Exclusive: Armin van Buuren reflects on 10 years of A State of Trance at Ultra

A State of Trance will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary at Ultra Music Festival in 2020. To commemorate the landmark, Dancing Astronaut got in touch with van Buuren to highlight some of the most resounding notches in ASOT’s history at the festival.

The flagship trance cornerstone, ASOT, bred by genre champion Armin van Buuren, recently ran its 950th radio show episode with the release of an official A State of Trance 950 three-part album and a live event celebration in Utrecht, Netherlands.

The ASOT event series is a sweeping, global arm of the outfit, hosting its annual A State Of Trance event in Utrecht that attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world with live stream capabilities for those who can not attend. The ASOT hallmark event and its international gusto has led to shows from Sydney, Australia to Mumbai, India, to Mexico City, Mexico and a sundry of other scenic destinations around the world. This also includes the station’s very own sound stages at Ultra and Tomorrowland.

Today, van Buuren also unveils the full 2020 roster for the venerated ASOT stage, debuted through his radio show. Armin’s upcoming acumen includes the likes of Ilan Bluestone, Markus Schulz, Gareth Emery, and, of course, van Buuren himself, among others.

In celebration of the watershed 10-year anniversary for van Buuren and company at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, the Armada boss has compiled a list of his favorite ASOT memories from bygone years. More information on Ultra Miami available here.

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2011 – A State Of Trance makes its Miami debut with the ASOT 500 show.

AVB: “What a milestone! A State Of Trance in Miami in 2011 was the first time ASOT went overseas. I still remember how proud I was and how great it felt to see such a massive ASOT gathering in the States.“

2015 – Eric Prydz plays his first set on any ASOT stage, with a menagerie of lasers, spotlights, and HD screens in tow.

“I’m a huge fan of Eric Prydz, who I feel is a legend in his own right. Seeing him play at ASOT was amazing, and not just because of the surreal light effects. It showed to a lot of people how much crossover potential Trance music has, and we’ve continued down that path since.“

2016 – deadmau5 makes his ASOT debut with a menacing techno set

“You guys may remember the little back-and-forth Joel (Deadmau5) and I did over Twitter, which ended with me challenging him to come and play at ASOT700. Well, he took me up on the offer in the end and dropped a very cool, Techno-inspired set that ended with some heavy metal, paying tribute to Motörhead’s Lemmy. I simply had to commend him for putting his money where his mouth is.“

2018 – Above & Beyond make surprise ASOT performance for the first time since 2013

“The guys from Above & Beyond and I go way back, and so I was stoked to have them on ASOT in 2018 again after having to do without them for five years. Loved their set too, but that’s kind of a given fact these days.“

2020 Ultra remains the only North American festival to hosts an ASOT stage.

“Ultra Music Festival and ASOT go together like bread and butter. I can’t thank the guys from Ultra enough for enabling me to host an ASOT stage in Miami every year and I’m looking forward to celebrating this amazing milestone of ten years at Ultra in style.“

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