Synopsis

Paul van Dyk appears in a sunlit, tropical setting for this relaxed 1998 video. Dressed casually, he is shown beneath palm trees, beside the water, and among the natural scenery of Mexico's Riviera Maya. The visual mood is reflective rather than performance-driven, with the electronic track set against beaches, local landscapes, and everyday life. Near the end, van Dyk watches children playing soccer on the beach, giving the clip a gentle, human dimension that contrasts with the song's expansive club atmosphere.

Factoids & Trivia

• There are three substantially different music videos for "For An Angel." The other 1998 version uses footage from Berlin's Love Parade, while a later 2009 video was filmed around an exhibition in Los Angeles and Berlin.

• The Riviera Maya video was released in Germany in September 1998 and is associated with van Dyk's *Global* album.

• The track had originally appeared on van Dyk's 1994 debut album, *45 RPM*. Its better-known 1998 reworking was titled the "E-Werk Remix," referring to the Berlin club where he held a residency.

• The Love Parade version helped connect the single to the rapidly expanding late-1990s European trance scene. Contemporary trade coverage reported that the video was already being shown on MTV during the 1998 reissue campaign.

• Van Dyk has said that the original track was built using hardware including Roland Juno-60 and Juno-106 synthesizers, a Roland JX-1, and a Roland TR-808 drum machine.

• "For An Angel" became van Dyk's signature record and is widely regarded as one of trance's defining anthems. The 1998 release reached number one on the UK Dance Chart and later received major recognition in dance-music polls.