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Music

Paul van Dyk Finds Renewal through Collaboration

Working with Genix on "For You," the icon of trance is ready for the world to hear his new album.
David Garber

When it comes to trance and dance music in general, German DJ icon Paul van Dyk (his birth name is Matthias Paul if you were wondering) has done it all, played it all, and seen it all. Whether through the success of albums like Grammy-nominated album Reflections, his role as one of the few crossover DJs in the early 00s, occasional sets in Bushwick warehouses. or his ability to take a pause and return to the scene at the top (see his recent closing set at Ultra's A State of Trance stage), the 43 year-old is both .

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This year he's gearing up for the release of his seventh studio album, The Politics of Dancing 3, from which the massive collaboration with UK producer Genix, "For You," is taken. While the track is unabashedly big, it harkens back to the classic trance elements that made van Dyk's career.

When it comes to trance and dance music in general, German DJ icon Paul van Dyk (his birth name is Matthias Paul if you were wondering) has done it all, played it all, and seen it all. Whether through the success of albums like Grammy-nominated album Reflections, his role as one of the few crossover DJs in the early 00s, occasional sets in Bushwick warehouses. or his ability to take a pause and return to the scene at the top (see his recent closing set at Ultra's A State of Trance stage), the 43 year-old is both .

This year he's gearing up for the release of his seventh studio album, The Politics of Dancing 3, from which the massive collaboration with UK producer Genix, "For You," is taken. While the track is unabashedly big, it harkens back to the classic trance elements that made van Dyk's career.

"In terms of integration, and collaborations in general, it's all about dynamics, of which there are no hard and fast rules," van Dyk tells THUMP. "You can go in expecting the dynamic to work one way in terms of who does what. In realizing that, it can come out entirely the opposite. Genix has always had a different approach to trance, which is a great production characteristic. It leaves things so open. On this occasion, it played out exactly as we imagined it would."

The Politics of Dancing 3 will be van Dyk's first album in three years, and the third in a series of Politics collections that left off in 2005. Throughout this hiatus, the industry he's been a part of for decades has evolved. "Many things have changed within the music industry since 2005," says van Dyk. "The way we make and produce music, how we release music and, of course, how we all consume it. The third Politics Of Dancing though needed to address that and have a different approach than the first two."

While the first two comps were more solo affairs, van Dyk seems renewed by something that has been a staple of his productions: collaboration. "To me, making music is one of the most stimulating, fun and fulfilling things to do in this world," he says. "Doing it with friends and people you admire makes it that much more enjoyable still."

Paul van Dyk is on Facebook // Twitter

"In terms of integration, and collaborations in general, it's all about dynamics, of which there are no hard and fast rules," van Dyk tells THUMP. "You can go in expecting the dynamic to work one way in terms of who does what. In realizing that, it can come out entirely the opposite. Genix has always had a different approach to trance, which is a great production characteristic. It leaves things so open. On this occasion, it played out exactly as we imagined it would."

The Politics of Dancing 3 will be van Dyk's first album in three years, and the third in a series of Politics collections that left off in 2005. Throughout this hiatus, the industry he's been a part of for decades has evolved. "Many things have changed within the music industry since 2005," says van Dyk. "The way we make and produce music, how we release music and, of course, how we all consume it. The third Politics Of Dancing though needed to address that and have a different approach than the first two."

While the first two comps were more solo affairs, van Dyk seems renewed by something that has been a staple of his productions: collaboration. "To me, making music is one of the most stimulating, fun and fulfilling things to do in this world," he says. "Doing it with friends and people you admire makes it that much more enjoyable still."

Paul van Dyk is on Facebook // Twitter

Tagged:GermanytranceListengenixpolitics of dance 3Thump
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