Hey guys,
Just saw this on the Tiesto official website and I thought it was REALLY interesting VERY unusual (you'll understand why once you read it) so I thought to share it with everyone else...just how lucky we are:
"Asia
Tiësto - 2004-05-04
I just came back today from my Asia tour. It was actually the first time for me in this area and it has been very special. It all started in China, Chengdu. This city is the 3rd biggest in china with 6 million people. This was a very undeveloped area for my kind of music. There was a record store, but the only music you could buy was approved by the government. So music of classical Chinese composers and stuff. For me to play there that night was really weird. It was in a multifunctional club with several floors, they even had a karaoke floor. It was cool to play there and I noticed that the crowd was absorbing the night. They listened to music they never ever had heard before and also the visuals formed a spectacular sight for them.
The same thing happened to me after that when I went to Vietnam. For those people it was just as special because foreign deejays never play there. The only DJ ever played in Vietnam before me was Paul Oakenfold and that was already more then a year ago. Imagine us in Europe or America that we could go to a party only once a year..…that would be crazy…How spoiled are we? And the hustle I went through over there. I had to fill in a form with all the titles of my records I was bringing in to the country. After I arrived I had to play for members of the government and only if they approved I was allowed to play that night for the crowd. So I was playing for 30 minutes for like ten people with an average age of 74. Luckely they liked it, so I could play that night in Ho Chi Ming city. Vietnam was the highlight of the tour for me, great crowd, very friendly people and a special place, also to go on holiday in the future. After that, I played Taipei, Bangkok and finally Japan. The cool thing about this whole tour is that you meet so many deejays around the world and the quality was really high. All over the world the whole DJ thing gets more and more professional. Even in Vietnam they started a DJ school now. I actually officially opened it which was a great honor. In every country where I played on this Tiësto/Thirst tour, we always have a competition the night before I play. The winning DJ can play before me at the main show night and gets to travel with me to several places around the world. It’s a great thing and that’s where I learned that DJ’s are getting better and also understand they have to work hard to go to the top. The question they all ask me is “what makes a great DJ”? My answer: “Rock the crowd in your own original way, try to surprise them with good records and mixing and start producing you own music. Without your own productions it will be impossible to become a global DJ.
Thanks to Heineken Thirst for this great tour and everybody I met on the road. I had a great time!!!
I really respect DJs who take the time to write about their lives as DJs and experiences on the road. I find it so interesting, and it also sheds light on who they are as a "normal person" and not just a "super star DJ."
That's so interesting about playing for govt officials and hoping they approve so he could play for the main crowd!
May-07-2004 15:14
starsearcher
DigitalPunk on Flight643
Registered: Jan 2003
Location: Toronto
quote:
That's so interesting about playing for govt officials and hoping they approve so he could play for the main crowd!
I know how crazy is that
quote:
I had to fill in a form with all the titles of my records I was bringing in to the country. After I arrived I had to play for members of the government and only if they approved I was allowed to play that night for the crowd. So I was playing for 30 minutes for like ten people with an average age of 74.
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
quote:
Originally posted by Skipper
That's so interesting about playing for govt officials and hoping they approve so he could play for the main crowd!
Especially with THAT average age...
I couldn't even begin to image what they were thinking when Tiesto was playing for them...
Oh to be a fly on the wall sometimes
___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."
Registered: Oct 2002
Location: Berkeley, California
quote:
Originally posted by TECHno addict
Very cool. Crazy the 74 year olds APPROVED!?!?!
From what I understand, their approval doesn't mean that they actually LIKE the music. But instead it means that they have previewed the material to be presented and concluded that the content is free from critical remarks about the state of China. COMMUNISM IS SO MUCH FUN.. YAY
-+Aron
___________________
"It's mercifully over. But a new phenomenon has taken hold. I recognize it: feelings. Now that they're back, even overcompensating, I never want to lose them again. Bitterness, anger, jealousy, sadness: They all make me happy."
May-07-2004 16:45
subtledreamer
Senior tranceaddict
Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Arcadia, California
quote:
Originally posted by Skipper
I really respect DJs who take the time to write about their lives as DJs and experiences on the road. I find it so interesting, and it also sheds light on who they are as a "normal person" and not just a "super star DJ."
That's so interesting about playing for govt officials and hoping they approve so he could play for the main crowd!
i second that !
___________________
edit** image too large, please resize
May-07-2004 16:55
Orko
Digital Hippie
Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
quote:
Originally posted by TECHno addict
Very cool. Crazy the 74 year olds APPROVED!?!?!
ive introduced trance to a few older people including my dad, who lives in India and his friends, and they all really liked it. Ofcourse not on our level, but they were able to appreciate it as real music. Its these ghetto fabulous thugs that really look down at EDM.
May-07-2004 18:20
Wurm
In the moment.
Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Magic, if only for a while...
An interesting read, and a little perspective for the next time I'm bitching about getting molested at the door.
A friend of mine who was clubbing in Taiwan said that police can bust in at any moment and search everyone on the premises and/or obtain urine samples. What a way to bum out your night.
I would imagine that the crowds in Vietnam would be a little more 'sedate', considering the tight government control.
___________________
This is what you came for.
May-07-2004 18:54
Pett
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Toronto, Canada
That musta been the most difficult track selection decision Tiesto has ever had to make in front of the officials!
May-07-2004 21:10
reverieX2
Senior tranceaddict
Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Toronto
quote:
Originally posted by Pettiscool
That musta been the most difficult track selection decision Tiesto has ever had to make in front of the officials!
do we have the play list?
___________________
I just want you to trip like i do...
May-07-2004 21:34
Skipper
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: May 2002
Location:
quote:
Originally posted by AwakenedAddict
From what I understand, their approval doesn't mean that they actually LIKE the music. But instead it means that they have previewed the material to be presented and concluded that the content is free from critical remarks about the state of China. COMMUNISM IS SO MUCH FUN.. YAY
-+Aron
I'm laughing at the thought of a trance record containing an anti-China vocal sample
Personal note from Tiesto
