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Tiesto is without a doubt the worldwide ambassador of trance right now and whatever he does is very influential in the global trance and electronic dance music scene. Tiesto is also the most "artsy"-oriented of all the superstar djs and he's always trying to distinguish himself from the more banal sounds of the other trance djs.
Throughout his ongoing evolution as an artist, he went through a radical phase of experimentation in 2001-2002 which was in part a reaction to the superficiality of most trance tracks being made as of late. The old formula of Dutch trance was just simply obsolete and completely irrelevant as an 'art-form'. So he decided to leave the oversaturated field of mundane hands-in-the-air fluffy anthems to the lesser and as someone said, one-dimensional djs (Armin and Ferry). When Tiesto talked about trance sounding 'gay', he was talking about this kind of trance that is known for 'trying' to preserve the magik of '99 but the end-product was just a formulaic contrived melody that if promoted would kill trance's position as one of EDM's leading genre (example- Driftwood-Freeloader).
So he decided to experiment with different sounds such as prog and techno and breaks and even latin tribal tech  . Sometimes his experiments sounded awkward and didn't seem to work right, but after a while, he got the hang of it and everyone else was following his lead. One of the turning points that mark his newly found diverse style would be his Impulz 2002 set. Just remember how beautiful and original the transition between Umek-Lanicor and Tiesto-In My Memory (Airwave remix i think) came out. The cadential overtones and contrasts he used were pure genius!
Now in early 2003, we can say that the radical experimental phase in Tiesto's career is finally over and he has settled down with this extremely sophisticated style that more people are understanding every day. First let's talk about production: If you think Nyana and his latest productions sound 99ish you might be right but you're missing half of the point. Tiesto is indeed evoking the old-school sound of 1998-99. However, these tracks are all fusions of Tiesto's recent experiments. You can tell by the banging tech feel and prog feel in the broad scope of these new productions.
In terms of his mixing and set structuring I'm even more amazed at how Tiesto has evolved as an artist. Yeah, his sound got more melodic in his latest mp3 "livesets", but you need to see him live for a good 3-4 hours to understand what he's really doing right now. When I saw him last week for the 4th time in 2003 he started with his characteristic melodic prog, went on to play quality trance, then moved on to play over an hour of the sickest techno and he made the place so HOT it was unbearable. His sets this year have an awesome flow that was missing last year, and he has managed to achieve this flow while still playing very diverse and contrasting sets. He's definitely not playing right now any of the fluffy and superficial tracks that he rejected last year in his experimental phase. Only quality if you ask me, sometimes he plays like one cheesy track such as The Opera Song(always the Magik Muzik remix though, and lately the dub). However, this is the same Tiesto as before. He's known for melody, and he will continue to center his sets around quality and uncontrived melodies, whether they are trance, prog or minimal tech.
Tiesto is an amazing DJ in terms of set structure and transition-wise, regardless of his poor beatmatching abilities (which are somewhat overstated). The thing is, there is much more to DJing than beatmatching. Tiesto is the best mixer in trance in MUSICAL terms, because: he has a broad understanding of cadential counterpoints, which means that he knows how to harmonically connect two tracks in the most tasteful way possible. His interweaving of melodies is actually very complex, but you would have to know a thing or two about music theory to understand this. This is the reason I was initially drawn to Tiesto's sets back in 1998 and is still pretty much the only one that doesn't bore me to death (like those djs that only care about beatmatching). In terms of structure, I really believe that he has the most creativity and best ability to make a whole set flow into an uplifting experience. The truth is that he sometimes cares more and other times not as much, but he is NEVER random and every mix he makes has some sort of rationale behind it. I hope you agree with me that no other Dutch trance dj has achieved to make a set as uplifting as those classics- Innercity 99, Energy 2000 etc. He hasn't lost it either, as many recent sets are just as euphorically uplifting (ie. Impulz 2002, GLobal Broadcast 4-20-2003).
Oh well, these are my 2 cents about Tiesto. Peace.
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(im being kinda sarcastic)
