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Published on 5/1/08
One can easily envision the megastars of the international trance scene world—people like Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren or Tiësto—inhabiting a sort of dance-music Valhalla, surrounded by Valkyrie babes and lounging to an epic, Wagner-meets-WKTU soundtrack. Sadly, according to Tiësto (whose real name is Tijs Verwest), such is not the case. “I’ve never really said more than three words to Paul Van Dyk,” he relates, “and since Armin’s blown up, he’s so busy that we’ve lost contact.” Here’s another surprise: Tiësto’s new album, Elements of Life (Ultra), while still showcasing that hands-in-the-air melodic style he’s honed over the years, incorporates hints of influences from outside the insular trance world, particulary minimal techno. The trance titan brings his extravagant love show to Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday 19 and Friday 20—a pair of gigs that are a bit smaller-scale than his set at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympics or the arenas he sells out all over Europe, but a pretty big deal nonetheless.
A lot of Elements of Life has a more minimal-techno edge than your fans may be used to. What made you decide to strip things down for this album?
I always listen to all kinds of stuff, especially when I’m on the road, and you can’t help being influenced by all these new streams of music. I mostly search around on the Web and download things, but I actually go out to the clubs to hear things when I get a chance.
Wait, you can still go out to clubs?
There’s always the VIP section!
Despite the occasional minimalist leanings, all the tracks still have a real song-based structure.
Melody, emotion and I guess what you would call warmth—that’s become my signature over the years. Even in a minimal kind of track, I can’t help putting some melody in there. That’s the problem I have with a lot of minimal—it doesn’t do anything! I don’t mind monotone stuff, but in the end, I feel like music should lead you somewhere.
So it’s safe to say you’ll never come out with a full-bore minimal track?
I’m kind of going the opposite way, really. I’m still exploring songwriting, and I feel in the future I’ll be able to do more with melody than I do now. I want to work with lots of big artists outside the trance world as well.
Your gigs are big, elaborate productions. Does everything have to be totally planned out?
Well, there are certain songs that I know I’m going to play, and we do have a kind of script, where it’s like at 1am this singer goes on, and at 1:30 this or that will happen. But to a large extent I still let the crowd determine things, so I’ll have a guy behind me in the booth, and he has direct radio contact with the people in the front of the house. I can tell him, “In three minutes I’m gonna play my remix from Pirates of the Caribbean,” and then he’ll tell the guys to get the fireworks ready or whatever. We have a pretty big team for this kind of show, around 35 people. There’s the laser people, the pyrotechnics people, the lights, the other visuals, the sound people, the booth people.…
That must cost a lot.
Yes, it does! I would make a lot more money if I just showed up and played in a club. But I don’t do this for the money—I do it for the challenge. There’s no other DJ in the world who’s done it like this, like a rock band, and I want to keep pushing myself in that direction.
Trance is big in America, but it’s nothing compared to what it’s like in Europe. How does playing here compare?
Actually, the reaction is almost the same, but the crowds are a bit smaller in America. Still, I’m doing two nights in the Hammerstein Ballroom—that’s 7,000 people—so I’m happy.
You’re more popular than most American DJs are.
Well, you guys dominate everything else, so it’s nice that you leave something for us.
Tiësto plays at Hammerstein Ballroom Thursday 19 and Friday 20.
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