Paul van Dyk quotes:

Ministry of Sound was actually the first club I ever played in the UK, it must have been around 1993. Being invited to play was a big thing and visited many times since - The Gallery always has a great crowd, great sound system and just a great night.

Trance had become a dirty word. Thanks to Ian Van Dahl, Lasgo, Flip 'N' Fill and DJ Sammy, a generation of kids has grown up thinking trance is the shittiest music since country and western.

When I started, DJs weren't in the media, electronic music wasn't in the sales charts and a DJ was the freak in the corner who provided the music while other people had fun. So to do it, you must have been a freak and a music lover.

I don't need to play Beatport Top 10 to get the crowd going

I have my own charity organization in Berlin called Ruckenwind, which supports kids from - ya - not ideal backgrounds.

It is not the gift, but the thought that counts.

I don't tell anyone what they should do (drugs). It's like this music is so full of power and energy you don't really need to take anything if you just open up and let the music take you.

I'm a very optimistic person. I have the chance to listen to so much phenomenal music. Connecting with social networking to create music is a progression of what electronic music does anyway - it connects people.

I grew up in a dictatorship, so I really appreciate democracy. I think democracy isn't just a random thing that's around - a democratic society needs the involvement of everybody.

DJs should not be just pressing play with a USB stick, or getting wasted and throwing cake. I don't think [stunts like throwing cake] have anything to do with connecting with your audience. To me, it has no substantial creative value - it's just a waste of food.

I always say, "If you see something is wrong in your neighborhood, go ahead and change it. Don't wait for somebody else to do it." This is pretty much what I do.

I do the work with friends who are musicians as well. I'm working on a piece of music and I have an idea of who I want on the vocals, but I don't really have a list.

Music should either move your feet or move your heart

The good thing, really, is that electronic music started as a fringe subculture, and now it's the biggest youth culture in the world. People pretty much everywhere go crazy for electronic music.

I wouldn't call myself a leader. I don't want to lead people, I want to tempt them, I want to create a new world for them, just for that very small moment, when they are losing themselves in my music. I want to inspire them