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Trance is about as Dutch as windmills, and more than any other
DJ, Tiësto is its ambassador. His highly successful In Search of
Sunrise series can cl much of the credit for this, and this
fifth installment, Los Angeles, delivers in spades. As ever, the
man finds his inspiration in the female voice; from Late Night
Alumni's "Empty Streets," which pits a bassline that bounces like
Silly Putty against Becky Jean Williams's dreamy vocals, to Karen
Overton's dancefloor-destroying cover of Billie Ray Martin's
"Your Loving Arms," Tiësto again proves himself a master at
driving sets to soaring highs with well-placed siren songs. The
second disc finds the Dutchman in more progressive territory,
luring in the unsuspecting with Pink Elephant's effervescent
"LAX" only to drop the hammer with Alex Stealthy's "Something Is
Wrong," a track with a disorienting beat that seems to tumble
over itself and a haunting melody that sounds as though it were
trapped under ice. Tiësto also shows he hasn't lost his affinity
for engaging the listener in a test of wills, as in A Boy Called
Joni's vertiginous "Green Astronauts." Like all good mixes, the
fifth in the ISoS series is after all a study in contrasts.
Ironic, perhaps, that with the title Los Angeles the album makes
a compelling case that the trance crown won't be leaving Holland
anytime soon. --Brent Kallmer
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About the Artist
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Tiësto's career is punctuated by landmark achievements - the
first DJ in the world to sell out a solo stadium event for over
25,000 people 2 nights in a row, he scored a number one hit with
his single Traffic, the first instrumental track to reach the top
spot in his homeland of Holland in 23 years. His remix of
Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan's Silence was the first house
track ever broadcast on daytime radio in North America, (it
became an international dancefloor anthem and also spent eight
weeks in the UK top 10 chart). He played live in front of
billions of people during the Parade of the Athletes at the
official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. But
despite his meteoric success, Tiësto remains grounded about his
achievements and clearly loves making and playing music above the
accolades it brings.
Born in Holland, Tiësto became a DJ because he 'liked to share
music with other people. When I was younger, I'd listen to a
radio show called the Soul Show, and to Ben Liebrand's mix radio
program, where he would remix and cut up different tracks, and I
just thought - I want to do this!' The productions came later, in
1995. 'I really wanted to produce music that I could play in my
sets, because it brings much more fulfilment to the process. I
bought some samplers, some computer programs, and just started
working on it.' He makes it sound easy - indeed; he makes it look
easy as 10 years down the line his productions consistently
bother the charts and frequently reach number one around Europe.
In 1997 Tiësto, along with Arny Bink, formed Black Hole
s, the label that launched the hugely accled Magik,
In Search Of Sunrise, and Nyana mix compilations. The label grew
to such proportions that in 2001 Tiësto started a sub-label,
Magik Muzik. 'It's the home of records of mine, or of people
whose work I really believe in,' he enthuses. 'Everything on
Magik Muzik is what you'll find in my sets, which makes it more
of my own little project.' Some of the gems from Magik Muzik
include 2001 anthem Flight 643 and his artist albums In My
Memory, Just Be and Elements of Life.
Though known primarily for his pioneering contributions to the
trance scene, Tiësto's style is now a mix of everything: 'trance,
house, techno - it's the best of all that the dance world has to
offer. In 1998, I was really a trance DJ, but now I've travelled
round the world so much, different influences have seeped in and
I play a bit of everything. I think the only way forward for DJs
now is to play a diverse mix of sounds.' Indeed, his brand of
trance was always pushing at the constraints of the genre anyway,
featuring soaring vocals from the likes of Sarah McLachlan and
Jes, spine-tingling breakdowns, and euphoric melodies at every
end of the spectrum.
The many high profile gigs and shows have now taken Tiësto away
from exclusively playing clubs, and propelled him to become a
mainstream artist. 'Often at my shows now, half of the people are
die-hard clubbers, but the other half are people who know me from
the radio, or from more mainstream gigs,' he says. 'It's more
like they're going to a concert, so now I get a great mix of both
worlds.'
Describing the last few years as 'a journey of defining moments,'
(as well as the usual club successes, his shelves are groaning
under the weight of numerous awards - TMF-Awards, MTV, Dutch DJ -
and gold discs...) his favourites include the second night of the
Tiësto In Concert show in Holland in 2004: 'I was really aware of
what was going on, the music was just right - a mix of all my big
tunes and new track, everything just felt perfect that night. I
played for nine hours straight, and it was my favourite gig
ever.' And, of course, he was chosen by the readers as the number
one DJ in the world. 'The first time it happened it was so
amazing, I was overjoyed. The second and the third time were also
fantastic, but the first time you're on the cover of that
magazine that is so respected by other DJs - it's like winning an
O!'
In May 2006 Tiësto decided to become the worldwide ambassador for
Dance4Life, and to invest considerate as of his time and
efforts to the one charity in which he could really find himself.
Immediately the production of a Dance4Life anthem was discussed,
which resulted in an a song with Faithless' Maxi Jazz.
Continuing to explore fresh avenues, knowing that the year 2008
is now in full swing, Tiësto is currently experimenting with new
sounds in the studio, and writing more vocals himself. The most
recent result of this new approach of course is his latest album
'Elements of Life', which sky rocketed to the highest positions
in today's charts. The album features the vocals of BT, who's
been working with Tiësto on previous occasions and hit the charts
with 'Break my Fall'; and Julie Thompson. 'I'm not looking for
any big collaboration right now, I'm more interested in a
burgeoning talent - someone whose voice is good, and that really
touches you. A voice should sound like an instrument to me. A
good example is Christian Burns who is the singer on the hit
single 'In the Dark'; also a track from 'Elements of Life'. I met
him through MySpace; the actual proof that the internet is the
medium of choice when it comes to musical developments and
careers.'
The concept behind his latest artist album also formed the basis
for his 'Elements of Life World Tour' which took the DJ all over
the globe. At the same time, the tour was of a size not before
known in the dance scene. Since the four elements earth, water,
air and fire are the unmistakeable necessities to build and
maintain life on Earth, they had to be presented in all their
greatness, which resulted in a stunning production that featured
state of the art special effects, moving water systems in sync
with the music and high definition video screens. It required
three semi trucks to transport the equipment. The mere knowledge
that Tiësto, as one DJ with two turntables, is entertaining
audiences up to 25,000 people or more has silenced even the worst
critic. But that his performances can compete with even the
largest stadium concerts of the known world artists is something
that the industry never held possible.
The as of energy the DJ invested for the world tour have not
kept him away from the one thing everybody was waiting for: the
new 'In Search of Sunrise 7'. In between the mayhem of touring
and insane flight schedules, Tiësto still found the time to
deliver a double CD compilation for the highly successful series
also known as 'ISOS'. The live mix, made without electronic or
computerized gadgets, is titled 'Asia' and for a reason: `Asia is
that part of the world where the ambience and overwhelming beauty
can be very overpowering in a positive way. At the same time, one
experiences the incredible energy of the Asian people, which
could almost be felt physically during my live sets throughout
the Asian tour.' He grins: 'We recorded the whole ISOS 7 in
Thailand, in a beautiful location with a view: the Asian coast
line. The correct atmosphere to do the mix. Now I know ISOS 7
earned it to be titled "Asia".'
Knowing that Tiësto's rtunities go beyond his own music, and
the world tour, one might ask what will come up next. His answer
is clear: 'As I said, the internet is the medium of choice for
modern day music. I now host my own radio show called 'Tiesto's
Club Life', which is available as PodCast directly after it aired
on radio. Through those blessings of the internet, fans can
listen to me and the music I love whenever they feel like,
wherever they feel like. And at the same time, radio stations all
over the world broadcast the weekly shows within their own
national programming. It's just a fantastic idea knowing that my
fans are now listening to the radio as I used to do when I was
just a kid!'
One of the last things we haven't mentioned is Tiësto's work on
the music of other artists. 'I'm more open to doing remixes
again. I like to hear a track and right away know what I want to
do with it, what I can make different, and whether it'll work for
me in my sets - all my remixes have to be tried and tested.' His
most recent remixes, "Piece of Me" by Britney Spears and "The
Right Life" by Seal, already featured in of his 'Club Life' radio
shows, just like the one he did for Justin Timberlake which was
one of particular interest, he says. 'The best producer in the
world of the moment, Timbaland, approached me to do a remix of
'Love Stoned' by Justin Timberlake. That means a lot to me, you
know? It actually shows that I've grown not only as a DJ, but
also as a producer.'
The future for Tiësto promises yet further success, both as the
solo artist he has become and the DJ we know him to be. 'The long
anticipated `In Search of Sunrise 7' and the `Elements of Life
World Tour' DVD have been released and there will be more
remixes, definitely,' he agrees.
And then there was the Grammy nomination for his album 'Elements
Of Life'. The news came as a beautiful surprise. 'I am incredibly
happy about this. And that's an understatement. The nomination
itself already is a fantastic honour.' Little did he know when a
few weeks later on he won the IDMA Award for both `Best Global
DJ' and `Best Electronic Dance Album' at the annual Winter Music
Conference in Miami. His latest notch on his belt was the award
given by the audience: the well known Ibiza DJ Award for Best
International DJ. He considered it the crown on his In Search Of
Sunrise Summer Tour 2008, which also included a twelve week long
residency on Mondays at the world's biggest club: Privilege,
Ibiza.
He is currently working tirelessly on his new album and the
podcast of his own radio show, "Tiësto's Club Life", has just
been nominated for "Best Podcast" in the 2009 IDMA Awards, so his
hard work still gets full re from all corners of the
globe.
He genuinely enjoys his achievements, but Tiësto keeps both feet
on the ground: 'It's hard to look too far into the future. Every
couple of months it seems that something new, unexpected and
exciting is happening!'
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