A State of Trance

Background and growth

First airing in March 2001 on ID&T Radio (the predecessor of Slam!FM), the show takes the format of a two-hour mix in which Armin plays new trance music (uplifting trance and progressive trance), both promotional and commercially released. Selected tracks are announced during the show in order to help promote new artists and releases. Its radio-show/website combination has proven popular internationally, as fans—while listening to the radio-show—will converse in the website chat-rooms and forums, such as Digitally Imported, during the broadcast. Progressive trance and uplifting trance producers all submit promotional and commercially released tracks to compete to make it onto the playlist of the show each week. The success of the show has also spawned to include several dance events around the world. The show is celebrated live each year in different locations around the globe with a lineup consisting of many trance artists.

Record label (2003–present)

A State Of Trance is a sub-label of the Dutch company Armada Music. Released its first vinyl release in 2003 and reached its 100 release (ASOT100) with "The Doppler Effect – Beauty Hides In The Deep / Envio – For You (The Blizzard Remix)".

A State Of Trance was formed in 2003 as a sub-label to its Dutch parent company Armada Music. It is also the parent label to A State Of Trance Limited. The style of music focuses mainly on trance and progressive trance with a wide range of artists and producers. The label is focusing on both young producers (such as Filo & Peri, 8 Wonders, Robert Nickson, and Galen Behr) as well as established artists (like Markus Schulz, Sunlounger, Sean Tyas, Signum and Vincent de Moor).

Radio show's legacy

While it was not the first radio show to broadcast a two-hour mix from a recurring DJ, A State of Trance's legacy has arguably extended beyond the trance scene. Part of this may be due to the fact that for most parts of the world, A State of Trance was only accessible via Digitally Imported, an internet radio station. Since A State of Trance has gone on the air, numerous DJ's have created their own radio programs out of the spirit of A State of Trance. Some of which include, Above and Beyond with Trance Around the World (now rebranded as Group Therapy), Aly & Fila with the Future Sound of Egypt, and Markus Schulz with the Global DJ Broadcast. Some radio shows that don't even play trance music have spawned out of the spirit of A State of Trance (such as Carl Cox's Global, Hardwell on Air, and Nicky Romero's Protocol)

A State of Trance special episodes and celebrating events

Special episodes of the show features various live or recorded mixes by Armin van Buuren or other guest DJs. Every 50th episode of the show there are various celebrations in different countries with many trance DJs that plays live.

In March 2011 during the Ultra Music Festival, A State of Trance was given its own stage as part of its 500th episode tour. This was the first time a radio show was given its own tent at a music festival, along with its own broadcast, separate from the festival's official broadcast. Typically a festival stage is hosted by either a particular style of music, or a record label. Since Ultra 2011, A State of Trance has had its own arena at Ultra and the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas.

Since ID&T's shift from trance to house music, A State of Trance's annual episodic celebrations have effectively replaced Trance Energy (now simply called Energy, focusing on electro house instead of trance) as the pinnacle trance event in The Netherlands.

Broadcasts

A State Of Trance radio show is currently broadcast by websites like Digitally Imported. Also, the show is broadcast by many radio stations around the world.

"Radio stations broadcasting A State of Trance"

On Demand

A State of Trance is available on a number of streaming services: Spotify, iTunes, Deezer, Tidal and Anghami.

Track lists

Track lists for every episode can be found at the Episodes Section of Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance website.

Regular features

Each broadcast features four songs selected as Tune of the Week, Future Favourite, ASOT Radio Classic and Progressive Pick.

Tune of the Week

The Tune of the Week is selected by Armin van Buuren as his personal choice of best new tune in the show. Here is the list of all Tunes of the Week:

Future Favorite

The Future Favorite is voted for by listeners from a list of new tunes from the previous week's show. The poll takes place at A State of Trance.

Armin's Old Skool Classic

The Armin's Old Skool Classic (until Episode 770 known as ASOT Radio Classic) track has been part of the show since Episode 284. Armin selects a track from past years of trance and briefly describes what made the track a classic. It is played as the last track of the show. Armin also played a classic track on each of the first 16 episodes in the early days of the radio show. These tracks were productions from the 1990s and showcased some of the very earliest pioneers of the Trance genre.

Armin asks the listeners of A State of Trance to submit original suggestions for the Armin's Old Skool Classic with the stipulation that the track not be a track already played on ASOT as a Classic. The following table lists all classics played on A State of Trance from Episode 284 to the present:

"A State of Trance Official Episode List"

Progressive Pick

This is a segment for a featured new progressive trance track. This segment began with Rodg – Wrong Direction on ASOT Episode 717.

Compilation series

Armin van Buuren regularly releases double mix CD A State of Trance compilations, as listed below: