Armin Van Buren presses vinyl for UNVRS residency
Week of August 5 - August 11, 2026:The past few days brought reflection on legacy by DJs and producers, a major outdoor gathering that still draws nearly a million people (!!), and artists choosing longer creative pauses or rarer formats while the summer circuit stays busy in the dance music world.
CULTURE & CONTEXT
Armin van Buuren Adds Vinyl-Only Blocks to UNVRS Ibiza Residency
Armin van Buuren is incorporating vinyl sets into his weekly five-hour residency at UNVRS in Ibiza and is pressing his own records for the occasion. The move reaches back to the years when vinyl was his primary medium and follows a recent vinyl-only A State of Trance set at the same venue. In a season dominated by digital workflows, the decision highlights a deliberate return to physical format for both performance and personal archive.
https://weraveyou.com/2026/08/armin-van-buuren-vinyl-set-5-hour-show-pressing-own-vinyl/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaVO5cnjLmx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Street Parade Zurich Continues as One of Europe’s Largest Open-Air Rituals
The 33rd Street Parade in Zurich drew around 900,000 people. Organizers released a cost breakdown of 4.8 million Swiss francs and reported 906 medical treatments plus 30 arrests. The event remains a rare large-scale, relatively free-form street gathering centered on electronic music. Coverage this week focused less on individual lineups and more on the logistics and social scale of keeping such a parade viable in a major European city. It serves as a useful reminder of how certain dance-music traditions still operate outside the controlled festival model.
ESSENTIALS
Recommended Reading
Top Ten Festivals 2026: September - Resident Advisor
Japan’s Rainbow Disco Club expands to Singapore - Resident Advisor
Standouts from 50 Years of Electronic Jazz - Resident Advisor
Worth Watching
I Was There When House Took Over the World - BBC - A foundational documentary tracing house music from its Chicago roots through its global spread. Recommended as the primary documentary entry this week.
Solomun – Live at Alexandra Palace, London (2026) (Official Film) - Solomun (Official)
Charlotte de Witte b2b Yousuke Yukimatsu clips and set context - DJ Mag / artist channels
GLOBAL HIGHLIGHTS
Charlotte de Witte and Yousuke Yukimatsu Debut B2B in Brooklyn
Charlotte de Witte and Yousuke Yukimatsu played their first back-to-back set together on August 8 at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn. The pairing brought de Witte’s precise, driving techno alongside Yukimatsu’s more unpredictable, experimental approach under the concrete of the elevated highway. Both artists and attendees described a high-energy night that suited the raw industrial space. The set continues de Witte’s strong 2026 run and expands Yukimatsu’s growing North American profile.
Skrillex Sets Two Nights at Chicago’s Navy Pier
Skrillex confirmed two nights at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall in September, one with support and one open-to-close. The booking continues a pattern of longer-form special shows that give the producer more creative room than standard festival appearances.
GENRE FOCUS
Techno
Charlotte de Witte’s Brooklyn B2B and ongoing KNTXT activity kept techno visible on both underground and larger stages. Secondary reports noted continued European festival traffic and new EP work circulating among selectors.
House
Chicago’s house community prepared for its major late-August festival and conference while local residencies and smaller parties continued without major disruption. Classic anthems and new vocal collaborations remained part of the conversation on both sides of the Atlantic.
Drum and Bass
Chase & Status paid tribute to the late Lenzman during their Let It Roll set earlier in the period. Radio shows and new tracks from established and rising names continued to fill the weekly rotation, with no single dominant release story this week.
EDM and Mainstage
Armin van Buuren’s vinyl experiment at UNVRS and the ongoing A State of Trance planning for London’s Drumsheds kept the mainstage conversation focused on format and anniversary programming rather than brand-new festival announcements.
REGIONALFOCUS
UNITED STATES
Chicago House Music Festival & Conference lineup and schedule details for August 27-30 were confirmed and expanded this week, with panels, the House Dance Summit, and a large Millennium Park day featuring many of the city’s foundational and current names. The event remains free and continues to function as one of the most important annual gatherings for the local house community.
INTERNATIONAL
SWITZERLAND
Street Parade Zurich drew approximately 900,000 attendees for its 33rd edition, with organizers publishing detailed cost and medical figures. The event continues to stand as one of the largest regular open-air electronic music gatherings in Europe.
UNITED KINGDOM
Sheffield’s Tank nightclub announced it would close after 12 years, citing rising costs. Westminster Council advanced plans that could restrict new music and dancing venues in Soho. Both stories reflect ongoing pressure on independent club infrastructure in England.
ITALY
Damian Lazarus’s Monastic Studios in Tuscany was destroyed by fire after a lightning strike. The recording room was lost, though the building frame survived and a forthcoming single had already been backed up.
SPAIN / IBIZA
Armin van Buuren’s vinyl sets at UNVRS and the usual summer residency activity continued without major disruption, while the island prepared for the total solar eclipse later in the month.
LOOKING AHEAD (next 7–14 days)
Chicago House Music Festival and Conference runs August 27-30 with an expanded free program.
Several major North American amphitheater and arena dates for RÜFÜS DU SOL and others continue through late August.
Ibiza residencies remain in full swing, and the total solar eclipse on the island is already generating special viewing plans among the clubbing community.
Festival announcements for the autumn and early 2027 period are expected to accelerate after the current peak.
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