This is very much business as usual for Tiësto, the ultra-busy DJ who turned the playing of trance music into an artform and whose achievements are unsurpassed.

Inspired by the likes of U2, he invested heavily in the live aspect of his sets, employing his own sound, light and visual crews, creating arena-friendly dance music spectaculars . His concerts are a visual feast for the eyes!

 

He has been nominated for a Grammy, had worldwide hit singles (his remix of Delerium’s Silence featuring Sarah McLachlan ; Dance4Life featuring Faithless’s Maxi Jazz ), performed at the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics with music he composed especially for the occasion, wowed the rock festival crowds at Coachella .

‘Because people care,’ is Tiësto’s response when asked to account for his huge success, ‘and they see that I care. I’m very honest in what I do. It’s not an act or a gimmick. It’s pure, it’s emotion.’

When you see me DJ you know I feel it and I love what I do. The real thing. When you see me play you know you are seeing someone who plays not because he has to but because he loves it. For this champion of the people, it’s not just about his undeniable ability to create a party in any venue, large or small, in any place in the world, but also about how the music moves people. Makes them feel something. People write letters saying, ‘I was going through a bad period but your music and your show made me feel good.’

Nelly Furtado and Tiësto started off as mutual admirers, but after making her way to Tiësto’s performance at the 2008 Miami Winter Music Conference (she’d come along with her producer Timbaland) Furtado instantly agreed to be involved, and a few weeks later she gave Tiësto an idea for a song that would become, ‘Who Wants To Be Alone’.

Say hello to a new Tiësto. Yes, he’s the world’s most popular DJ. But the ceaseless desire to innovate that has pushed Tiësto to the top of his game, propelled him to seek out some of the best musicians around, wherever in the world they – or he – happened to be. ‘I’ve worked with these handpicked artists because they´re people I admire hugely, and because they make my music better. It’s more fulfilling for me to work like this, but a lot harder and more challenging.’