September 23-29, 2004

music

One Moment in Time

DUTCH TREAT: "This was such a big moment for the athletes that I wanted them to have a good time," says Tiësto, "like I was their host."

The world's only Olympic DJ carries the torch for trance.

by Sean O'Neal

"I am a very emotional person, and I think you can hear that in the music I produce and play," says Tiésto. "I love beautiful melodies. I embrace all that life has to offer in my own way."

Powerful words from a world-class megastar. Not only is Tiésto a peaceful and friendly fellow, he's also one of the biggest club DJs to ever walk the earth. The Dutch native, born Tijs Verwest, is notorious for detonating stadium-sized crowds into a dancing, heart-gushing frenzy through explosive anthem trance and epic house laced with elements of classical music.

"I want the audience to have a good time, to feel energized and to feel the power of music," vows Tiésto. "I want them to be surprised by what is coming next."

He was twice voted the world's No. 1 DJ by DJ magazine readers and this year was voted No. 2 DJ in a readers' poll by BPM Culture. He's headlined at events like Moby's Area 2 tour and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and typically plays for sold-out crowds of 3,000 to 25,000.

"I mostly play for larger crowds now, but there are times when I might do something special and smaller," he admits. "When it is a larger audience, the energy is much harder. At smaller clubs, I go with more atmosphere and more vocal tracks. I spend a lot of time making sure that the music I am playing fits the audience. I look at the reactions and readjust if the response isn't right. Both size audiences are good for different reasons."

He couldn't ask for much bigger than his breathtaking experience last month in Athens, Greece. Before an estimated four billion pairs of eyes and ears, Tiésto became the first DJ to ever perform in an Olympic ceremony, where he gracefully oozed his own heartwarming material as the athletes of the world entered the Olympic stadium at the start of the 2004 Summer Games.

"There are no words to describe what an enormous honor it is to be asked to play at the opening ceremonies," he says. "It is the highlight of my career so far. I wanted to create an uplifting atmosphere for not only the audience both in the stadium and watching throughout the world, but also for the athletes. This was such a big moment for the athletes that I wanted them to have a good time, like I was their host. Dance music can appeal to so many people and so many ages. I think that's the reason they picked me." The Olympic performance featured eight fresh, new tearjerkers created specifically for the event—all of which will be released in early November on a CD called Parade of the Athletes (Magik Muzik).

In the meantime, electronica lovers around the globe are eating up Just Be (Nettwerk America). Recorded over a period of a year and a half at Tiésto's home studio in Amsterdam, Just Be plunges deeply into your tingling heart through a hybrid of styles ranging from floating orchestral trance to club-storming breakbeats. The album features a blissful duet with BT which Tiésto claims to be a personal love song, a soothing downtempo ditty with U.K.'s Aqualung, the vocal sweetness of longtime collaborator Kirsty Hawkshaw and, of course, the ever-so-anthemic "Traffic." That was the first single released in Europe; it made it to the top-40 on the U.K. charts and soared straight to No. 1 in Holland, bumping Justin Timberlake out of the prime spot.

Just Be also includes a spellbinding remake of Barber's Adagio for Strings, which is often the high point of Tiésto's live sets and one of his most admired tunes.

"I really like classical music," he says, "and Adagio always was one of my favorite pieces. I especially re-created the track for my "In Concert' show last year at a football stadium in Holland. It was the opening tune in front of 25,000 people, so I guess that's why it became a very special track. All over the world, people have the DVD of this concert, so that's why I think everybody who was at the concert or saw the DVD has a special feeling with this track."

So if you thought dance music is dying down, think again. Tiésto's got the numbers to prove it. "I think dance music in many countries is still underground," he contends. "But growing and growing. I do think it's on the rise again. Hopefully I'm helping this a bit by having played at the Olympics. As for the future, that's hard to predict. But I'm convinced dance music will stay and grow."

Tiésto with Mark Pappas, Sat., Sept. 25, 10 p.m., $25 in advance, Pure, 1221 St. James Pl., 215-735-5772.