Armin van Buuren Denies Underground Resistance's Plagiarism Accusation

Trance heavyweight Armin van Buuren has denied accusations that he copied Detroit techno collective Underground Resistance's name and logo for his new Ibiza party series, U R.

Over the weekend, Underground Resistance posted the flyer for van Burren's U R party on their Facebook with the caption, "Is there no shame? What happened to electronic creativity? What the fuck is it all about the money?? To 'those who know' MOVE TO CONDITION RED!! To those who steal culture, you have been warned."

The group's allegation is based on the similarity they have drawn between the logo for van Buuren's residency, U R with Armin van Buuren, to their own logo, which also has bold "UR" lettering and a rectangular border. View both logos below.

In a statement to FACT, van Buuren maintained that neither he nor the team at Hï/Ushuaïa were aware of the similarities to the veteran group's logo. "Originally, UR…is derived from Universal Religion, an older but nonetheless known Armin van Buuren concept. The logo, which consists of a custom-made font and frame, was designed to conform with the Armin van Buuren brand."

Van Buuren further stated that he intends to keep the name of the residency, but will "adjust the symbol."

Underground Resistance's manager, Cornelius Harris, told Resident Advisor that he thought it was a "lazy and irresponsible" choice of logo. "I'm all for folks having fun regardless of the style of music, but that can be done without trying to exploit the years of work that another artist has put in for your own benefit. Van Buuren offers no explanation for it, simply calling U R 'my new concept' and leaving it at that. Sorry man, no fucking way."

In March, Harris hit Facebook to call out tech-house artist David Herrero and his label, Chus & Ceballos's Stereo Productions, for illegally using the vocal from their 2002 track "Transition" for Herrero's own "Make A Transition." Stereo removed the track from all sales platforms and stated to RA that they "didn't know the original track where the vocal was taken from."