German-born EDM DJ, producer, and musician Paul van Dyk in undeniably one of the world heavyweight champions of DJing. He was twice ranked No. 1 on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs Poll, and he has held a top 10 spot on the list since 1998—something that no other DJ has achieved. Van Dyke was the first DJ to be nominated when the Grammys announced its new Best Dance/Electronic Album category in 2003. In 2005, he was the first artist ever selected No. 1 by Mixmag.
During his youth, Van Dyk lived in Eastern Germany where he worked as a broadcast technician and stayed in contact with the western world by secretly listening to illegal radio stations and smuggled mixtapes. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Van Dyk began working as a DJ and collaborating with local musicians to release singles and host a weekly radio show. In the mid-nineties, a British record producer compiled the work Van Dyk had created over the years into Seven Ways. Van Dyk instantly became a pioneer of the trance sound, and the album was voted No. 1 by DJ Magazine’s readers. From then on, he grew to be one of the most recognizable figures on the international electronic music scene.
“The reason why electronic music in itself is really the first global music culture is the fact that it is based on the latest in technology and technology doesn’t have any boundaries,” van Dyk explains.
