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#1 DJ by DJ Magazine’s world-wide readers poll in 2002 and 2003
#2 “America’s Favorite DJ” by BPM Magazine’s reader’s poll for 2004
While the rest of the inhabitants of the green, leafy sauna known as Taiwan settle into sleep, TIËSTO--the People's DJ--is just ge |
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#1 DJ by DJ Magazine’s world-wide readers poll in 2002 and 2003
#2 “America’s Favorite DJ” by BPM Magazine’s reader’s poll for 2004
While the rest of the inhabitants of the green, leafy sauna known as Taiwan settle into sleep, TIËSTO--the People's DJ--is just getting started. The clock on his bedside table reads 12:45 but his room is tingling with activity as he and his crew ready to take the stage for another of his heroic six-hour DJ sets.
"There's 6,000 people waiting," Tiësto says over the bustle of activity in the background. "Man, I can't wait."
The fact that Tiësto can draw such a crowd in a country not exactly known for foaming-at-the-mouth electronic fans should tell you that dance music's grasp is greater than ever. The Dutch native will lead the screaming, squirming masses through a propulsive private workout tonight, showcasing his latest turntable tricks in advance of his latest artist album for Nettwerk, Just Be.
"I think artist albums are the future of DJing," he says. "I mean, a mix album is great, but it's always copy able, which makes it not as creative. When you're creating your own music, you feel more like an artist."
A year and a half in the making, Just Be sees Tiësto raising his already intimidating powers to new heights, mixing orchestral flourishes, floating trance, epic house, explosive breakbeats and even heartfelt anthems about bad breakups. "This album shows how much more mature as a DJ I am," he says. "It's very close to who I am. I wanted to give something personal back to the people who believe in what I do."
Recorded in his home studio in Amsterdam, Tiësto has produced his most ambitious--if not his best album to date. There’s down-tempo chill out with the UK's Aqualung ("UR"), another soaring vocal workout with longtime collaborator Kirsty Hawkshaw ("Walking on Clouds"), a haunting and unlikely match with Nashville songwriters Jo Lloyd and Dan Muckala ("Sweet Misery") and even a reinterpretation of Barber's "Adagio for Strings" that's been a highlight of Tiësto's live set.
But Just Be's most powerful moment comes when Tiësto teams with fellow trance pioneer BT on "Love Comes Again." The two met last year in Miami at the Winter Music Conference when Tiësto sought BT out to compliment him on the vocals for one of his latest tracks. "I asked him who the singer was," he says with a laugh, "And he told me it was him. I said, 'Wow. We should do a song together.'"
The result is a knee-rocking, tear-jerking standout unlike anything else in Tiësto's catalog.
"It's very personal--a love song," Tiësto explains. "You're always depressed when a relationship ends; that's just the way it has to be. But I know from experience that you shouldn't be too depressed because the next experience is always better."
Another can't miss hit is the anthemic "Traffic." The first single released in Europe, it hit the UK Top 40 and went straight to #1 in Holland where it knocked pop music pinup Justin Timberlake out of the top spot--a feat Tiësto's still proud of.
"It's amazing," he says, his voice beaming. "Where I come from, dance music is much different. It's on radio and MTV and basically much cooler than any other kind of music."
Dance music's stranglehold on popular culture in Europe had no better showcase than last year's concert in Holland, where Tiësto played a dazzling nine-hour DJ set for 25,000 fans. Besides clearly solidifying him as a top international DJ, it reaffirmed his commitment to his art. He had contemplated trying to crossover, even doing remixes for the Dave Matthews Band and Radiohead, but walked away from the concert stronger in his convictions than ever.
"To be honest, before that show I thought dance music was dying," he says. "But that experience changed my vision a lot. I felt if I could put 25,000 in a stadium and they enjoy it, then dance music is still huge. If I want to crossover, I'll pick up a guitar. It was truly magical."
Tiësto, born Tijs Verwest began his career in dance music at the age of sixteen playing records at his local disco. Years later his turntable skills and fine-tuned crowd-pleasing senses catapulted him to DJ superstardom as he quickly became one of the biggest names in the business. In 2002 Tiësto topped the British dominated DJ Magazine world-wide Top 100 DJs reader’s poll. In 2003 he broke records garnering the #1 spot again, a first for a Dutchman.
He is also an established remixer whose credits include works for Sarah McLachlan, Moby, Delerium, Kosheen and Faithless. Other releases to his name are a string of highly successful compilations for Nettwerk with Nyana (2003) and Summerbreeze (2000), the Magik, In Search of Sunrise and Forbidden Paradise compilation series for his own Black Hole label (1997 - 2002) and most recently the DVD’s Another Day In the Office (2002) and In Concert (2003), which capture his life on the road and the pure essence of his fanbase with the previously mentioned sold-out show at Amsterdam’s Gelredome.
Tiësto has also toured extensively in North America over the last three years and has participated in high-profile events such as Moby’s Area 2 tour and the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. His first tour of the U.S. in 2001 was so successful that every subsequent stateside date has been a sellout with crowds of 3,000 to 5,000 filling the venue. That's quite a feat given the fact that Tiësto's profile is limited to hardcore fans frequenting dance-head websites and record shops
Now Tiësto has his sights firmly set on the states once again to promote Just Be. "I think I'm one of the coolest DJs for America," he says. "I'm not too underground, but I'm certainly not very mainstream since I'm not on TV or radio. I'm still bubbling under and it's a challenge to play there, but the crowd reaction is phenomenal."
Now if he can just knock Justin Timberlake from the top of the American charts...Tiësto laughs: "The day I knock Justin Timberlake out of number one in the U.S. is the day you'll know I've done my job." |
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