Festival season continues on and one of our favorite DJ's that we have enjoyed for years has been Armin van Buuren! We caught up with him right before he headed to EZoo to perform here in NY. We wanted to know more about his label, his performances at festivals and his B2B set with David Guetta.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why was it important for you to launch your independent label, Armada Music and what do you look for in terms of artists that are available on it?

ARMIN VAN BUUREN: Before I started Armada, I worked with United Recordings. They gave me a label (Armind) but refused to sign the tracks I wanted to release on there because they didn’t believe in those tracks. I got all these demos because I started a weekly radio show “A State of Trance” which was highly successful. I understood that the best way to release those tracks and get exclusive stuff for my sets and radio shows was to have my own label.

AM: You perform at a number of festivals as a headliner, from Tomorrowland, Zouk Out Dec 3rd in Singapore etc. do you have any routines that you do prior to hitting the stage to get ready for your set?

AVB: Mostly, I have already prepared my set weeks in advance but I never pre-program my set to the minute. I always leave room for last-minute additions or change the sound of my set if I feel the crowd is actually up for a different sound or isn’t feeling my sound at that moment. I always try to work out, eat healthy and sleep before a show. Then I take a shower and try to be on time before a show so I’m not stressed about traffic or something.

AM: This summer you played a B2B set with David Guetta at Ushuaїa in Ibiza, which was the first time that has happened! What was that like and do you have other people on your list that you would want to do a B2B with that you have yet to do?

AVB: It was incredible and I didn’t expect the crowd to go crazy like that!! We have the crowd to go crazy like that!! We have been friends for a long time but never really worked together. We came up with the idea when I met David in Los Angeles when we were both working there. It was also a success because it was a one-off show and we made special edits and mash-ups before the show. Earlier this year, I played B2B with Reinier Zonneveld at Ultra Music Festival which was also very inspiring. I don’t really have a list of names I want to go B2B with but I will always consider one if I feel we can find common ground in our sound.

IG @arminvanbuuren