The Story Behind “Ariel”, The Unreleased Collab Between Deadmau5 And Armin van Buuren!

It’s very unfortunate when a collaboration between legends can’t see the light, such is the case with the officially dead ‘Ariel’ by deadmau5 & Armin Van Buuren—others suspect it was called ‘Let Them Know’.

Both artists have a well-established reputation within dance music in general as well as inside their own niches, and this track certainly lives up to that because one could hear the best of both. 

The chronology behind this track lasted for a year, starting from 2012. As a result of popular demand, the two artists exchanged audio & MIDI files on Twitter & SoundCloud. Ariel was filled with deadmau5’s sounds & Armin’s melodies, making it the ultimate crossover leading to what could’ve been a spectacular progressive Trance track that takes its beauty from warm sounds and uplifting melodies. Back then, they were on par with their respective styles: Joel with his “4×4=12” & “< album title goes here >” influences and Armin with his “Mirage” influences.

The anticipation bloomed, even more, when Armin himself unleashed a new form of the collab during the 585th episode of A State Of Trance (ASOT). This version was novel with its energy and festival appeal, yet it retained the same melody.

In September 2013, a year after the inception of the project, Joel announced on a livestream with Kat Von D that Ryan Adams was going to be the vocalist, which made things more interesting. Alas, this was only until the end of the year when the canadian called off everything saying that “he got bored of it” because he’s generally not a fan of collaborations. From his side, Armin had to cancel not only due to that, but also because of a couple of arguments regarding Joel’s point of view about ASOT. Thus, the outburst led to the decline of this collab and of the relationship between the 2 legends–Joel used to beef a lot back then!

Whether we’re talking 2012 or 2020, Ariel has a substantial emotional potential that is fueled by its production & melodic arrangement, which makes the fact that it was never released only more ironic & sad. Thankfully, things were mended between the two as deadmau5 performed under the ASOT 750 Stage @ Ultra back in 2016 and even did an interview with Armin. He also did one special back to back alongside another legend, Eric Prydz.

• written by Ishukā Chibb Sharma / Our Trancelations / Delacour Agency