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Trance Review: Armin van Buuren and W&W Drop First Linkup Since 2018: ‘Late Checkout’ out on Armind / Armada

 


One thing’s for certain: linkups between Armin van Buuren and fellow Dutchmen W&W are tracks of the highest order. Joining forces again for the first time since their 2018 hit ‘Ready To Rave’, the electronic music titans hit Armada Music with their next highly anticipated, rave-leaning festival favorite: ‘Late Checkout’.


Having asserted itself as a peak-time crowd favorite across six months of plays at Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas and many other premier festivals, ‘Late Checkout’ sees two of dance music’s foremost acts deliver the ultimate mainstage anthem. True to their potent and world-renowned signature sounds, this audial showstopper is powerful, commanding and a surefire way to make any club night one to remember.

“Working with W&W again was a long time coming”, said Armin van Buuren, for whom this release comes off the back of a standout summer season that included a Latin America tour, a residency at Ushuaïa Ibiza and also his debut collaboration with David Guetta. “The boys and I go way back, and it was so good to hit the studio together to reconnect. I’m not surprised we ended up creating such a banger and I’m sure it will keep spicing up my live sets for the foreseeable future.”

W&W, who have been on quite the roll since they closed the year of 2023 with their collaborative hit remake of Dido’s ‘Thank You’, added: “Working with Armin is always a pleasure and an honor! It’s been a while since our last collab and when he sent us the idea of this track we immediately loved it! Went back and forward working on it with him and started testing the track out and the reactions have been really overwhelming. We're so happy this one is finally out!”
Armin van Buuren & W&W - Late Checkout is available now on Armada Music.


Dimitris Kechagias Review:
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Armin van Buuren & W&W - Late Checkout [/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]Armin van Buuren, the musical maestro, continues to surprise us with his collaborations across various music genres, showcasing his boundless creativity. He joins forces with W&W to create the instantly massive hit, “Late Checkout.” This track is a perfect blend of fast-paced basslines, crisp tech drums, an old-school kick, and a hilariously catchy melody that instantly transports you back to the rave scene. The vocals are bold and explicit, urging you to sing along and jump around like there’s no tomorrow. “Late Checkout” is a high-energy, unstoppable track that will surely revive the spirits of all clubbers. Don’t miss out on this pure gold masterpiece; get ready for your Late Checkout! #PureGold Love IT![/content]
[item value="10"]Beat and Rhythm[/item]
[item value="10"]Basslines and Groove[/item]
[item value="10"] Melody [/item]
[item value="10"] Synths [/item]
[item value="10"]Breakdown[/item]
[item value="10"]Climax / Drop / Crescendo / Pay off moment[/item]
[item value="10"]Intensity, Drive and Energy[/item]
[item value="10"]Sound-design and Arrangement[/item]
[item value="10"]Overall Atmosphere[/item]
[item value="10"]Goosebumps / Shivers moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Emotional affinity and heartfelt moments[/item]
[item value="10"]Originality and Inventiveness[/item]
[item value="10"]Radio Friendly[/item]
[item value="10"]Vocals & lyrics[/item]
[item value="10"]You can’t get this memorable track out of your head[/item]
[item value="10"]It has potential to become an anthem or a classic[/item]
[/review]



About Armin van Buuren

It takes little to recognize that Armin van Buuren has been one of the world’s biggest DJs and producers in electronic music for over twenty years. His life-long dedication to the scene has earned him a Grammy® nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ (feat. Trevor Guthrie) and critical acclaim for global hit singles such as ‘Blah Blah Blah’, ‘Great Spirit’ (with Vini Vici), ‘Leave A Little Love’ (with Alesso) and ‘Music Means Love Forever’ (with Steve Aoki). Additionally, he claimed the number one spot in the annual DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll for an unprecedented five times, contributing to the twenty-one consecutive top 5 spots to date (the most recent being a #5 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll of 2023).

His two-hour radio show, A State of Trance (ASOT), is broadcast weekly from his own radio studio in the Armada Music HQ in Amsterdam to over 44 million listeners in more than 80 countries, as well as online via audio and video live stream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. ASOT, which surpassed the milestone number of 1000 episodes in January 2021, has grown from a small radio show into a complete dance music brand with stages and events across the globe.

Armin van Buuren has launched several ‘Armin Only’ world tours throughout the years, including the ones based on his albums (‘Imagine’ in 2008, ‘Mirage’ in 2010, ‘Intense’ in 2013 and ‘Embrace’ in 2016) and ‘The Best Of Armin Only’ in 2017. In June 2022, two years later than originally planned due to the pandemic, Armin van Buuren played his most personal and intimate live shows yet through four sold-out shows in the Ziggo Dome: ‘This Is Me – Feel Again.’

In addition, Armin van Buuren is the co-founder of Armada Music, the biggest independent dance music label in the world. The Amsterdam-, NYC- and London-based record label, which was founded in tandem with Maykel Piron and David Lewis, is acclaimed internationally for releasing music across the electronic music spectrum, was voted #7 in Mixmag’s “Label Of The Decade” poll in 2017, and is the six-time winner of “Best Global Record Label” at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami, the sixth of which was won in 2018.

As a performer, Armin had headlined countless shows at leading festivals and venues around the world, including Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas, New York), Ultra Music Festival (Miami), and Tomorrowland (Belgium), plus residencies at Hï Ibiza, in Las Vegas and numerous others.

On December 16, 2019, Armin van Buuren joined forces with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to motivate millions of people to join the movement and fight against plastic pollution. As a Global Oceans Ambassador, Armin will contribute to the worldwide #BeatPlastic campaign:
 www.arminvanbuuren.com/beatplastic.

In December 2022, Armin van Buuren launched an exclusive, web3-based community: Armin’s All-Access. Created to strengthen the connection with his fans, the community is accessible upon purchase of a limited-edition community token – a piece of digital art designed by renowned Dutch designer Rik Oostenbroek – and grants many fan-desired perks, including (early) access to various forms of exclusive content (e.g. previews of unreleased music, exclusive DJ sets in audio, exclusive merchandise items), a private, AAA-community-only space within the existing Armin van Buuren Discord channel and direct contact with Armin van Buuren himself.

To date, Armin has seven full-length artist albums to his name: ‘76’ (2003), ‘Shivers’ (2005), ‘Imagine’ (2008), ‘Mirage’ (2010), ‘Intense’ (2013), ‘Embrace’ (2015) and ‘Balance’ (2019).

Upcoming Tour Dates:
· 14 Nov 2024 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO
· 15 Nov 2024 - Echostage - Washington, DC
· 16 Nov 2024 - FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DEL GLOBO - Leon, MX
· 20 Nov 2024 - Marquee - New York, NY
· 22 Nov 2024 - Dreamstate SoCal - Long Beach, CA
· 23 Nov 2024 - Marquee Las Vegas Race Week - Las Vegas, NV
· 12 Dec 2024 - Soundstorm - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
· 14 Dec 2024 - Djakata Warehouse Project - Jakarta, Indonesia
· 21 Feb 2025 - A State of Trance Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands
· 22 Feb 2025 - A State of Trance Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands



About W&W

DJ and Producer duo W&W dominate dance floors and festivals around the globe. Formed in 2007, the Dutch DJ duo are known for their high energy festival music, and have been ranked in DJ Mag’s Top 20 spots for over a decade.

W&W's sound combines the uplifting melodies of Trance, intensity of Techno, fused with elements of the harder styles, creating their unique signature main stage stadium sound.

Amassing over 8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, their productions are championed by fans and artists alike for their magnitude, diversity and massive appeal to multiple audiences.

Performing at the biggest festivals in the world and racking up over 12 million followers across social media platforms, there is no doubt that W&W are pioneers in the main stage electronic dance music scene.

With the rise of their Rave Culture label, and the impact of their NWYR trance alias, W&W are pushing the limits and making a lasting influence.

Upcoming Tour Dates:
· 24 Dec 2024 – Marquee – New York, NY
· 31 Dec 2024 – Countdown NYE – San Berdino, CA
· 8 Feb 2025 – Dreamstate – Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
· 9 Feb 2025 - Dreamstate - Melbourne, Australia
· 2 Aug 2025 – Ferdinands Feld Festival – Flugplatz Rotenburg (Wümme), Germany

About Armada Music

Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world. Founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron (CEO) and David Lewis, the label manages an ever-growing catalog of over 40,000 tracks, built up across twenty-plus years of specialized dance music exploitation.

Representing artists such as Armin van Buuren, ARTY, D.O.D, Eelke Kleijn, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tensnake, THEMBA and Yulia Niko, Armada Music amasses more than one billion streams per month, airplay on leading radio outlets such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM, and top positions in the world’s most notable charts. The label also takes great pride in major achievements such as Armin van Buuren’s GRAMMY nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Loud Luxury and Brando’s ‘Body’ surpassing one billion streams on Spotify and breaking artists such as Lost Frequencies into global stardom.

Across offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York, London and Laren (NL), Armada Music offers a truly global appeal to its growing roster. The label has its own club, radio studio and multiple production studios, and hosts various live formats. Producer platform Armada University, which offers educational products and opportunities, shows the label’s sustained effort to nurture the next wave of talent.

In 2023, Armada Music launched BEAT Music Fund, the world’s first dance music investment company, that acquires catalogs with the mission of honoring, representing and reinvigorating them. BEAT’s portfolio will continue to grow; in the first six months following its launch, BEAT acquired the catalogs of, among others, electronic music star ARTY, house and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records, legendary NYC-based house label King Street Sounds and chart-topping producers Chocolate Puma.


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