Tiesto :- 60 second interview in todays Metro newspaper 19/4/07 60 SECONDS: Tiësto by RAHUL VERMA - Thursday, April 19, 2007 Dutch trance master Tiësto is one of the best-known DJs in the world, regularly performing to audiences of more than 20,000 at venues such as EuroDisney and at events including the Athens Olympics opening ceremony. Tiësto's new LP, Elements Of Life, is out now. He is also promoting his own limited edition Reebok trainer and will DJ in London tomorrow. What is the most unusual venue you have played? It was Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, in March for the launch of my world tour. We thought it would be an appropriate venue. The gig took place in the baggage hall and we took everything out and put a stage in. Do you approach venues and events or is it the other way around? After I DJed at a show in a 25,000-capacity stadium in Netherlands in 2003, people started approaching me. The show was spectacular with lights and visuals and the music was very energetic and different. That’s why people ask me to do these big shows: the EuroDisney boss’s daughter is a huge fan, so he came up with the idea of me playing at EuroDisney. It was the same with the Athens Olympics – the guy who organised that had seen me live and was a fan. It must make a change from playing in clubs all the time. Yes, I’ve seen the inside of many clubs, so it’s nice to do something different and take this music outside and into other places. I’ve just played a free gig on the beach in Rio de Janeiro for 200,000 so, for me, it’s diverse and it’s great. How do you approach a gig of that size? The bigger the gig, the easier it is because the audience has distractions, so it’s not just about me. We have an LED screen that is 60m wide and 25m high – that’s why we need outdoor venues – a huge laser and I also bring live performers and singers. It’s a fantastic production such as you have never seen before. Why are you the only DJ performing on such a spectacular scale? It’s a choice you make and it’s a very hard decision because it’s a lot of work. It’s much easier to take your records to a club and play. I have a big crew, it’s very intense and sometimes when we have problems, I wish we could go back to the days where you show up with a box of records and play for two hours and disappear. It’s more fulfilling this way but the electronic scene is not ready for it yet. If you tell a promoter that you want to fly in everything such as lasers, LED screens and crew, it’s impossible but, with rock’n’roll bands, it’s much easier and accepted. Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when you show up with a box of records and play for two hours. Do you DJ with CDs or vinyl? I used to be a vinyl freak but, with new CD players, it feels like vinyl with the way you mix and scratch. Plus there’s no rumble and records don’t skip, so they are very stable. The next level is laptop but then you really lose touch as you choose the records on your laptop and they are mixed automatically – so that’s losing the art of mixing. It looks like a DJ is checking his e-mails. Do you think large-scale commercial shows such as yours are the way forward? There is a demand for bigger DJ shows – people are tired of hearing records in a club. People want to be entertained all night. People want something more spectacular. As a DJ, it’s very hard to set yourself apart from the rest. We’re not rock stars or singers who can talk or sing to people with their own unique voice. All we do is mix records, so it’s much harder to separate yourself from everyone. Trance is hugely popular yet is considered ‘uncool’ and much derided. Why is that? I think trance is really wonderful as people can let themselves go, which you can’t do with cool music because the people are too cool. They don’t smile too much, they are with their own friends and are very arrogant – it’s a different attitude. At Tiësto parties, everyone comes to have a good time and talk to each other. I’m proud of that. If it’s called cheesy or rubbish, that’s fine but I think it’s better to have that instead of people who don’t look or talk to each other, drink champagne and go to the toilets every 20 minutes. They have no connection with the music – they’re just hanging out there because it’s ‘cool’. Your show’s called Elements Of Life – what’s the concept? The concept is going back to the roots of the human being, the elements – air, fire, water and earth. You’re going to experience those in the show, see them, feel them and the music is synched in with the elements. We have forgotten our roots and where we come from. My basic message is: think within yourself and find happiness in you rather than a virtual world.
that was cringeworthy hes a bloke who ,ultimately, is operating machines that send an electronic current to another machine that manipulates air....i think he's actually forgotten that he isnt creating cures for all the worlds problems
Friday night will be fun, im goin to Alexandra palace to see him play ..... but my best memories of him will be when he played small venues. What do you do in his situation eh - he's out for all he can get. Its hard to strike that balance between making a crust and being an 'artist' eh.
Re: Tiesto :- 60 second interview in todays Metro newspaper 19/4/07 Do i need to read past this bit or does that sum it up nicely?
Was he ever actually really that good? Im intrigued as to how he got to ridiculous level because he's at a completely different level to all the other djs
Re: Re: Tiesto :- 60 second interview in todays Metro newspaper 19/4/07 Nope, I stopped at EuroDisney. Enough said really.
Do you DJ with CDs or vinyl? I used to be a vinyl freak but, with new CD players, it feels like vinyl with the way you mix and scratch. Plus there’s no rumble and records don’t skip, so they are very stable. The next level is laptop but then you really lose touch as you choose the records on your laptop and they are mixed automatically – so that’s losing the art of mixing. It looks like a DJ is checking his e-mails. "Paul Van Dyk are you readinggggggg"
Iv only seen him once and this was last year and tbh he was pretty poor. I think he was quality a few years ago when he was producing tracks like 643 and traffic, but he's changed for the worst imo.
Aye between 2000 and 2001/2002 he was one of the best trance jocks out there i thought. .... unfortunately after that he was introduced to his bum and kind of dissapeared up it Having said that - as with doner kebabs, i wouldnt want to listen to tiesto normally - but every now and again its a good laugh if you still like your 'commercial' trance.
aye but hes a cheesy as fuck sellout who it was ok to like when you first got into trance but then go off him as you realise you get jipped for liking him and realise theres much better dj's anyway
Re: Tiesto :- 60 second interview in todays Metro newspaper 19/4/07 "Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when you show up with a box of records and play for two hours." Don't we all!
