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Powerhouse: the music of Sensation

Over the last 15 years, Sensation has proven to be a golden formula. Although the concept has hardly changed over time, the musical direction shifted significantly. At first the emphasis was primarily on trance music, but in 2007 that changed to house. Much to the regret of trance fans, the organisation felt it was a strategic move: trance was on its way out and Sensation was keeping up with the musical trends.

Organiser ID&T feels that Sensation is much more about the music than the concept. Set, acts, light, sound and show: Sensation is a feast for all senses. In a football stadium transformed into a spectacular dance hall, 40,000 visitors dressed in white dance the night away to the beats of the best DJs in the world. Every major dance artist has graced the stage of Sensation: David Guetta, Carl Cox and Martin Solveig, as well as Dutch superstars Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Afrojack and Martin Garrix.

From Tiësto to Fedde le Grand in 15 years
From Tiësto to Fedde le Grand in 15 years

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From Superstring to Tremor: the anthems

The musical shift of Sensation can be heard in the ‘anthems’, the promotional singles that are launched every year. The very first one in 2000 was Superstring by Cygnus X – a classic trance track. An overnight hit, the tune was listed on the Dutch Top 40 chart for 13 weeks. In the following years, Rank 1 and The Rush were in charge of some of the anthems. Armin van Buuren scored a hit with Serenity. Two years later the production of anthems ceased. The programming also began to change. In 2010, Swedish House Mafia, 2000 and One and Joris Voorn occupied the DJ booth and spun the beats to the event’s theme of ‘Celebrate Life with House’. The anthem tradition was restored in 2014 by Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike with their Tremor – a fabulous electro-house-track.

“The first Sensation anthem, Superstring, ranked in the Dutch Top 40 chart for 13 weeks”

2014: ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’

The line-up: a closely guarded secret

The Sensation line-up is a closely guarded secret that is only revealed after all tickets have been sold. No names had yet been announced as this article was being written. Except for one: in 2015, the musical line-up will include once again Mr. White, the ‘musical host’ of the evening. In every country where Sensation has taken place so far, the show always kicks off with the mysterious Mr. White who plays his carefully selected tracks. As soon as the complete line-up of the event is announced, it will be listed here. We certainly expect a sensational selection of DJs.
2011: Sensation ‘Innerspace’

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