In the 1990s, the Netherlands played a huge role in the dance music industry. Near the end of the decade, it pioneered in the sounds of 'trance'.
DJs like Tiesto and Ferry Corsten were hailed as national heroes for producing tracks that would be played in nightclubs, not only in their home country but in almost every single continent their tunes could make it to.
However, in 1999, one man in his early 20s wanted a slice of the nightlife and he created a song that not only was successful but transformed his entire career. It was called "Communication".
This article will talk about that track; but before that, we have to look back at what this man did before these events.
The man's name is Armin Van Buuren. He was born in 1976 in Leiden and was raised in a small town located near Rotterdam.
As he grew up, he was inspired by the great Jean-Michel Jarre and local hero Ben Liebrand; Ben was a popular radio DJ in his country and gained credibility for his remixes for Chaka Khan, Phil Collins and Bill Withers.
When Armin got older, he started to get interested in club culture; so, he wanted to learn to make his own tracks and spin vinyl discs at nightclubs.
But before that, in 1995 he had to graduate his Law degree at his local university, Armin chose to put his degree on hold. In that same year, he released his first tune named "Push" under the name Armin.
Around this time, the Dutch electronic scene had exploded. In one section, there was a genre named 'Happy Hardcore', which sped up the beats as high as 260 beats per minute. This was popularised by groups such as the Party Animals and Charlie Lownoise & Mental Theo.
'Eurodance' was also popular, where 2 Unlimited, the Vengaboys and Alice Deejay became international superstars with their catchy songs and dances to go with it. Alice Deejay's track "Better Off Alone" was sampled by David Guetta for his 2013 track "Play Hard".
'Trance' music would prove to be the most popular in the country. In 1999, Ferry Corsten released the track "Out Of The Blue" under the name System F. It was a monster of a tune and would manage to chart in many countries in Europe. Tiesto was also making a name for himself and partnered up with Ferry as duo named Gouryella. The title track would also prove to be a massive hit in clubs.
Trance was getting popular year by year and Armin wanted to be part of it. So, in 1997, he produced a song that he called "Blue Fear". He named a song after an experience he had as a kid in school, where he was bullied by a couple of kids in the daytime.
"Blue Fear" would become his first song to be released in the UK under a label called Xtravaganza. The song narrowly missed the top 40 in the UK, peaking at #45.
This was a good sign for Armin, as he continued releasing tracks under different names such as Gimmick and Rising Star. He also spent time producing remixes for songs, one of these was "King Of My Castle" for the Wamdue Project. Surprisingly, it managed to beat Cliff Richard's "The Millenium Prayer" to #1 in the UK.
"King Of My Castle" was signed to AM:PM records; the label was happy with Armin's remix of the song and asked him if he wanted to release a track on their label.
Armin agreed, the song he chose was "Communication".
The track was recorded at his parent's house back in Lieden. He was listening to an album named 'Ginger' by Speedy J, it's been regarded as one of the best electronic albums of the 90s.
After some inspiration, he recorded the song on his keyboards. It took two days to complete the song.
"Communication" was released on the 19th of July 1999 in his home country, where it only charted as high as #95. In the UK, it was a very different story. The song was released months later in February 2000.
To Armin's surprise, the song broke into the Top 20 in the UK at #18, selling thousands of copies on 12" vinyl and CD. It charted higher than new releases from Tina Turner and Korn. "Rise" by Gabrielle was #1 that same week.
Armin promoted the song by DJing around the UK, including a set at Cream (once one of the most famous nightclubs in the UK). One set at a time, he was improving at his DJing skills.
But his biggest leap would be when he began his radio show under the name 'A State Of Trance'. This allowed him to play the biggest Trance tunes at the time. A label of the same name was created in 2003 to release songs that Armin liked.
Also in the same year, he graduated his Law Degree.
His DJing career paid off as he was ranked #1 in the DJ Top 100 in DJ Mag in 2007. Armin was on top of the world and kept his spot until 2011.
Eight albums were recorded by Armin from 2003 to 2023, with 'Imagine' (2008) and 'Embrace' (2015) both getting to #1 in the Dutch Album charts.
However, in the UK, "Communication" remained his highest charting hit there, 13 years after its release. That would all change with the song "This Is What It Feels Like" with vocals from Trevor Guthrie. It peaked at #6 in the UK in 2013 and #2 in the Netherlands.
Today, Armin remains one of the biggest DJs in the World. Currently, he's #5 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs and his radio show still attracts millions of listeners around the world.
On YouTube, his channel has over 5.6 million subscribers; his song "Blah Blah Blah" is his most viewed song with over 700 million views on the site and has became an arena anthem.
And to think "Communication" massively contributed to his current success. That's the power of having a lucky hit single.
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