YOU have to hand it to Tiësto: despite being an all-conquering trance god for many years, the Dutchman was no longer feeling the music he was playing around the world back in 2010. As such, he made a wholesale change to his sound and veered off down a wholly new path last year — one that finds him exploring electro and progressive house with all his might. 12 months on, and the world has come around to his way of thinking, with his sell-out shows as big as they have ever been. “I’m always grateful to my fans for their support,” beams the man born Tijs Verwest. “They — and also everyone in the EDM world — has accepted me with my new style. I’m always getting great feedback on my music and the shows have all been packed. I gained a lot of new fans and most of those don’t even know the older tracks I did. I love it, because I can’t imagine anything more boring than to play the same style of music for decades!”
A good showcase of the star’s new tastes this year come in the form of his ‘Club Life Volume Two: Miami’. “I’m really proud of the album,” he glows. “It’s a really strong collection of tracks. I aimed to channel the energy of Miami, one of my favourite cities to play in the US, so the CD is all my personal favourites plus exclusive remixes and edits.”
Away from making music and performing hundreds of gigs again this year (“My favourite show was at Electric Zoo in New York City. The crowd was absolutely huge and their energy was breathtaking from start to finish”), Tiësto has many other interests. 2012 has seen him start his own YouTube show, In The Booth, which allows fans a behind-the-scenes perspective and to see “more about my crazy life”. This has also been the year in which Tijs has released his first app, aimed at connecting fans yet further with their idol. “The Tiësto app is great if you really want to know everything about me and my music. I can post pictures, videos and news stories on the go. Most importantly, though, fans can stream my music whenever they want it and can even connect with each other.” The final extra-curricular development this year has been a partnership with esteemed fashion house GUESS? It
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will see the Dutchman design “a really cool line of graphic tees, jeans, leather jackets, and even a men’s watch”, and they in return will play his music in their stores worldwide. “I’ve always had a strong interest in fashion,” he states. “This year, I got to meet the legendary Paul Marciano from GUESS?, and he and I had the idea for us to work together. Our collaboration evolved pretty naturally and I got to work in-depth with their brilliant team of designers.”
Whilst Tiësto reckons an album is always on the horizon, one is not yet confirmed, though a new US College Tour most certainly is and will take up much of the man’s time in the coming months alongside another of his ongoing concerns, Musical Freedom. It’s a two- year-old label that releases a wide remit of big room sounds, all as a result of A&R from the man himself. “For me, the label is designed to help those really talented up-and-coming producers break out and to put out tracks that I just really love. It doesn’t have to be a big name or an unknown. I’m all about putting out great music and working with brilliant artists!”
Despite his continued flurry of activity, you have to wonder if Tiësto ever considers retiring, given the impact of all this on his private life. Seems he, too, ponders the question on a regular basis. “Every year I say to myself, ‘OK, next year I am going to slow down and take more time for myself ‘. This has had a big impact on my private life, good and bad... it’s impossible to have a relationship, but it also brought me a lot of joy and I met great people all over the world and made new, amazing friends. As long as I love what I am doing and it gives me happiness and fulfilment, I will continue...“ KRISTAN J CARYL
TIËSTO
Style: “Progressive/electro house.” Best known for: “Being a legend.” Tune of 2012: “Gotye ‘Somebody I Used To Know (Tiësto Remix)’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “DJ Quintino.”
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “I am a superhero and my super power is to make people dance!” Should you play to the crowd or for yourself? ”The crowd is abso- lutely essential, but there is a balance. The key is to be able to react to the crowd and their energy, but also get across your style and personality in the music you choose.” What does EDM mean to you? “The world.” Should celebri- ties be DJs? “If they have something to genuinely offer the dance music world, then I don’t see why not.” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “Never.” Are you a DJ if you don’t beat match? ”Yes, I think so. There are many more skills to DJing than just beat-matching, especially with new technology.” Where’s the next dance music capital? “New York.”