You’d be hard-pressed to find a dance music fan who hasn’t heard of Ultimate Music Experience talent Tiësto. From the early days of his career, all Tiësto said that he wanted to do was, ‘to share his music with others.’ Now 20 years after his first release, and having won nearly every dance music award there is, it’s clear to see that Tiësto has put in the work and dedication to called one of the greatest DJs to be behind a set of turntables.
Born Tijs Verwest, Tiësto knew he had a strong love of music at an early age, “…since I was 5, I think. At home, I’d always listen to music – music has always been important to me and I always enjoyed playing music for other people and see that they have a good time – that’s what it’s all about.” In 1988, now 19, Tijs bought his first turntable and taught himself how to mix, though doing so, proved to be a little difficult, “I only had one tape recorder and one turntable – I couldn’t afford two turntables. So, I had to record everything from the radio, and I had vinyl – it was very hard, there was no pitch control on the turntable either. It was very difficult in the beginning, to pitch without a pitch control. Then, after a couple of years, I had enough money saved to buy a turntable with pitch control, and then the world opened up for me.”
Though known for his feats in the trance genre, Tiësto’s early releases in 1994 were hardcore/gabber-influenced tracks under the aliases Da Joker and DJ Limited, “I started out as a remixer, not as a producer, because in the beginning, I didn’t have a clue how to make my own tracks,” he admits. “And remixing is much easier to do because you [already] have the melody, so you just have to give your own flavor on it.” After being mentored in the studio from artists like Armin Van Buuren, Paul Oakenfold and Ferry Corsten, Tiësto decided it was time to start working on his own productions.
His debut album In My Memory, released in 2001, had five #1 singles in “Dallas 4PM,” “Flight 643,” “Obsession,” “Lethal Industry,” and “Suburban Train.” Skyrocketing in his success, Tiësto became DJ Mag’s #1 DJ for three years following his debut. In 2004, his second album Just Be featured anthem singles “Traffic” and “Adagio For Strings.” That same year saw Tiësto’s global presence explode to new heights as he became the first DJ to perform live at the Olympic Games for the 2004 Opening Ceremony. In fact, Tiësto has been a lot of “firsts.” His remix of Delerium’s “Silence” was the first dance track to be broadcast on daytime radio in North America, he was the first DJ to hold a solo concert in a stadium, and he set the world record for the largest audience every played to by a DJ. There is just no stopping the Dutch veteran, and why would you want to? He continues to knock out hit singles and evolve his sound year later as seen by his more recent albums Elements of Life and Kaleidoscope.
Back in June, Tiësto released the third volume of his revered Club Life series in “Stockholm.” Reaching #16 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, Tiësto says, “I didn’t just want it to be a mix with tracks my fans could find on every other compilation or were just the hottest tracks of the moment. Rather, I wanted this to be heavy on my own productions, remixes and collaborations.”
Holding it down at his imprint Musical Freedom with recent releases “Move to the Rhythm,” “Red Lights,” and a forthcoming remix with twoloud, Tiësto is starting 2014 off right. Join us this March 13-15th to move to the rhythm with one of the greatest DJs of all time at Ultimate Music Experience. Tickets are on sale now, buy your tickets today!
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