Revere him or resent him, Tiësto is a force in dance music. The trance DJ, whose real name is Tijs Verwest, has such a vat of accomplishments—from albums, remixes and record-breaking crowds to corporate partnerships, crossover contributions and charitable work—laundry listing them would keep you scrolling all afternoon. We’ll instead divulge what’s coming next for the trance icon.
Tiësto has just kicked off an Armani Exchange-sponsored U.S. Tour, a move reinforcing his position as a mainstay in the mainstream – feathers in that cap include playing at the 2004 Olympics opening ceremonies in Athens, snagging a Grammy nomination for his Elements of Life album, and reigning for three years as number one in DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll (still the record for the spot).
This summer’s tour takes Tiësto from West to East Coast through a slew of nightclubs in lieu of the massive arenas and elaborate stage shows he played last year on his Elements of Life tour. “I’m just really excited about everything—still,” he says. “For the big kick-off of the US tour I played Ruby Skye in San Francisco for, I think, the fifth time and I was just as excited as the first.”
The tour is supporting his latest compilation, In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia. Mixed and recorded in Thailand, the new ISOS offers an aural peek at his perception of Asia from his experience there while on tour. The first CD hypnotizes with dreamy, haunting, lyrical sounds while second picks up a faster, trancier, more Tiësto-like feel.
We asked Tiësto to give us the rundown on the compilation and his summer tour, as well as spew out a few personal details in hopes of finding the key to attracting an overzealous following and maintaining humility throughout enduring success.
Clubplanet: You’re used to the big festivals and giant arenas, how do you feel about doing your US tour through the clubs this summer? What are you expecting?
Tiesto: I’m excited. Music lovers come to the clubs. It’s going to be nice intimate shows, closer to the people, [I can] experiment a little bit more.
CP: Do you think they’ll be more focus on the music without such big productions or will there be just as much pyrotechnics?
Tiesto: No, no, [it’s] very musically driven. That’s the big difference. And there’s only a limited amount of tickets; you can only fit like 1,000 or 2,000. It’s going to be very interesting.
CP: The latest in your compilation series, In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia, hits here in the US in June. How did Asia/Thailand inspire you, sonically?
Tiesto: The notes, I loved the melodies, lots of melodies, and you can hear that on the CD. Every track has a beautiful melody, especially CD 2, it’s a lot trancier than the one before [ISOS 6: Ibiza].
CP: It’s being described as ‘trance with an Asian flair.’ That’s an interesting way of phrasing it. How is that different from, say trance with a Dutch flair?
Tiesto: The Asian flavor of it is more melodic. It sounds almost like old school trance. In Holland nowadays the trance is more tech, tech-trance if you look at guys like Sander van Doorn and Sander Kleinenberg. They play more techno with a little melody. The Asian trance is more like banging old-school trance.
CP: It seems trance has become the mega electronic genre, as least here in the states.
Tiesto: Yeah, it’s actually making a comeback. There were a couple years where it wasn’t really cool, the sound, and everybody was just ragging on it. But at the moment it’s making a comeback. You hear a lot of new trance productions..
CP: Is the newer trance different from the ‘old school?’
Tiesto: Not really, actually. That’s the funny thing. With the whole electronic scene, I think, in general, a lot of records released now could have been released 10 years ago. It’s the emotion in the track and the feeling that makes a difference; the sounds are pretty much the same. It’s not a bad thing. Rock music always has the same guitars and the same drums. People in the electronic scene used to think that we have to evolve, new sounds, the newest thing. I think now everybody’s more relaxed and makes what they like.
CP: Is there particular new DJ or producer, any specific names on the horizon?
Tiesto: I would love to see some new DJs in the top, like Eddie Halliwell or Sander van Doorn, those people that deserve it. It’s good for the whole scene to have new names on top. We have been there for years, it’s time [for someone new] to take the throne, eh?
CP: You’ve been at the top for so long, do you ever get bored of the success?
Tiesto: No. You can never really bore of it. I don’t even realize I’ve been so successful for so long – it’s already like eight years on the top level. I just do my thing.
CP: Do you get any better at it?
Tiesto: Yeah, I try to change a little bit. I change my style, like dropping some different tunes and doing some different remixes. In the future I’ll try to do that even more.
I only try to make and play what I like. Of course my musical taste has changed a bit – you can hear it back in my remixes or productions – but most of it I still really love. And that’s the most important thing; I mean if I don’t love it I can’t do 30 gigs in one month. You’re going to hate yourself if you don’t love it.
CP: Do you think you can kind of turn anything into trance?
Tiesto: No, not everything. I get a lot of remix requests, but I always have to hear something in the track. If I can I’ll do a trance track, but not everything works, no. I’ve been asked to remix Elvis in the past, and I had to pass. Queen and Michael Jackson, as well. Those mixes I just refuse because the originals are very legendary and I could only ruin them.
CP: Do you have any sort of different musical tastes that might surprise people to know about? Outside of electronic music maybe?
Tiesto: Yeah, besides electronic music I like all kinds of stuff, really weird stuff, singer/songwriter stuff, a band from Iceland called Sigur Rós.
CP: What kind of music do they play?
Tiesto: It’s very melodic, but very dramatic. And he [Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson] sings in the Icelandic language. And I also like a band called M83 from Montreal.
CP: And what kind of music is that?
Tiesto: That’s more electronic, but totally differently interpreted than normal dance. It’s more real songs, and vocals, different kind of beats.
CP: You’re getting married this fall, will that affect your music or your touring?
Tiesto: I’m not sure. I’m really excited about it and yeah, it will definitely influence my life in other ways, but I’m not sure if it will influence my DJ sets or musically. Who knows?
CP: And you’re also turning 40 next year. Think you’ll feel any different?
Tiesto: I don’t know, I still feel like a little boy most of the time. It’s like I never grow up. I know that I’ve almost hit 40, but I just don’t feel it. I think the whole w
