Paul Van Dyk Announces GenreBlending VENTURE X Project: Fans ‘Deserve More Than A Top 10 Dance Chart Set Played From A USB Stick
Paul Van Dyke may have made a name for himself as a trance artist, but his interests and skills extend beyond the genre. Now you can see how far.
On his new project VENTURE X, the German headliner eschews genre purity and Van Dyk plays what he does best, blending progressive, trance and techno for his coming-of-age tour.
"I try to stay curious and open to new sounds, artists and labels, as always," Van Dyke told Billboard . "Different aspects of music and its sonic genres and colors have always been part of my collection. VENTURE XI takes this approach even further and the collection will define itself."
VENTURE X will debut on February 17th in Toronto, followed by New York, Montreal, Pontiac, Denver, Portland, San Francisco and Austin. Along the way, Van Dyke hopes to appeal to audiences "in a way they didn't know. I think electronic music fans deserve more than a Top 10 Dance Charts stream played from a USB drive."
For the tour, Van Dyke's setup will consist of instruments, computers and sequencers, a set that "allows me to find the right energy level at any point during the set, because basically everything is sequenced and played live." resenting the crossover, he is “not worried that genre purists will feel alienated, quite the opposite. There's a lot of great music out there and it's my job as a DJ to bring it to you. At least that's how I see it. Otherwise, I will feel like a jukebox."
Genres don't really matter much because Van Dyke, who has been composing music for three decades, notes that genre names, sounds and meanings still change. "When I started DJing, all electronic music was called techno... What was called progressive house about 20 years ago is probably called melodic techno today. Drumcode has amazing releases that fit easily into the trance genre, and sometimes something called techno sounds like relaxation to me. "to me".
The VENTURE X's Anthem doesn't just arrive in a fancy box, as it was released today (January 27). Find Van Dyke teaming up with progressive house duo Weekend Heroes and singer-songwriter Christian Schutstud for a dark, one-track journey that serves as the project's thesis.
"I like progressive and deep stuff, but with a heavier aural approach," says Van Dyke. "[Making this music] sounds natural and organic."
