Artento Divini | Featured Artist Of The Month | February 2012

Ard Schilderink is used to high-energy performances. Formerly a professional cyclist, he used the name Artento Divini to transform the physical love of endurance into high-energy Trance productions. Bringing incredibly move-able basslines to Tech Trance and a selection of hands-in-the-air synth leads that go the extra mile, Divini has broken out as one of the leading names in his style. Even his stabs follow a melodic course, which is not as usual for tech trance records today.

Two of my favorite techniques Artento uses allow his records to be distinguishable right out of any DJ set. The first is the interplay between backing synth blips and the original melody. You will often hear them playing offshoots of the main melody, panned to the sides, yet playing slightly different notes from each other. This creates a sense of depth in his mixes that makes the room explode when combined with the big anthem leads. Throw in some tribal percussion and you have yourself some serious beats!

The other is his expert use of filters within his original tracks and remixes. You can hear this in his spectacular version of Jochen Miller’s “Lost Connection,” which was revived as a super hit when Armin van Buuren mashed it up with the vocals from his own track “In & Out of Love.” Artento Divni’s remix uses a producer-level filter already in the track before it hits the tables, which you can hear as the track reaches around two minutes. The bass of the track gradually becomes more “intense” as well as the instruments slightly after. The result is a backwards “woosh” sound much different from the live effect the DJ can apply, because it has been specifically controlled in the studio and tamed to what Artento has intended to accomplish. He uses this artistically during his remix of Sane – “Insane,” particularly on the stabs during the breakdown to bring them into a quiet. Then he uses the same process backwards to bring on a piercing effect with each stab.

He has had some very well received hits such as “Who’s Next” and “Reflex,” which he and other talented DJ’s have used on the Trance Energy Festival stage for years. With an unmistakable style and a vision of full sound spectrum for the stadium performance, it’s clear why Artento is USTM’s Featured Artist of the Month!

BIO: A well known artist once said: “Making and playing music is like a reflex, I just can’t control it”. And a reflex it surely is for one of Holland’s finest craftsmen in electronic music who’s taking the industry by storm. Many DJ’s have made it to the top of their game and so did numerous producers. Nevertheless, there are only so many people who are skilled enough to let both flawless DJ-ing and high profile producing go hand in hand to create a perfect synergy. One of those artists blessed with having the best of both worlds is Artento Divini.

The sound of Artento Divini can be described as a mixture of minimal rhythms, trancy influences and rough driving sounds. Divini: “My creative brain seems unstoppable, it just goes on and on and on. Like someone once said: ‘It’s like a reflex, I just can’t stop it’. So maybe I’ve come down with the same disease as that guy, who knows…”

Dutch label High Contrast Recordings, home of a.o. Rank 1, Paul van Dyk and Jochen Miller, spotted the skills of Artento Divini and took him on board of the roster for a range of new releases. Artento’s High Contrast debut release ‘Deep Down’ was introduced to the masses during Trance Energy 2009, where Artento rocked the High Contrast stage alongside Rank 1 and Judge Jules. Its successor ‘Biding My Time” marked a bit of a side step for Artento as it’s his first production to have full vocals. ‘Biding My Time’ got rewarded with an official video, proving that Artento was very well capable of churning out a full vocal song next to his instrumental dance floor rockers.

Having the urge to continue the success of ‘Biding My Time’, Artento went back in the lab and delivered his next offering ‘Who’s Next’, spun by the likes of Markus Schulz, Sander van Doorn and W&W during Trance Energy 2010 where Artento performed once more. ‘Who’s Next’ was followed by his new production ‘Griffin’ which became the official anthem of the Pleasure Island Festival for both the Dutch and the Czech edition, two high profile festivals where Artento had the honor to headline the main stage. ‘Griffin’ was chosen by none the less than Armin van Buuren to be ‘Tune of the Week’ on edition 457 of his radio show A State Of Trance; as a result, ‘Griffin’ skyrocketed through online charts to land in the top 5 of Beatport, Trackitdown and Audiojelly.

A mandatory given for every self-respecting and ambitious artist in the industry is having a radio show, and Artento Divini is no exception. His bi-weekly popular radio show Front Of My Bag (FOMB) – also available as a downloadable podcast – is aired on a number of worldly spread internet stations, with a FOMB special broadcasted on Afterhours.fm every third Friday of the month. His FOMB radio show gives Artento Divini the opportunity to introduce his freshest productions to his audience of global fans.

DJ-wise, Artento Divini collects his share of mileage and airmiles as he’s a welcome guest on many national and international events, festivals and in big room venues. Artento has been given the attending audiences a high doses of his tremendous energy on prime-time slots during Germany’s no. 1 festival Nature One, the Polish festival highlight of the year Sunrise, the most important Dutch trance gathering Trance Energy and other prolific festivals and events such as Dance Valley, Pleasure Island, Emporium, Luminosity, Q-Base, Defqon 1, Free Festival and GrotesQue. With his colleague and good friend Fausto, Artento plays the occasional back-to-back set as he did to great success during Trance Energy 2010 and two weeks later on In Qontrol in the Amsterdam RAI venue.

After releasing his follow up solo track ‘Timezone’, picked up by the grand elite in trance county and bombarding online charts worldwide, Artento hooked up with Jonas Stenberg for a collaboration release. Due to their individual rammed itineraries, it took them a whole year to produce the track, hence the title “1 Year Later”. Early 2011, the Artento Divini music flavor will be eternally archived onto the double CD ‘High Contrast Recordings presents Artento Divini’, a full CD release backed up with a world tour to spread that Divini virus amongst the international clubbers. Next to this High Contrast tour, Artento will join one of the UK’s finest female superstar DJ’s Lisa Lashes on her tour in 2011 and will provide for a slamming remix for one of Lisa Lashes’ upcoming projects.

With a brand new clothing sponsor Kultivate on board, a new residency in one of Poland’s most important venues Club 139, a string of fresh releases and remixes and the unbounded expansion of his FOMB radio show lined up for 2011, the future holds endless possibilities for the sympathetic Dutchman. As Artento Divini is an active social media aficionado, be sure to follow him on the net to keep yourselves updated on the latest Artento Divini news facts, gig schedule, releases and remixes!

USTM’s Top 3 Artento Divini Tracks:

1. Jochen Miller – Lost Connection (Artento Divini Remix)
2. Sane – Insane (Artento Divini Remix)
3. Artento Divini – Reflex

Written by Tom Rogers

Purchase Artento Divini Music:
1. High Contrast Presents Artento Divini – Artento Divini
2. Biding My Time – EP – Artento Divini
3. Griffin – Single – Artento Divini
4. Reflex – Single – Artento Divini
5. Who’s Next – EP – Artento Divini
6.Groove In Me – EP – Artento Divini
7. Deep Down – EP – Artento Divini
8. ADHD – Single – Artento Divini
9. My Sanctuary – EP – Artento Divini