The Shoeshine Factory

The man, the legend. Master DJ and trance music producer Armin van Buuren never ceases to amaze with respect to any project he takes on. In particular, his radio show entitled A State of Trance, which has been on air for over 300 weekly episodes is a groundbreaking 2 hour mix every week. He showcases trance music of different genres and styles from around the world in a relentless fashion that is listener friendly from start to finish. He also promotes featured tracks from artists he believes are up and coming in the world of trance and a track from the past he believes to be a show stopper.

Another cool element of the show is a listener poll, allowing fans to vote on specific tracks that hold more talent or power, which is demonstrative of artists' popularity. Since March 2001, the show has been broadcasted in over 29 countries and has an average of 30,000,000 (yes, million) listeners every week.


Starting in 2004, Buuren began to release two hour mix albums spanning two discs of his favourites from the show. This year's A State of Trance 2009 is a staple in the series with an all-star artist line-up with tracks that rend your soul and move your emotions. It is available now in hard copy and on iTunes. If you've never given trance an opportunity, now's the time to do it.

What's the Difference?

Often (yet not always) I find that new-comers to the world of computer-produced music find themselves in one of two places, one of which is bad. Either they believe that all electronic is and sounds like European Trance, or they stumble upon one sub-genre other than cookie-cutter trance and actually give the music a chance. I mean, don't get me wrong, there isn't a single, best type of electronic; each listener (as like any other umbrella genre) needs to find their preference.

I shall digress into highlighting a few of the most presently popular categories:

Trance is that standard european sound with heavy synths and strings, often accompanied by that deep bass kick followed by a cymbal.

Electro-House is the home of popular bands like MSTRKRFT and Justice.

Glitch is a more eclectic genre, where in describing it using the simplest terminology sounds like an aural clusterfuck. Artists like Mouse on Mars and Autechre call this one home.

Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) is the offspring of Detroit techno where the musical style is more dependant on the individual than any specific genre, giving birth to unorthadox artists like Bjork.

Ambient is the genre in which the music acts as more of an atmospheric blanket than incorporating any real rhythm. The solemn tone of this faction is present in the works of artists like Aphex Twins and Manual.

Indie-Tronica / Electro-Pop is another one of the most popular sub genres. Many recognizable artists fuse the elements of pop-based vocal roots and electronic rhythm, such as Junior Boys, The Postal Service, and Ladytron.