DJ Tiesto

Apr 27, 2006 by Leah Pritchett

As I walked through the modern doors of Hotel Victor in South Beach, there sat arguably one of the world’s most famous DJs, Tiesto, sipping a mocha cappuccino in the hotel’s restaurant. He seemed to be admiring the view of the people walking through the streets of Ocean Drive.

I introduced myself as he shook my hand and offered me a seat close to him. He gently placed his coffee down, letting out a huge smile that made me feel at ease and extremely comfortable.

Tiesto is known mostly for his revolutionary offerings to the trance genre, especially here in America. He was the first DJ to sell out a solo show for over 25,000 people. Although born and still living in Holland, Tiesto has also a gained a massive fan base from around the world, especially after his hit “Traffic” from his album Parade of the Athletes. The song was acclaimed as one of his best instrumental tracks to come out of the trance scene.

It was after this big break that the trance community took notice, awarding Tiesto over ten awards since 2002, including Best Trance Progressive Artist and the title of World’s Best DJ three times. On top of that, Tiesto had the honor of being the first DJ to open up the Olympic Games ceremony in 2004.

“It’s crazy, right? All the awards I have won?” he asked me.

“Yes, but it’s a huge accomplishment!” I replied.

“Yes, it is but most people think I would be arrogant because of this, but no, the awards don’t mean much to me. Of course you feel great to be nominated and to actually win the World’s Best DJ, but it’s never the same as winning the first award,” he said smiling. “That’s the one that counts for me–to know that not only the people in my country love what I have offered, but the entire world.”

I was surprised on how humble and modest he was. But I was still shocked to learn that, although he was in the city of Miami, he would not be attending 2006′s Ultra Music Festival, which was a total dismay to his South Florida fans.

“I’ve been doing it for seven years and wanted to do something different,” he said, sipping his coffee. “I was tired of just playing four songs for the crowd. I wanted to do a solo set, and being able to play at Mansion [in Miami] all night was more than I could want.”

Speaking of his shows in U.S., Tiesto said there is nothing like his American fans.

“What so different about trance in America is that over there where I am from, trance is very popular. Here it’s more underground, it’s just starting to get to people. It’s quite funny when I start playing music and I begin to play stuff from my past records, I see the American crowd so surprised and happy, clapping and screaming when they hear it. The fans are so different, here they love it, they feel it, they live it, and I just love it.”

I was the first to hear his new album, In Search Of Sunrise 5, which he said was the motivation for his stay in L.A. where he actually began producing the tracks. This album is distinct from his others because of its soothing house sound.

If you want to sway your body to Tiesto’s mixes, his two disc volume hits record stores April 25th 2006.