Armin van Buuren stands backstage at Madison Square Garden, half of his body cloaked behind the large black curtain that separates the Garden’s staff tunnels and a crowd of photographers. His calm, almost unnatural so; his breathing, measured. It’s an unlikely demeanor for a man about to perform in front of a crowd of thousands at Madison Square Garden. Before Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz as the new superduo, New World Punx, close out their set, Armin steps out from behind the curtain and slowly approaches the stairs leading up to the twenty foot high platform. Cameras flash, Armin smiles, placing one hand on the railing – turning only for a second before he makes his ascent into history.
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As Armin van Buuren continues to bring the official ASOT 600 anthem live to fans around the world, fans at home now have an opportunity to experience “The Expedition” in four new ways. Released this week on Armada’s A State of Trance label is the official remix EP for Armin and Markus Schulz’s modern trance anthem. With remixes from Norway’s Ørjan Nilsen, Poland’s Indecent Noise, Columbia’s KhoMha and Moldovian producer Andrew Rayel, the tracks range from progressive house to instrumental classic trance to unrelenting progressive trance. By featuring the sounds and stylings of the new generation of producers, “The Expedition” remixes serve to celebrate where trance is going as ASOT 600 celebrates where it has been. Click past the break to hear “The Expedition” re-imagined.
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Armin van Buuren won’t be the first DJ to perform at a sold out Madison Square Garden, but he will be the first to perform there while video chatting with his fans. The legendary trance producer has announced that during all live shows on his upcoming A State of Trance 600 ‘The Expedition’ world tour, fans will have the opportunity to attend a virtual Goolge+ hangout. These sessions will allow members of the trance family to interact with, and ask questions of, not only Armin van Buuren but also Markus Schulz, Dash Berlin, and W&W. While only select fans will have the opportunity to actually participate in chat, all will be able to watch.
“Every week, more than 20 million people tune into my show, so for these special live shows I’d like to take it one step further. Via the Google+ Hangouts, I can turn the listeners into viewers and offer them a front row seat.”
Even if you were unable to snag tickets to the show, you now have three ways to participate — radio broadcast, video broadcast, and/or Google+ hangout. Click below the jump to find out how to get involved.
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With every new ASOT tour comes a new ASOT anthem. It’s customary for Armin van Buuren to recruit one of his many trance peers to produce an official anthem for the tour (last year was W&W‘s “The Invasion”), and this year Armin collaborated with big name American trance producer Markus Schulz to create “The Expedition.” The track is classic Armin & Markus – rapidly building melodies and uplifting breaks perfectly cooked for a big room smörgåsbord. The track will be available on Beatport on January 28th, but click past the break for a nice little preview. As of this week, we’re only four shows away from first stop on Armin’s worldwide celebration of his 600th episode of the A State of Trance radio show so get in the mood with “The Expedition.”
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