ATB has spent more than two decades shaping the emotional side of electronic music. From his early days in the trance scene to modern festival stages, his ability to connect melody and energy has made his sound unmistakable. With his next single “Believe in Love,” featuring Shaun Farrugia, he begins a new phase that will lead into what he describes as his final album, set for release next year.
The new single continues his long tradition of building songs that bridge intimacy and scale. It feels personal yet designed for the dance floor, blending rich vocals with the kind of atmosphere that has carried his work across generations of listeners. For ATB, it represents both reflection and renewal—a moment to look back on a career that has defined an era while still pushing forward creatively.
In this conversation, ATB discusses how he finds inspiration, the instincts that shape his track choices, and the emotion behind his performances. He speaks about rediscovering older music, staying true to his sound, and what continues to drive him after a lifetime of releases, tours, and timeless anthems.
Interview With ATB
What does it feel like when you come across a track and know it’s going to be part of your set?
Honestly, it feels amazing as I have a very specific taste in music.
I can spend hours on Beatport without finding a single track that truly fits my set. For me, a track has to touch me instantly. It needs to create that spark, that moment where I feel like running on stage and playing it right away. When that happens, it’s not just about the sound, it’s about emotion and energy connecting in the right way. Those are the tracks that stay with me for a long time, and every time I find one, it feels like discovering a little piece of inspiration all over again.
Is it usually a sound, a mood, or something more personal that makes you feel that spark?
I’d say it’s more about a feeling. A track has to grab me and put me in a good mood, that moment when I just know I need to play this one. It’s all about the energy, the groove, and the way the dynamics build. Sometimes it’s a certain sound or a really groovy beat that just gets me moving.
That’s when I know it’s something special. I love testing those tracks live because some that sound amazing in the studio or on headphones might not work as well in a club, while others just explode once you play them in front of a crowd.
Have you ever bought or downloaded something impulsively, only to realize later it completely fit your voice?
Most of the time it’s actually the other way around.
Sometimes I hear a track and there’s one part that really catches me, so I buy it and add it to my playlist. But when I listen again later, I realize it doesn’t really connect. Maybe just that one short moment felt right, but not enough to play the whole track. I’m always grateful for every song that makes it onto my list, but sometimes one or two don’t stay and end up dropping out again before they make it into my actual set.
Do you think every DJ has a kind of “inner compass” that helps filter what’s right for them?
I’d say some DJs have a really strong inner compass, while others let direction come a bit more from the outside.
A lot of them play what’s trending, so the compass isn’t always their own. And that’s exactly what I try to avoid. I always want to stay true to my sound and my feeling. If something that’s trending happens to connect with me, I’ll play it, but I’d never play a track only because it’s popular. That’s my compass. Maybe that’s why, at some festivals, you can close your eyes and not even tell who’s playing. That’s something I always try to stay away from.
Are there tracks you’ve passed on at first, only to come back to months later with a new perspective?
I wouldn’t say there are tracks I’ve rejected, but there are definitely some, even my own, that took time to connect. I remember back in 2001 when I first played “Let U Go.” In my favorite club, I actually cleared the dance floor during the first few weeks.
I think the sound was so new and different that people didn’t really know what to do with it at first. But later it became one of our biggest tracks and a total killer on the dance floor. That experience taught me that it’s not always about instant reactions. Some songs need time. They grow, they build their own momentum, and eventually they become something really special.
What’s one track that immediately felt like yours and still hasn’t left your rotation?
One track that really comes to mind is “Brave” by Cosmic Gate. It would be wrong to say it felt like my own track, but when I first heard it, I instantly thought, I need to play this one live. It had such a powerful energy. The only problem was, it was way too slow for my sets, more on the Afro-house side and didn’t fit the flow I usually play.
But I immediately had ideas for how I’d remix it. I’ve known the guys from Cosmic Gate for many years, so we talked about it, and I ended up doing an ATB remix. That version made it into almost every one of my sets, and when the guys play big festivals, they often use my mix too. The track just resonated with me on a deep level.
Do you ever think about why those tracks resonate with you so deeply?
It’s always a feeling first, that instant connection. But at the same time, ideas start coming to me right away. Most of the time it’s the harmonies, the sounds, the way everything builds together, that bit of melancholy that later opens up and turns into something uplifting. I love when a drop carries that kind of emotion and just takes off.
But sometimes it’s also about pure groove, a track with a heavy, driving beat that grabs me immediately. It doesn’t always have to be melodic or trancy; it can be something harder and more club-focused that still resonates with me. My first project was rooted in hard techno before ATB even started, so that side has always stayed with me too.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
