Tiësto

Stadium superstar

Interviewed by Bill by phone to the Netherlands, Mar 2, 2007

His plan is to take DJing to the next level. And from here, lost in the crowd, it looks like mission accomplished: stadium tours, inroads into the US charts, and the unparalleled spectacle of the 2004 Olympic opening ceremony where he played for a global audience of more than 100 million. There are towns smaller than a Tiësto dancefloor. He is without doubt breathing at a higher altitude than any DJ before him.

But at the risk of sounding like grumpy old rotters, we’re not sure that what he does has much in common with the craft’s lower levels. He’s playing music and people are dancing, but most similarities stop there. DJing is about interacting with a dancefloor full of people, about feeling what they like and coaxing them into something more adventurous, releasing unexpected feelings, or gently teasing out their energy reserves. A large crowd – anything over a few hundred people – is a truly lumbering beast. Playing to 10,000 or more must be roughly akin to trying to pull wheelies in an oil tanker. What keeps a DJ on his toes is the fear of clearing the floor, and that doesn’t seem likely here. Stadium superstar he may be – and a thoroughly nice chap – but we reckon Tiësto’s already gone comfortably beyond DJing. At the centre of monster events, screaming fans, dazzling lightshows, and a 35-strong tour crew, he puts on records.

Who was your first inspiration as a DJ?

My first inspiration was on a night out in Belgium in 1994, it was a live act and a DJ and the DJ was Sven Väth and the other one was Moby. I decided this was music I really, really like and would like to play.

You must have been listening to dance music before then?

Yes. I was into dance since it started in 1988. I was listening to acid house and all that music.

How did you first come across it, on the radio?

No in a record shop. I was a huge heavy metal fan back in those days [chuckles]. I saw in the shop a sign with ‘House Music’, so I thought, house music, what is that? I was always curious about new music to listen to and I was like what is this. I discovered Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit.

The compilation?

Yeah, and from then on I was sold.

Do you remember guys like Ben Liebrand [Dutch master mixer]?

He was definitely a big influence, because every Friday night he had his own mix show, and every Friday he’d do a really good remix of a current hit. Everybody listened to it. Every Friday night from a 9.15 until 9.30 I think. They were amazing the mixes he did, they were incredible, and I still don’t know how he did it. Every week a whole new mix and really good-sounding, too.

When was the first time that you played in a club yourself?

The first time was probably in 1989. These were really small, though. The very first time I played was on holiday in a club in Majorca. I brought my records and I was in this bar and I said, hey can I play some records. That was also the first time I heard Lil Louis’ ‘French Kiss’ and I was like, wow this is really special.

What was it about house that appealed to you and converted you from heavy metal?

In the beginning it was the atmosphere. I mean, I went to Club BCM in Majorca and it was just amazing, the atmosphere in there: the dancers, the DJs, it was like nothing you’d heard before, and everything you heard was weird and new. At home I listened to a lot of new beat from Belgium. But what really converted me was that night with Sven Väth, because he played a lot of melodic house music, very trancey, with the symphonies and melancholic sounds which are very close to heavy metal, but more electronic.

Did you have anyone that taught you or mentored you?

Well, the whole DMC period inspired me because on Thursday night in Holland you had a radio show called the Full (??) Show with Terry Marks (sp??) and every week there was a 15-minute mix with a DJ from Holland mixing all the hot records together, a guy called Peter Slaghuis. Those guys were the pioneers, they mixed records for the radio. I learned it myself but I was inspired by what they were doing.

Could you tell what they were doing just by listening?

A little bit. They were more into tape cutting. I wasn’t really into that.

The more hip hop style?

Yeah. But the mixing in general inspired me.

“  Slowly I learned more about DJ party organisations. I went on to get more and more famous. ”

When was your big break in Holland?

My big break came much later because I started working in a record store selling records to other DJs; it was a store in Rotterdam called Basic Beat. Before that I was in the mixing championship finals. I started mixing there and that went really well and that gave me the inspiration to keep going. Slowly I learned more about DJ party organisations. I went on to get more and more famous.

My big break came in 1998 when I played at a big rave in Holland called Inner City. It was the first big rave that was programmed with normal dance music rather than gabber; stuff like trance, techno and house. It was in Amsterdam in the Rai. I had my big breakthrough. I mixed a compilation for that party which sold about 100,000 copies just in Holland, so people right away knew who I was. Back then there weren’t many DJs who did that. Only Global Underground had compilations, but no one from Europe. It helped a lot.

Do you think that the DJ is an artist?

I think the mixing and creation of an atmosphere in a room is definitely art.

What would you say to a rock critic who says you’re just playing other people’s records?

It’s a different kind of art. Of course, you don’t always make the music yourself, but you’re still making something new out of the records you have. It wouldn’t happen if you didn’t do it. A really good DJ knows how to time a record and he knows when to play a record. That’s a piece of art. Music is all about timing. You can listen to two records when you’re in a bad mood and good mood and you will have a different perspective of that record each time. The DJ knows how to make people in a good mood and make them feel euphoric and that’s the art of it, and that’s very special and not many DJs know how to do that.

Also, nowadays, I make most of the music myself, so there’s a big difference to back in the day. The DJ is an artist now. I’m releasing my third album now.

Do you still enjoy playing your own music? I know quite a lot of DJs who have heard their stuff so often in the studio they’re bored with it by the time its released.

The response is so intense when I play ‘Traffic’ or ‘Adagio For Strings’. People react so much harder when I play one of my own tracks. It’s a big difference and you never get bored of that because you think, ‘Yeah, I made that in the studio.’ But now people love this track so it’s a big compliment.

Of course you don’t feel the same way you did the first night you played it, and some nights you fee like – hmmm [unenthusiastic mumbling] but I see myself as a DJ slash crowd pleaser. I play for the people. I’m not an underground DJ like Richie Hawtin who has a totally different kind of art, I think. What Richie does is he creates a painting; okay people, this is my painting whether you like it or not, this is what I do take it or leave it. What I do is start working on the painting then I see what people’s opinion is and then I adjust it. That’s the big difference between me and other DJs. I want to be interactive with the crowd, and if I feel they want to hear a big tune, I think fuck it; I want everyone to go home with a smile so I give them a big tune…

Why do you think minor keys are so popular in dance music?

It just gives people two kinds of feelings, beautiful, warm and dramatic, and that’s what it is. When people are in a good mood you can cry from happiness. When you feel bad about something it helps you to get over stuff. It’s just a great feeling to feel that you feel serious but emotional.

So why do you think major keys are used less?

As a producer you really wanna make something that moves people. You want to tickle the brain and the ears and that’s much easier with minor keys.

You’ve obviously achieved a great deal already, so what is the buzz for you now: producing a great song? DJing to a big crowd?

The most exciting thing for me is the total package. Producing the new tracks, and then make an amazing show and blow everybody away. I have a whole new visual show, all directed by me, so I’m definitely involved in that, too. It’s an audio-visual package which makes it more exciting for me because back in the day I was just DJing. Now I control the visuals on the screen behind me, the lighting, the special effects. So it’s definitely more of a concert than a DJ show.

When I do a DJ show, I turn up in a club, a couple of thousand people, I play my set and that’s about it. When I do a concert, everything is directed. I control the music of course. I can mix whatever I want… I travel with a big crew now, three big trucks and a lot of people as well…

How many people are in the crew for a big tour?

Thirty-five people. It’s like a big band but only me on stage.

Does that feel bizarre or lonely because you’re on your own?

It definitely doesn’t feel lonely because I have people around me who help me with everything: the music, the lighting, the sound, and we have a really good crew. I’ve got eight people around me and they’re all really good friends of mine.

Once you start playing though, it’s just down to you: you’re truly on your own. Do you ever think about it that way?

Not really. It’s been growing for years so it went from 100 people to 200 people. It’s a huge rush when you’re on stage and all those people scream at you, say 10,000 people; it’s definitely a feeling…

Better than drugs?

Much better! [laughs]

Do you think the presence of drugs affects the way you DJ?

Well, yeah, it’s definitely a different vibe. In the ’90s drugs was huge and you heard that from the crowd, but sometimes people take so many drugs that they didn’t get the music any more. I feel nowadays – I don’t know how it is in England – but here in Holland, you see the trend to see less people on drugs. It’s more accepted as a new musical stream. With other DJs I don’t know, but with my show say 70 percent don’t take drugs and 30 percent do take drugs. And in ’98, ’99 it was 80 percent on drugs.

When did you first start playing in the US?

2001. The first real tour was quite amazing because I did the Area 2 tour and I was touring with Moby, David Bowie and Carl Cox. That was my first tour of America. I only met David Bowie for five minutes.

When was the first tour on your own?

I was supposed to do one in September 2001 but I decided September wasn’t a good month so let’s try October or November, but then the tour came and wasn’t so successful because nobody wanted to go out and it was quite dead. Then the year after in 2002 was a big summer tour and then that was my first proper tour that sold out and it went bigger from there.

Didn’t you do a huge thing on New Year’s Eve in Vegas?

Yes, last year at Orleans Concert Arena. There was 9,000 people, which for Vegas is really big.

Have you had any chart success in the US, because you seemed to have bucked the trend for dance music in America?

Yes I’ve had success in the Billboard charts and my CDs have sold really well from the beginning. The biggest success I had was for ‘Delirium Silence’, which was also a huge tune in the UK. That was on national radio in the US and the first dance record to be played on national radio in the US. The good thing is, and that’s why I’m still growing fast, is because of internet radio. They have dance channels and they are definitely taking over the regular radio stations, so more people have access to dance music now.

Do you feel that DJing leads naturally into producing?

Yeah. I was DJing ’95 ’96 and I was like, ‘Yeah it’s great but I really wanna know how to make it.’ That’s how I started getting into that. I thought, it doesn’t sound too hard to make [laughs]. It’s just a bass drum and a bassline. So I went to a store bought some stuff and started learning.

How long did it take you?

It took me two years and I got to certain level and could make great demos and they sounded alright, and then I met a guy called Denis and he was much further on than me on the technical side but he didn’t have that many ideas on the producing side so we started working together and together we make fireworks. And then we started producing and remixing, and then the ‘Silence’ track came along and blew up as producers. I’ve been working with him for seven years now and it’s been very good. He’s definitely the guy behind Tiësto

The power behind the throne, as we say in England…

Yes, the power behind the throne!

Why do you think that dance music has become such an international force?

I think we are much more ahead in Europe and it’s much more accepted by radio and TV. Everybody loves it. If you go to a bar you hear it. It’s definitely a different vibe to a rock or hip hop crowd. Everybody wants to be a part of it. I always notice in America when I go to a hip hop club and at the side there’ll be a dance room and you notice the difference. Okay so these people are here but they don’t really care about the music, and there’s no vibe in the room. If you go to the little room where they’re playing house music, there’s a vibe in there, everybody’s singing along much more uplifting.

Do you regard DJing as work or play?

On a bad night when it’s really terrible, work, but on a good night, play. Some nights you have where everything goes wrong. I had a night like that in Dubai last week. They oversold the place; there were too many people inside, so they were pushing towards the DJ booth, so they had 12 security guards around the DJ booth pushing the people away. That, to me, doesn’t feel like a party. It felt like I was in a fortress or something. Then you feel like, ‘Oh my god I want this night to end so I can forget it.’ I would say most of the time it just feels like a party. You meet up in the dressing room with the promoter then go and have a nice dinner and then you go to the party to do what you love. It’s amazing that you can get paid for that!

I guess a lot of the people you grew up will be doing ordinary jobs like car mechanic; do you feel blessed in what you’re doing?

Blessed. Yes very much. I always feel very lucky. It’s amazing you can travel around the world and you meet all these interesting people and you get paid big bucks.

What do you think your greatest achievement is?

It’s hard to say at this point. I would say if we were 10 years further on I would like people to say, ‘Tiësto, back then, he took the DJ thing to a different level, he broke the boundaries and that’s why it is where it is right now.’ It’s a different place to where the DJ was and I always try and do different things.

How do you think of yourself now, as a DJ, artist, producer?

Definitely still a DJ. I’m still a DJ. But a DJ doesn’t cover the whole thing…

But DJing is like the base metal on which everything else is made?

Yeah, that’s definitely true. When I’m in the studio I think of how I’m would play the records out. I always think about DJing. I would say a DJ, but there’s so much more to it than there used to be, like the visuals, the producing, the remixes, the show element, everything.

“  I would like people to say, ‘Tiësto, he took the DJ thing to a different level.’ ”

Tell me about performing at the Olympics in 2004. How did it happen?

It was quite funny. I was playing a gig in Greece in a club in September 2003 and this guy walks up to me and says, ‘Hey Tiësto I just heard you play, you’re amazing, I want you to play at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.’ I looked at him, like, ‘Sure pal!’ I gave him my management card and told him to get in touch. Back then I was always getting people coming up to me and saying, ‘Yeah, I own this big club in London, blah blah.’ But then in January he said, ‘Okay, we’re coming to Amsterdam and we want to meet you and talk about the opening ceremony but you can’t tell anyone about it.’ They were really interested in ‘Adagio for Strings’ and all the other classical-influenced stuff and then we talked about the opening concert.

How did it feel when you came to do it, you must have been nervous?

Well yeah. You practise the whole week, so by the time the ceremony comes you’re less nervous because you’ve practised the whole week. But the big opening night with the security and everything, backstage and you see the television and you know the whole world is watching that stadium, like wow, and in 30 minutes I’m going to be in that stadium playing for all the prime ministers of the world and all the people at home watching. It’s a crazy feeling.

Do you plan to do club gigs in the future or have you moved away from that?

No what I have now is a perfect combination. We have the big Elements of Life show which we do in 20 or 30 cities. And that’s gonna be a full directed show with big hits and big records; a stadium show, an epic show, as far as a DJ could take it, I think. The biggest dance show in the world. But on the side I will play an intimate club gig in the same place, the night before or the night after. And there I play no hits, really deep, experimental stuff, all kinds of other things. Just for myself to do something interesting.

When you do the shows what are you actually doing?

Most of the stuff is pre-made. All the records are edited in the studio. The mixes are done. So what I do on stage is basically about the art of mixing so I really mix the record together. That’s about it. Everything else is pre-programmed.

What about the visuals, how does that work? Do you have a pre-ordained set to accompany them?

Well yes and no. I want to be spontaneously in control, when to play what. Like I said, the timing of the records is essential. What I do is like five minutes before I will know, so I will coordinate with me guy behind me. I tell him, ‘Okay in five minutes I’m going to play “Love Comes Again” and then he says to the visual guy so he gets everything ready and I mix it in and then as the first notes of ‘Love Comes Again’ coming in – click.

So it’s sort of like a mix between club and concert?

Yes.

How has technology affected your performances in the past ten years?

Quite a lot. I said to myself, even in 2001, that vinyl will never die, I was such a vinyl freak. And then the CD came, the legendary Pioneer, and it just changed everything. No more scratched records, no more zooming. It’s basically better than vinyl. I always said that only when a CD player can do everything a record player can do will CDs take over. If you see someone playing vinyl now, you just start laughing because you can’t imagine playing it any more, at least for the big professional DJs.

“  lt’s not about a DJ turning up with just his records, but for him to make a whole show. ”

What about digital DJing with programs like Ableton or Serato?

I know how to use Ableton and I’ve been working with it, but the quality is a little less. I’m definitely gonna use it for when I wanna do a power mix live, like if I wanna mix 15 records in half an hour then I’m gonna use Ableton. But… I do think the art of mixing records is very special and if you don’t do that any more as a DJ, it just doesn’t feel like you’re DJing.

You mentioned the influence of classical music, have you used it much?

I’ve had my period, but not any more, not at the moment. During 2003 and 2004 that was definitely when I used a lot of classical pieces. That was then but I’ve moved on to other things. I think the music has moved on too, and things are coming back together again, DJs are not expected to play just house or just trance or whatever, and DJs are mixing it up much more.

How has the internet affected how you work?

In some ways quite a lot, in some ways not at all. As a DJ to buy records it’s quite convenient, places like Beatport and for regular albums I got to iTunes. Also back in the day and you played a set in Amsterdam and then the night after in London and then New York, it could be the same set and nobody would know, or care. But now people are like, ‘He played the same set as last night!’ It makes it more difficult to please people. It’s harder to stay fresh, I think, but that’s also a good thing too because it’s makes you stay sharper.

What was it like being voted the most popular DJ in DJmag three years running?

It was great. It was like getting an Oscar. But it doesn’t really affect me as a person that much. When I tell my children later I was voted best DJ, but in general it doesn’t do anything….

I suppose so, but you said earlier that you liked being a populist DJ and I guess something like this is confirmation of that.

I don’t think DJmag in general has that much influence, it’s more…. It doesn’t do much for your career, but it’s a very nice compliment. It’s a confirmation of where you stand. And the whole list, it does feel a little strange lately. Fatboy Slim is not even in top 100 and he’s sold millions of records. And there are guys in the top 10 and you’re like, who is this guy?

Are you allowed to give away any secrets about the live show?

Well, we’re thinking about it, and the visuals are definitely going to have a big impact and the lighting show is very special. There’s gonna be a lot things that have never been done before on the technical side, it’s gonna look amazing. It’s going to be something extremely special.

Will you be on your own or will there be other things?

It will be me and other live elements and there will be singers. I hope they can make it! It’s going to be the biggest dance show the world has ever seen. That’s all I can say about. I don’t want to ruin all the surprises.

Earlier on, you said you’d like to be remembered for taking dance music in new directions. Where would you like it to go?

I want DJing and dance music to be just as big as hip hop or rock music is now. It would be nice if dance music blows up in America and I was a part of that.

In a way, America is the last frontier, isn’t it?

Yeah, I think it’s a winnable battle. To take DJing to another level it’s not about a DJ turning up with just his records, but for him to make a whole show. That’s my goal.

Where is dance music going?

No idea! All I can say is for myself that it’s growing, more people come to my shows, they buy more albums, every year it’s been bigger. I hope it never ends. I need new challenges. This year it’s the world tour. It lasts a year.

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