Hi everyone,

I don't post on TA nearly as much as I did before because I don't really enjoy the new trance that is coming out as much as I'm liking other stuff that's coming out in the house, techno, dnb and broken beat spheres. However, I was compelled to post this as a reaction to the latest Tiësto set I heard and some other people's reaction to it.

DJ Tiesto - 2005-11-20 - Live @ Club Duplex - Prague, CZ

01. Reflekt ft. Delline Bass - Need To Feel Loved (Fuzzy Hair Vocal Mix)
02. Erick E - Boogie Down
03. Late Night Alumni - Empty Streets (Seamus Haji & Paul Emmanuel Remix)
04. Eric Prydz & Steve Angello - Woz Not Woz (Version 2)
05. Elio Riso & Raffunk – To Be Or Not To Be
06. Coca & Ville - La Noche
07. Paul Jackson & Steve Smith - The Push
08. ID
09. Electro-Prompt - Beside Me (Gothek DC Remix)
10. The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Thin White Duke Remix)
11. Way Out West - Mindcircus (Gabriel & Dresden Club Mix)
12. Booka Shade - Mandarine Girl
13. Sublunar - Sanctuary (Antidote’s Tech Remix)
14. ID
15. Matthew Dekay - Clearing The mind
16. Petersky & Peres - Hello Ladies
17. Luminary - Amsterdam
18. Pryda - The Gift
19. ID
20. Andain - Beautiful Things (Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix)
21. ID
22. BT - Mercury & Solace (12” Master Mix)
23. Above & Beyond & Andy Moor - Air For Life (Original Mix)
24. Tiesto - Traffic (Original Mix)

AT LAST! An interesting trance set by Dutch trance superstar in 2002. But then, someone criticized the set based on the mixing skills:

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Chris S Are you guys kidding?? this set is fucking horrbile?!! I just got it and listened to it.. the mixing is brutal. Air For Life to Traffic was one of the worst mixes i've ever heard... I normally do like Tiesto and it's not that I don't like a lot of the tracks played, but the flow of the set was horrible imo. He musta been really messed up or something for this one.. haha oh well.. thanks for the link anyways

So I reply:


Those type of transitions really started to stand out and shock people during that period where he used Umek-Gatex as his sets' closer back in 2002. I remember all the trance crackers complaining when he mixed Suburban Train into Gatex and calling that mix an abomination, a crime....but I absolutely LOVED it.

The great thing about Tiësto was how unpredictable his sets were, especially using the typical Tiësto harsh contrast transition. The abrupt shift of gears. That kind of mix might sound ugly and unnatural in terms of beatmatching and musical flow, but it's actually one of the techniques that has made me like Tiësto more than the other trance DJs that are more traditional in their flow and mixing. Why? Because the contrast does wonders in the dancefloor and effectively alters the mood of the listener....

Tiësto has been doing these kind of mixes from early on, but most notably since 2002 and the incorporation of techier tracks in his sets. Some of his transitions of this type have been masterful like the classic Umek-Lanicor into In My Memory (V-One remix) in Impulz 2002. This one you're referring too wasn't nearly as nice...but I definitely understand what he was trying to do music-wise.

I mean, the real reason that Tiësto's mixing skills started to get harsh criticism back in 2002 was precisely his innovation and his experimentation in track selection and especially track placement.

Before late 2001, early 2002 no one really complained that much about his mixing skills. But all of a sudden his mixing skills went downhill? That's ridiculous. Tiësto experimented and changed our outlook of trance. He was the key to the evolution of Dutch trance back then, and pushed the melodic anthem to its techier edges. He was also instrumental in diversifying the genre and gave space to a wider array of styles that were flourishing edm movements at the time such as techno, prog and breaks. Eventually the other "superstars" followed through. Armin mashing up Gatex, Ferry following Tiësto's lead out the anachronistic Gouryella formula a good two years after Tijs did, PvD using Plastikman-Spastik as a leading track in his 2005 Jahr Maximal set when Tiësto had done the same thing in a much more original and original way (mixed into Alibi-Eternity's drums) in the Dutch Dimension 2-2-2002 marathon solo. Not to mention all the other mid-famed to minor producers that adapted and evolved their own sound to the new style that had been pushed by Tiësto's impact on the scene.


Did the whole trance movement degenerate after 2003? Definitely. Did Tiësto's fame get to his head and most of his sets after 2003 became uninspired jibberish nonsense for the clueless masses that adored him simply out of commercial success and name recognition? No doubt.


Is Tijs Verwest the most influential DJ and producer in the history of Dutch trancedom. From my perspective he definitely is, and history will give him his due credit.