The en-trancing singer

Richard Bedford is the enigmatic voice that lends cadence to music of EDM biggies like Armin Van Buuren and Above and Beyond. In a friendly chat, Dhara Vora peeled away the hypnosis to unravel an accidental singer

The backstage and the entire stadium for the Sunburn Arena gig was thumping to DJ Armin Van Buuren’s beats while we waited for singer Richard Bedford. Shrugging off the madness, Bedford leisurely walked in. For someone who is about to perform in front of a stadium full of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) crazed fans, he surely looked cool.

Singer Richard Bedford at the Armin Van Buuren concert in the city, last week

“I love touring,” the British singer tells us who is the voice behind several chart-breaking songs by Trance greats Above and Beyond such as Sun and Moon, Thing Called Love, and his latest offering with Van Buuren, Love Never Came. Many would recognise his voice, but few would recognise his face.

“I was in India last in 2011 and have been wanting to come back ever since. I feel special to be back here,” he says. Not limiting himself to any genre, Bedford tells us, “When I started, I was a keyboard player. I have played Classic Jazz and Funk, and in Rock bands. It was later that I started singing.”



Calling himself an accidental vocalist, he recalls how his first song Alone Tonight happened: “A friend of mine works for Above and Beyond’s record label and had been asking for my demo. However, I had been busy teaching (a mixture of Contemporary Art and Music) and I wasn’t sure about getting back to music.

Finally I did, and a week later, I was recording the song.” Bedford has been working on an album since a long time and has over 100 songs ready. The difficult bit, he shares, is trying to compile an album with the right feel.

Asking him if Trance would be the choice for it, he says, “I write my songs on keyboard or guitar, and many of them are still in that phase. For me, my works have to reach people. I would like them to have a flavour, which is more me — bit more dark and light and with cinematic elements.”

Currently, other than touring with Van Buuren and working on his album, which he is trying to complete by 2015, Bedford is working on a few collaborations including the ones with DJ BT.

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