DESCRIPTION
Grammy nominated artist, globally acclaimed DJ and audio architect Paul
van Dyk continues to dominate the electronic music charts and appears at
the pinnacle of every Top DJ list around the globe. PvD, as his fans
have nicknamed him, has been ranked the World’s No. 1 DJ by DJ
Magazine’s "Top 100 DJs poll" two times something less than a handful of
DJs have ever achieved.
PvD is credited as one of the hardest
working artists in electronic music, with sold-out tours that cross each
continent, headline spots at every major festival, and a hugely
successful recording career. With over 3 million albums sold worldwide,
van Dyk travels around the world over 16 times each year to sold out
performances internationally. On New Years Eve 2008/2009 Paul played
Barra Beach to over 1 million people in Rio de Janero giving testament
to his incredible popularity the world over. In 2008 Paul expanded into
creating music for video games and movie soundtracks. His work with EA
Games has resulted in mulitple releases featuring his music on Mirror's
Edge and Grand Slam Tennis out in 2009. Paul has also lent his talents
to remixing Batman's "Dark Knight Theme" written by Hanz Zimmer. But
Paul is no stranger to high profile remixes, he has put his unique twist
on Depeche Mode’s "Martyr", Justin Timberlake’s "What Goes Around" and
Britney Spears "Gimme More" just to name a few. His original album In
Between released in 2007 and featured collaborations with David Byrne
and Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls as well as Rea Garvey of Reamon
and Johnny McDaid of Vega 4.
PvD received a Grammy nomination in
2005 for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his original album Reflections
– this marked the first time NARAS recognized this category. His
original productions from Reflections have been synced into major motion
pictures such as Into the Blue, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,
television’s Entertainment Tonight and MTV’s Cribs, and international ad
campaigns for Motorola, HBO, Land Rover, Ski Vail and most recently for
Jeep. This year he won the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for
Best Euro DJ.
Previously, PvD won four IDMAs in 2006: Best
Global DJ, Best NuNRG/Euro Track, Best Producer and Best Mix Compilation
for The Politics of Dancing 2. In addition, PvD was voted "America’s
Favorite DJ" for 2004 and 2005 by BPM Magazine and was the big winner at
the 2004 Dancestar Awards, taking home 3 awards: Best International DJ,
Best Event and Best Music in a Commercial (Motorola). He also won the
Mexican Oscar for his soundtrack in the film Zurdo in March 2004. Paul
van Dyk was voted "Best Music Maker" by DJ Magazine, received the "Best
International DJ Award" at the 1999 Music Awards in London, was named
"Best International DJ" by Ministry of Sound Magazine, and Mixmag
elected him as "Man of the Year".
Aside from his musical
activity, Paul van Dyk has always dedicated a significant part of his
life to politics and social justice: from his youth, when he fled over
the Berlin Wall to the West, to his children’s charity in India’s
Mumbai, and his partnership scheme with the German Red Cross to help
poor children in Berlin. In 2004, PvD was the only electronic artist
involved in a nationwide tour with the Rock The Vote campaign, where he
joined the likes of Bono, P Diddy, the Black Eyed Peas and George
Clinton in campaigning for America’s youth to sign up to vote in the
presidential election. He most recently received Berlin’s Medal of Honor
(Landesverdienstorden) in recognition of his work with Ruckenwind, a
charity organization he founded dedicated to helping poor children in
Berlin. He joins a distinguished list of arts and political
establishment figures with this honor.
Born in
Eisenhuettenstadt, East Germany, Paul van Dyk grew up in communist East
Berlin. Because his community did not have a true club culture, Paul van
Dyk listened to the radio where he discovered his passion for music
that extended beyond Techno music – he wanted to create a different,
more unique sound. In the early 1990’s Paul van Dyk was spinning
regularly at various clubs in Berlin before releasing his first album 45
RPM in 1994. But it wasn’t until the release of his second album Seven
Ways which catapulted him into the Top 100, followed by the release of
his hit single "For An Angel," which began to earn him praise across the
globe. By the time Paul van Dyk released Out There & Back in 2000,
it became clear that the Berlin-based musician had far more to offer
than his signature club sets and remixes that had already defined him as
one of the most influential DJs and producers of all time. His first
compilation mix CD Politics of Dancing was released in 2001, followed by
Global in 2003 – a DVD which illustrates his own experiences traveling
the world.
