He guys, here the answers from tiesto to questions from clubbers like you and me.

Have fun reading.

Hello everybody,

It took me a while but I've finished answering your most interesting questions. I really had great fun reading and ofcourse anwering them. Some of them where somewhat heavy to answer, others were easier. I hope you have as much fun reading the answers as I did in answering them

Did u ever think that your fans would be willing to do so much just to see you play live?

No, that they travel to a club for a few hours I can understand, but some people travel from different countries to see me, which I think is great.

How does it feel to be behind the turntables and see everybody having a great time?

It's the greatest feeling doing what I like and sharing that with the crowd. I think you can imagine…

How do you get time for travelling, spinning, producing, remixing, managing, planning, etc? Don’t you spend time with your family, to rest, or to go on vacations?

Well, I don't have much time to visit my family, rest or have a vacation. A normal week in wintertime for me is DJing on Friday and Saturday, on Sunday the night off, on Monday till Thursday in the daytime in the studio, listen to all the new records, help running my record label, and meetings about bookings and other stuff. In the summertime I don't have much time to produce music although I just started now with a new program on my laptop so I can also produce music when I am away from home.

How many awards did you win already and what does it mean to you?

I won 4 awards this year: World Dancestar Award for best club DJ, 2 TMF awards (in Holland) for best DJ and best dance act and the Ibiza award for best DJ.
It means a lot to me because it shows you where you are at on a international level compared to the other DJ's, 3 years ago those top jockey’s seemed so far ahead of me and now I am nominated (and sometimes winning) together with them.

Will Tiësto bring a new set to the US this time?

Of course I will bring a new set to the US. In my set there are always new records but also a few recognizable tracks. People still want to hear my older tracks and want me to play tracks off my album. It’s hardly impossible to keep everybody satisfied especially when you play all over the world. I played in Panama in April this year and if I didn't play “Silence” the crowd would have been very disappointed. That’s the thing when you are a dj/artist/producer, some people expect new stuff, others expect the older stuff and some people both! If you go to a concert of Lenny Kravitz or U2 you want them to play the new stuff but also the hits you know them for. If you compare it with the rock artists I have a much harder challenge on this point because they make an album with 10 tracks and go on tour for 2 years playing the same tracks every night. I have to come up with a new set every few weeks which is hardly possible. I also prefer to play a good older track then a bad or not so good new one. I will be in the studio much more this winter so I have more time to produce new stuff, I will take January and February off to produce lots of new stuff.

What do you recommend a newbie to make trance music? and how do u do amazing tunes?

I think the most important thing to do is, when you make a track, is to follow your own gut feeling. Try to be original because that's the biggest problem for the whole electronic dance scene at this moment. Everybody is copying each other and using the same sounds. Trance is going through radical changes at the moment, the euphoric trance sound of two years ago is slowly vanishing, although most producers haven’t caught up with the new sound yet. Trance music is developing into a mature and diverse style of music. Some of the old trance producers haven’t updated their style yet, while others have changed their style into something completely different. A lot of this new music is not suitable for me to play in a club or on a rave. Therefore, if there are new producers/DJ's around with new fresh sounding uplifting music, please contact me through Black Hole Recordings.

What type of gear would you recommend to create beautiful trance similar to what you make?

I have 2 studio's full of old and new equipment, I am a big fan of the "Access Virus", the “Korg Triton” and the good old “Jupiter”.

Do you prepare your track list before you start to spin or do you "feel" the crowd and atmosphere to choose your tracks while your spinning?

When I go to a gig I always bring 2 boxes of records, all together around 200 pieces of vinyl and 40 cdr's. I try to be there a little bit early so I can sense the vibe at the party. The way I start off depends on how the DJ before me ends his set and at what time I am playing. I know a few key tracks I will be playing during my set but the choice of the record to put on next could be changing every minute, it depends on how the crowd reacts. I always let the crowd decide which way we go. It is always different because at every party, people react differently to a track. So, it’s a bit of both, I know a few tracks which I will be playing but I always feel the crowd and atmosphere.

When you DJ, do you have a special "happy thought" that you think of that sort of gives you a boost in a set? I mean, every video of you I've seen on the net you are smiling and jumping and clapping your hands along with the crowd.

I don't have a happy thought but when I play somewhere the welcome I receive of the crowd is so warm that it makes me feel great. Being DJ is the best thing so I am very happy and enjoy what I do.

Will you ever work more with Fery Corsten and Gouryella?

Maybe in the future, you'll never know. Ferry is a great producer and doesn't need me to create great tracks. We both have been very busy because we both have the same schedule: DJing, producing, travelling, remixing so we couldn't find the time together to get in the studio at the same time. The record company needed a new release so we decided together that Ferry would make “Ligaya” alone. I am sure we will make tracks again together in the future when we both have more time.

What's next in the ever-changing electronic scene?

I think we will have a big shifting between quality and quantity next year. Everybody has been complaining about electronic dance that it's boring nowadays. I think that's not true. It just was too much of everything, to much club nights, to many raves, too many summer festivals, too many rip-off records, not many original records. Some people say clubbing is dead but I don't believe that. For example Gatecrasher is now monthly which is great for everybody, they program much better now, it's more special then a weekly night and it's always sold out again. It has just been too much for everybody and people don't accept that anymore (and they are damn right!). What electronic music needs now is more quality and less quantity on the party side and on the music side. Every compilation album nowadays seems to have the same tracklisting and of course you are only going to buy one and copy the others. I would do the same thing.

A lot of people consider you as a great DJ, while others would say the strength lies in the Producer/Remixer that you are. Do you prefer to keep the two talents separate or consider them both related closely?

I used to be only a DJ when I started off but nowadays I keep them both related closely because for me the best feeling is when I play my own produced record for a crowd and see them go crazy. That's such an indescribable feeling. Nowadays it's hardly impossible to breakthrough as a DJ if you don't produce any records.

What Do I have to do to become a DJ like yourself?

It's not as easy as it seems, you have to produce your own tracks, have lots of experience by DJing as a resident in a club 2 or 3 nights a week. Listen to music at least 12 hours a day and practice a lot. But the most important thing is that you love it and only play what you want to play and always make sure the crowd enjoys it.

Is it true that not all the Magik Musik remixes are entirely done by you? How about the Magikal remakes? Who helps in this duty?

It's true that I work with several producers, it's like it has always been, I used to work with Benno of Rank 1, Ferry, Armin and now I work with other guys like Geert Huinink. Some are done by others, some are done by myself, but I always check on them if they are good enough to release.

Buzz in Washington DC is closed, are you still coming over to DC on October 25?

Yes, I am still coming and will be playing at the same venue. I’ve heard it’s not called Buzz anymore but Nation…. Keep an eye on the bookings on the website.

Do you have any influence on where you have to perform, or is it always arranged by your manager?

No, I always decide myself where I will be playing, my manager gives me advise but I decide everything myself.

Is Trance dying?

No, it will never die. Trance music will change though because it has split up in so many different trance styles nowadays like progressive, tribal, tech, euro, uplifting, goa, hard and deeptrance.

There are a lot of different trance styles these days. Progressive, uplifting epic trance etc.. Could you explain how you define these styles. When is a track progressive or epic?

I will explain the different styles: progressive means nothing more as new, fresh sounding and innovating music, uplifting means that it gives you energy, a euphoric feeling (like suburban train), hard trance is more banging like hardcore music like public domain, tech trance has the melody of trance but the drive as a techno record (like lethal industry). It’s just a name to divide the different styles. I like to combine the best of progressive, best of uplifting and combine that with some warm vocal tracks and some banging techno.

I am wondering why you are playing more & more progressive music?

I am not sure if I am. I do think that the trance music I used to play is not made anymore nowadays, tracks like Cygnus X, Push´s Universal Nation, Gouryella. I think it’s because the whole music genre has evolved and I try to bring the new style of trance. I am bored with all the same sounding rave-riffs, cliché vocal trance tracks. I think my style is more complete nowadays with combining the best of progressive, uplifting, epic and tech trance and melt it together in a set.

How would you define the genre of music you spin? Uplifting? Progressive? Trance? Electronic?

I play warm progressive, uplifting techtrance.

Is your aim to be a commercial DJ (like Oakey) or return back underground?

I consider myself more an underground DJ because I don’t do any concessions on my music. I just play what I want and produce what I want and I feel responsible for taking the electronic scene to the next level, instead of jumping off or produce commercial tunes.

What's the HARDEST thing about being a TOP DJ like yourself?

The hardest thing is to keep everybody satisfied, I have such a diverse crowd of fans, some people only like me for my productions, some only for my DJ sets. But it’s not really hard in general. I am the luckiest man on earth with the life I have!

What are you going to do this New Year's eve?

I always wanted to play in New York on new years eve, so....maybe this year.......

Which headphones do you use at most of your sets?

I use the Stanton. It’s less breakable then the Sony and the sound is much better for your ears.

What are you planning on doing next? Is it going to be another artist album? or possibly a Magik 8?

My next plan is to play till the end of this year, go in the studio in January, go on a holiday to South Africa in February and release a new mix album in April or May. I will keep on working till I have enough new tracks for a new artist album maybe end of next year....

What is the ONE thing you would like most to be remembered for?

For someone that made a difference in other peoples lives and the music scene in general.

Are you going to settle down and get married etc... and not DJ and travel so much? You are so busy now, do u plan to always be like that?

I am definitely not going to settle down, why should I. I am very happy with everything in my life at this moment and enjoy everything what is coming. I like the challenge next year to become a better DJ and producer.

Thank you for all your questions and support over the last year. I have so many requests to play in almost every country in the world and it’s impossible to come to each country. A year has only 52 weeks in which I have to produce, remix, DJ and travel and also run my record label. Hardly impossible but I am definitely coming to new places where I haven’t been before like South Africa and South America.
Take care and see you in a club near you soon...

Love,
Tiësto


Grtz,
TNG

___________________