, #28 UK, #14 Germany, #47 Austria, #70 Switzerland
- 2003: "Nothing But You" - #11 Germany, #6 Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play, #44 Eurochart, #34 Irish Singles Chart, #14 UK, #76 Switzerland
- 2000: "We Are Alive" - #14 Germany, #15 UK, #29 Netherlands
- 2000: "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)" - #7 UK, #45 Germany
- 1999: "Another Way/Avenue" - #13 UK, #26 Netherlands, #49 Eurochart, #52 Germany
- 1998: "For An Angel" - #28 UK Singles Chart, #44 Germany, #74 Eurochart
Awards
- 1999 DJ Mag Music Maker
[18]
- 1999 Best International DJ
- 1999 Best international Award
- 1999 man of the year by Mixmag
- 1999 Leader of the Trance Nation
- 2003 ''Best European DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2003)
- 2003 ''second best trance track Paul Van Dyk - Nothing But You
- 2004 America’s Favorite DJ
- 2004 ''Best International DJ
- 2004 ''Best Event
- 2004 ''Best Music in a Commercial (Motorola)
- 2004 ''Mexican Oscar for his soundtrack in the film “Zurdo”
- 2004 ''Best Music Maker" by DJ magazine
- 2004 big winner at the Dancestar Awards
- 2005 ''WMC 2005 best track house progressive/trance: Nothing but You (Paul Van Dyk)
- 2005 ''WMC 2005 best international dj
- 2005 America’s Favorite DJ
- 2005 ''best dj for Dance/Electronic Album for his original album Reflections
- 2005 the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for Best Euro DJ.
- 2005 DJ Mag No 1 DJ
- 2005 Best Producer Trance Awards
- 2005 Best Global DJ Trance Awards
- 2006 ''Best Global DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
- 2006 ''Best record label VANDIT>
- 2006 ''Best Producer (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
- 2006 ''Best Global DJ, Best NuNRG/Euro Track
- 2006 DJ Mag No 1 DJ
- 2006 Best Global DJ Trance Awards
- 2006 Best Producer
- 2006 ''Best Mix Compilation for The Politics of Dancing 2
- 2006 Cross Of Merit From The City Of Berlin
- 2006 ''Best HI NRG / Euro Track for "The Other Side" (Miami Winter Music Conference 2006)
- 2006 ''B.Z.-Kulturpreis 2006
- 2007 ''Best Ortofon European DJ (Miami Winter Music Conference 2007)
- 2007 ''Best dj by trance awards
- 2007 ''Best producer by trance awards
- 2007 Best label
vandit'' by trance awards
- 2007 ''2nd Best Remixer by trance awards
- 2007 ''3rd Best live act by trance awards
- 2007 ''2nd best resident by trance awards
- 2007 ''Best club night CREAM,ibiza by trance awards
- 2007 Best album
In Between'' by trance awards
- 2007 3rd Best radio show
vonyc'' by trance awards
- 2007 ''5th Best website by trance awards
- ''his regular 6 hour set at “Gatecrasher” was voted as the "second best club night ever"
- Best international DJ by the ministry of sound
- ''Best international DJ by Musik Berlin, Zürich, Amsterdam, Londres, Paris, Milan, New-York, Mexico, Singapore
References
- Top 100 DJ's
- DJ Mag Top 100 Results - 2005.''djmag''.
- [1].''clubzone''.
- To be honest, I don’t call my music trance music, I call it electronic music and it’s usually danceable. My productions as well as my DJ sets consist of things that people call techno as much as of things that people call house, breakbeat, or even trance
- Paul Van Dyk Biography.
- [1].''club4it.com''
- ''Beat Factor - In Between Paul van Dyk''.November 30, 2007 '''Beat Factor''': Your history is pretty similar to the Romanians history, before the fall of the communism regime. Do you have any memories that marked you from that time?
'''Paul Van Dyk''': Yes, off course, there are a lot of memories that I still have; probably in respect with music. It was probably the same in Romania, we didn’t have any record stores, we couldn’t actually buy any magazines and read anything about our favorite artists. So my musical education came from the radio, so that’s something special, I believe.
- Ministry of Sound London - Paul van Dyk.
- The DJ list - PVD.
- Age Of Love
- Binary Finary.''thedjlist.com''.
- Special limited edition of Paul van Dyk's 'In Between' at Central Park performances
- Paul's next Gigs:
- THE POLITICS OF PVD
- Paul van Dyk's 'Politics of Dancing 2' : Live at Central Park August 20th
- Amazon
- Dance Foundation
- Title Unavailable