Paul van Dyk
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Bio
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.
About
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 for 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.
Paul van Dyk’s touring diary remains incredibly hectic with regular globetrotting stops at
major venues across the globe from New York, London, Ibiza to India, China and
Singapore. In the little time remaining between all the travel, Paul van Dyk resides in
Berlin where he has his own radio show “Paul van Dyk’s VONYC Sessions” which airs
weekly on the Area Channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio on Thursday nights at 6PM
EST (and rebroadcasts Saturdays at 8PM EST and Tuesdays at Midnight EST) and
Soundgarden which airs every Wednesday 2pm – 4pm (EST) on Fritz radio and over the
internet (www.fritz.de) as well as Galaxy FM in the UK.
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