Armin van Buuren and his team are celebrating a quarter of the most global, influential and long-running trance music radio show ever. Alongside the ongoing world tour, which began in Rotterdam last February, a special event will take place tomorrow, June 1st, at The Loft in Amsterdam, from 7 PM to 11 PM, as part of the celebrations, on the very day that, twenty-five years ago, A State of Trance first aired on ID&T Radio. We wanted to celebrate this extraordinary milestone through memories, reflections, and a collection of stories drawn from memorable episodes that have shaped the radioshow’s long and remarkable history
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
This is one of the most famous quotes attributed to Martin Luther King Jr., often used as an invitation to trust the journey when embarking on new paths, personal projects, or dreams that may seem impossible to reach.
Perhaps this was exactly how a very young Armin van Buuren felt in May 2001 while sitting at home with his parents and his brother Eller: at just 24 years old, he was about to record the first episode of Into Trance, a show scheduled to air on ID&T Radio in the Netherlands and destined to become A State Of Trance from its fourth episode onward.
On Friday, June 1, 2001, the selection of music available was so vast that one could almost have closed their eyes and pointed at a random record: yet it was Oliver Lieb who had the honour of opening this remarkable journey. His remix of Voodoo by Warrior became the very first track ever played by Armin in the history of A State Of Trance radioshow.
It was two hours of pure, dreamlike trance without boundaries: those qualities may have seemed lost over time, yet twenty five years later they feel more relevant than ever. It’s almost like a circle completing itself while continuing to move forward at the same time, endlessly finding new life and new purpose.
That was the beginning of an extraordinary journey: A State Of Trance first captured a national audience before expanding across the world during the mid 2000s, helped by the transition from Dutch to English as the language of the show.
Telling every chapter of this twenty five year story is virtually impossible: not only because A State Of Trance was becoming the biggest trance radio show in the world, but also because it was evolving into something much larger: a record label, a festival brand, a collection of anthems and, above all, a shared emotion.
Today, when thinking about A State Of Trance, countless memories immediately come to mind: many fans remember the celebrations surrounding episode 500 in 2011 and the famous world tour that reached five continents. Others think of the beloved space cadets and, most importantly, the huge community of listeners and followers that continued to grow through increasingly ambitious and iconic events.
Just like that circle that seems to close only to begin again, living through that music and those festivals, perhaps not all of them but certainly some of the most memorable ones, leaves behind a feeling of constant renewal. It feels like reliving a life that keeps returning through new forms, new colours and new formats, a déjà vu that never stops creating emotion.
If the early years of A State Of Trance reflected what many consider the golden age of trance, Armin van Buuren and a team that steadily grew over the years have also documented the evolution of the genre itself. The journey moved from a boundaryless vision of trance, where every track seemed different from the next, to the inclusion of progressive influences during the late 2000s and early 2010s. It also passed through moments of artistic reflection, the long interruption caused by the pandemic, and the repeatedly postponed celebration of episode 1000, followed by a renewed focus on sounds that felt closer to the roots of the genre.
At the same time, recent years have brought influences from neighbouring genres and, more recently, a return to the atmosphere and spirit of the 1990s and early 2000s.
One of the most fascinating questions surrounding both Armin van Buuren and A State Of Trance is how such an enormous workload has been sustained for decades: music production, worldwide touring, constant travel and a permanent presence within the international dance music scene would be challenging for anyone. Equally remarkable is the way Armin has continued to strengthen the connection with his audience. Since episode 800 on February 2, 2017, A State Of Trance has expanded beyond traditional radio through regular video broadcasts and livestreams from the Amsterdam studio, transforming the show into an increasingly immersive and shared experience; along this journey, an important role has been played not only by Ruben de Ronde, a long standing member of the team, but also by trance legend Ferry Corsten.
Perhaps the answer to this continuity can be found in gratitude. There is a powerful cycle of giving and receiving that emerges from music and from the affection of the fans, a cycle that for twenty five years has continued to support and fuel this extraordinary project.
In a way, we at Trance History also experience, even if indirectly, that same sense of gratitude and togetherness generated by the music and the experience of A State Of Trance: through both the radio show and the festivals, Armin van Buuren has created moments of familiarity and connection that few other projects in electronic music have been able to achieve.
On the Mainstage at Jaarbeurs Utrecht during the long awaited celebration of episode 1000, delayed by two years and finally held in 2023, Armin took the microphone shortly before the drop of New Horizons by Jorn van Deynhoven, one of the most iconic anthems in the history of ASOT: with genuine sincerity, he spoke about how incredible it felt to have reached such a milestone and then turned to the audience with a question that many still remember:
“So, who’s ready for episode 2000?!”
As unlikely as it may sound, we believe it can happen!
To celebrate twenty five years of the radio show, Armin van Buuren has already launched a world tour that began at Ahoy Rotterdam on February 27 and 28: the celebrations will continue with events in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Poland during June, London in November, and a special residency at UNVRS Ibiza from September 7 until October 5, where Armin and a host of special guests will come together every Monday to give a voice and a soundtrack to this milestone year.
At the same time, tomorrow, on June 1, exactly twenty five years after the very first episode of A State Of Trance, Armin van Buuren will host a special four hour show at The Loft Amsterdam from 7 PM until 11 PM, bringing this remarkable journey back to where it all began.