Six months. That’s how long the legions of fans of fellow Dutchmen Oliver Heldens and Armin van Buuren had to hang tight after the dance music giants premiered their first-ever collaboration at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. A staple in their sets at Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas, and other major events since the track has just been officially released on Armada Music to keep giving fans the audial thrill they crave: ‘Freedom’ featuring Sam Harper.
Pairing a dance-pop arrangement with the attitude of a club banger, ‘Freedom’ is the undeniably electrifying result of two longtime friends and electronic music stars hitting the studio together. With the brilliant vocal performance of Sam Harper taking center stage across the original version and the high-intensity “VIP Mix” (coming November 21), ‘Freedom’ is, without a doubt, something the whole world desires.
“I met up with Oliver, and we had an instant click in the studio, so much so that it resulted in not one but TWO tracks!” said Armin van Buuren. “The first one was released on HILOMATIK, and the second one is this vocal track about “situationships.” It’s the result of a writing session in Sweden with the wonderful Sam Harper, and Oliver and I finished the track together.”
[review top="1"]
[item value="10"]Oliver Heldens & Armin van Buuren feat. Sam Harper - Freedom [/item]
[content title="Summary" label="Overall Score"]Oliver Heldens and Armin van Buuren combine once again their forces this time on Armada Music after their HILOMATIK banger Now Love Will Begin. This time they move in more proglifting trance territory with top vocals by Sam Harper for their hymn Freedom. Energetic pulsating basslines, thumping drums, electro twisted kicks and excellent big room synths make instantly the difference and turn the track into an anthem that clubs and radios will equally adore. The Club mix is the energetic peak time mainstage techno version with harder kick, rough drums and ultra punchy basslines along with great vocals and unforgettable lyrics. When the always smiling Oliver and Armin combine their forces the result an only be full of hope for regeneration and Freedom. #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 Oliver Heldens
A genuine superstar with No. 1 hits and more than 4 billion streams, Oliver Heldens is at the vanguard of the new generation of house music stars. A resolute perfectionist who works tirelessly in his studio to craft new sounds and directions at every opportunity, he’s a truly dedicated artist who refuses to cut corners. This attitude to innovation also saw him launch his spectacular HI-LO side project, pushing his intricate and forward-thinking production aesthetic to its limits. His career has been a whirlwind of mind-boggling success after Tiësto picked up his 2013 single “Gecko,” which became his major breakthrough track. Pete Tong’s Warner Music Group imprint, FFRR, subsequently licensed it and took it to the #1 spot in the UK Official Chart with a vocal from Becky Hill, culminating in Double Platinum sales. One of the most talented producers in the game, Oliver continues to value the synergy of collaborations, delivering stand-out releases with artists like Nile Rodgers, Kylie Minogue, Tiesto, David Guetta, and brands like Call of Duty and F1, plus releasing official remixes for the who’s who of pop stars & cultural icons including Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, Chic, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Nina Kraviz, Glass Animals, Jamiroquai, and Justin Timberlake & SZA.
In 2014, Oliver Heldens launched his highly successful label, Heldeep Records, as a platform to showcase the new music of budding producers. However, Heldeep has since grown into a fully-fledged label that continues to be a leader in breaking tastemaker club and house records. Heldeep has since spawned two equally impressive imprints: OH2 Records (2020), which caters to the more commercial leaning, streaming-focused productions, and HILOMATIK (2023), the home for HI-LO output and cutting-edge techno from other artists, serving as a platform to bring the melodic techno world and the more driving peak time techno world closer to together. The family of labels features releases from respected talents such as ALOK, Chocolate Puma, Green Velvet, James Hype, Kai Tracid, Elohim, Example, Shift K3y, Eli Brown, Space 92, and Wehbba and has hosted legendary label nights across the globe with guests including Chris Lake, Dom Dolla, Arman van Heldens, Mau P, James Hype, Gorgon City, Idris Elba, Nora En Pure, and many more. Heldens continues to host his weekly radio show, Heldeep Radio, which has surpassed 500 episodes. Aside from the music, Heldens always likes to go one step further with his ideas to ensure that every element of his creative game truly stands out. Whether that’s with his hilarious social media hijinx on his massive channels, harnessing the power of his fanbase to create a dance craze for his track “Flamingo,” or creating his own Deep Water vitamin drink, there’s never a dull moment in his world.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
November 8, 2024 – EDC, Orlando, FL
November 9, 2024 – Marquee, New York, NY
November 15, 2024 – Complex, Maastricht, Netherlands
November 22, 2024 – Docks, Hamburg, Germany
November 30, 2024 – Fairground Festival, Hanover, Germany
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:
Nov 14 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO
Nov 15 - Echostage - Washington, DC
Nov 16 - FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DEL GLOBO - Leon, MX
Nov 20 - Marquee - New York, NY
Nov 22 - Dreamstate SoCal - Long Beach, CA
Nov 23 - Marquee Las Vegas Race Week - Las Vegas, NV
Dec 12 - Soundstorm - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Dec 14 - Djakata Warehouse Project - Jakarta, Indonesia
Feb 21 - A State of Trance Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Feb 22 - A State of Trance Rotterdam - Rotterdam, Netherlands
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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