Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
GRAMMY Award-winning international DJ, musician and record producer Paul van Dyk intends to close down Bahrain’s Formula One festivities with a power-packed surge of electricity.
The 43-year-old master of electronic dance music (EDM) has kept music-lovers spellbound for more than two decades and will return to the kingdom to enchant the audience at Coral Bay in Manama with his passionate pulsating beats on Sunday evening.
“My fans are the reason I’m here and are my main source of inspiration. I’m excited to see my fans in Bahrain!” he said. “Everything’s fuelled by something. With cars, it’s petrol, with houses it’s gas and electricity and with me, it’s seeing audiences go crazy!”
A native of Germany, Matthias Paul originally worked as a broadcast technician and began training to become a carpenter. Radio was his main source of musical education and his gateway to the outside world beyond the Berlin Wall at a time when the country was split between East and West was via popular yet prohibited Western radio stations and mix tapes that were brought illegally into the Communist State.
Over the last two decades, Matthias, better known by his stage name, Paul van Dyk, has broken through the barriers to create a series of sensational studio albums including 45 RPD, Seven Ways, Out There and Back, Reflections, In Between, Evolution and The Politics of Dancing collection, as well as some remix albums. He has also been featured on various TV shows, soundtracks and video games.
After receiving a Grammy nomination in the Best Dance/Electronica Album category for his compilation titled Reflections, the accomplished artist was also dubbed No. 1 DJ in both 2005 and 2006 by DJ Mag. The chart-topping artist has also shared a Grammy win for his collaborative remix of Poor Choice of Words from the celebrated Batman movie The Dark Knight.
Composed with touches of cinematic elegance, Paul van Dyk’s music paints intense visuals and awakens all of the senses. An ethereal listening experience, it would be no surprise if Paul van Dyk were asked to produce music for another movie with his free-flowing musical expressions of emotion.
“Working on soundtracks and film scores such as Zurdo and The Dark Knight was such a great privilege and allowed me to create music other than what I could play at one of my own events. I look forward to these opportunities in the future!” Paul van Dyk said.
While the future may hold many exciting prospects, the present holds a much-anticipated addition to one of Paul Van Dyk’s most renowned collections – the Politics of Dancing.
In his first and second Politics compilations, he viewed electronic dance music as a political and diplomatic tool to bring people around the world together, encouraging unity and respect. Soon Bahrain’s fans will be able to experience the latest and greatest from the third instalment, which is available for pre-order and will officially be released on May 5.
“The Politics of Dancing 3 will be my new album,” he explained. “Over the years many people have asked if there would ever be another Politics of Dancing. I’d thought about the idea myself and often. Two or so years back I decided ‘why not?’
“If there’s a project that we’re all still so passionate and enthusiastic about, that is requested by my audience regularly and over such a long period of time, then really, why not do it? We’ve already had the first singles out: Only In A Dream, Guardian and What We’re Livin’ For,” he said.
Politics of Dancing 3 will be a distinct musical experience that was developed through a different creative process than its predecessors. “The way the music industry operates today is far different to how it did back then,” he told GulfWeekly. “Nowadays, you don’t have time to get music six months upfront in order to remix tracks, which is what I did with the previous releases from 10 or more years ago.
“This time, instead of working out who I was going to remix tracks by, I did it by collaborating with the same people as I would have remixed. It’s an artist’s album in composition and more mix-comp-like in it’s sequencing and listening experience.”
Luckily, fans in Bahrain will have an entirely exceptional experience as Paul van Dyk has formulated a way to make sure that the show will be distinctly different from any of his other performances.
“The show will be defined, to a great degree, by the music from my new album. Over the last five years I’ve driven my show less in the straight-up DJ set direction and more along the lines of a live-on-stage concert-like performance.
“The set-up is half studio/half club, with the equipment on stage allowing me to manipulate many of the elements of a track live. Using this approach means that no two shows are ever the same, which keeps it fresh for the audience and fresh for me,” he said.
“You’ll most certainly be hearing a healthy serving of music from Politics, including my new single What We’re Livin’ For, with Michael Tsukerman and featuring Patrick Droney. I dare say there’ll also be a few classics, like Home and For An Angel in there to keep everyone happy!”
His artistry, passion and musical prowess appear to be powered by his love for and from his supporters. And, while his fans wait in anticipation for the superstar’s arrival, van Dyk is just as excited to see his fans dance the night away.
“There’s never been anything though that beats the feeling of seeing people in a club really going for it to music that you’ve created! To my Bahraini fans: Enjoy the music!” he said.
Tickets to join Paul van Dyk at the Formula One Grand Prix closing party at Coral Bay in Manama are being sold at the door for BD30 on the night of the show. For more information, call 33745547 or 36950077.
