Armin van Buuren has announced his first acoustic album, Piano, arriving October 31st via Armada Music.
The album’s first track, “Sonic Samba,” is out now on Apple Music and Apple Music Classical, where Piano will stream exclusively for one week before its wide release across major streaming platforms on November 7th.
Composed and performed entirely on piano, the 15-track album pulls back the curtain on a side of van Buuren that has quietly guided his sound for more than two decades. Raised by a piano-playing father and steeped in classical music from a young age, the trance icon says he developed a fluency in melody and structure that shaped the way he built tracks long before he became a mainstay of EDM.
The producer’s path to Piano began unintentionally, sparked by a need to support his mental health. That discipline soon turned into writing. Bored of playing existing pieces, he began composing his own, working closely with classically trained composer Geronimo Snijtsheuvel to develop them into full compositions. Each track reflects a memory, relationship or emotional snapshot, with several dedicated to his father, brother and wife Erika.
“Creating melodies behind the piano has always been the foundation of my music,” van Buuren said in a statement. “Together with my teacher Geronimo, sketches grew into 15 pure pieces, free from beats. This project shows another side of me: intimate, honest, direct. My roots lie in a home filled with classical, rock, and electronic music, shaped by my father, brother, and artists like Vangelis and The Orb. After decades of trance and festivals, I longed for music without pressure—just fingers on keys.”
The album was recorded in early 2025 over seven days at Utrecht’s ConcertLab, which bills itself as “the world’s first purpose-built filming studio dedicated to Fine Arts Music”. Each piece was performed in a single take, with arrangements ranging from solo ballads to collaborations with a chamber orchestra, cellist and violinist.
The first composition he wrote for the project, “Fathers & Sons,” became a blueprint for the album’s emotional tone. In addition to his original works, van Buuren also reimagines Robert Miles’ seminal trance anthem “Children” as a stripped-down piano piece.
Piano will be available to stream exclusively on Apple Music and Apple Music Classical starting October 31st. Fans can pre-save the album here.
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