School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Paul van Dyk

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Paul van Dyk is the stage name of Matthias Paul, a German DJ and producer born in 1971. He grew up in East Berlin with his single mother. His musical education came from the radio. There were few record shops, so he secretly listened to Western stations and to mixtapes that were sometimes smuggled into the country. His first album was Organisation by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, which he later called hugely influential. Shortly before the fall of the Wall he was allowed to travel to Hamburg with his mother. In 1990 he returned to Berlin. In March 1991 he played for the first time at the club Tresor.

Music and breakthrough

His name sounds Belgian because in the beginning he played a lot of Belgian dance records. In 1993 his first mix compilation X-Mix-1 appeared and he made a remix of Humate's Love Stimulation, a trance anthem on the Berlin label MFS. The hit For an Angel followed in 1994, along with the album 45 RPM. Later came Seven Ways (1996) and Out There and Back (2000). With Reflections (2003) he was the first artist to receive a Grammy nomination in the new category of Best Dance/Electronic Album. In 2005 and 2006 DJ Magazine voted him number one in the world.

Influence

Van Dyk makes trance: melodic, driving electronic music with long build-ups. He is one of the DJs who took Berlin's post-Wall club culture to the world. His most recent albums include Music Rescues Me (2018) and This World Is Ours (2025). He also presents the radio programme VONYC Sessions.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to For an Angel. Notice how the melody and the beat slowly build towards a climax, and what that does to the tension in the track.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

Categories: ArtistsTrance