The decks have been set, the stakes have been excessive and the one certainty was uncertainty.
At A State of Trance 2025, Armin van Buuren and Maddix took the stage for a “face-to-face” set, an audacious experiment that flipped the script on the standard DJ efficiency. With their cubicles positioned immediately reverse one another, the Dutch artists had no view of their counterpart’s decks, and have been as a substitute pressured to rely solely on old style intuition and musical instinct.
In contrast to normal b2b units, the place the DJs can simply learn one another’s observe alternatives and physique language, van Buuren’s and Maddix’s setup eradicated that security internet completely. As an alternative, the powerhouse producers needed to anticipate one another’s strikes in real-time, creating an unpredictable, high-energy spectacle that performed out like a chess match.
Their efficiency set was only one piece of ASOT’s expansive competition programming in Rotterdam this yr. The occasion’s opening day featured over 5 hours of dwell efficiency from van Buuren, who set the stage for a weekend that not solely celebrated trance music because it exists as we speak, but additionally its future.
Followers who missed the second dwell can now witness the entire set on YouTube right here.
Comply with Armin van Buuren:
X: x.com/arminvanbuuren
Instagram: instagram.com/arminvanbuuren
TikTok: tiktok.com/@arminvanbuuren
Fb: fb.com/arminvanbuuren
Spotify: spoti.fi/2WHsl2t
Comply with Maddix:
X: x.com/maddixmusic
Instagram: instagram.com/maddixmusic
TikTok: tiktok.com/@maddixmusic
Fb: fb.com/maddixmusic
Spotify: spoti.fi/2ImjqP4