An interview with Tiesto

What can we expect from Tiesto in 2008?
First thing you can expect is DVD of world tour and maybe a new mix album, that’s about it, maybe a couple of remixes

What can people expect from this forthcoming DVD?
Demonstration of the Element of Life live show that we took around the world and this time we recorded it in Copenhagen and a road movie about some of the things we got up to on the world tour is on there too

What special about that show?
We were thinking ‘what’s a nice venue to do?’ We wanted to do something outside Holland and switch it up a bit and that show at Copenhagen was at a nice new venue and was sold out quickly and easy to work with, easy one to record it.

What was so special about this tour that made you want to share it with everyone via DVD?
Special for me because it’s a memory of time. The Elements of Life tour was unique and never done by a DJ before, in the way that we travelled the world like a band and that was special to me. I also think that a lot of people who managed to get to the shows London, Prague doesn’t matter it’ll be a great thing to have to help them remember the show they were at.

On Elements of Life you worked with high profile people like BT, but from now on you’ve said that you’d like to work with more up and coming talent. What qualities do you look for in a collaborator?
Basically the voice has to be great and the lyrics have to be great because they are the most important thing, it doesn’t matter if they’re famous.

People have come in their millions to come and see you play over the years. What do you think it is attracts these numbers to your shows?
I think its a combination of feeling I put out when I DJ. It’s from the heart its not an act and I could be one of the people in the audience, you know? Also, I think and the music is accessible for people. It’s not crazy underground and it’s not crazy commercial, it’s a very nice thin line between both worlds.

How does it feel being stood up there watching a huge audience react to what you’re playing?
I’m getting used to it nowadays but that’s not to say it isn’t still special because it is. What I’ve noticed is every year the audiences keep growing, the shows are getting bigger and better and that’s the challenge for me; to make the shows bigger and better. It doesn’t matter for me if I’m playing to 5 000 or 50 000 people, it’s the same feeling, I want people to go home with a good vibe.

When you started out as a DJ, did you ever imagine a day would come when you would be playing shows this big?
No, not at all. Even two years ago I didn’t imagine it, even this year when I started this tour I didn’t expect all the dates to sell out either, that was amazing! When I started out as a DJ, it was at a bar and the man behind the bar was more important than the DJ because he got all the attention from the ladies! DJs were like the nerds back in the day, nobody cared about the DJ!

Consistently you get voted the world’s number one DJ. Is that a title that sits comfortably with you?
Err, well I think that’s more to do with some of the things that I have achieved. Calling someone the number one DJ is very hard for any person to say. You have DJ Mag who makes that list and that’s a little bit of opinion, not worldwide, that’s fine though. I think people call me the world’s best because I play to the most people. I think the Olympics helped with that too, but I don’t think I’m the biggest or the best, because there are too many great DJs to list.

To go with your achievements, you’ve also had a lot of chart success. How important is chart success for you?
It’s not that important for me now. It’s great if you’re album is at number one because you have this great compliment that people have been buying your music because they like it, but that’s not me just trying to be cool by saying that. I do think though that every artist that releases an album wants it to be successful and to have their music heard by lots of people, although for me the money from that doesn’t matter, it’s more that the album has sold so many copies.

What’s happening with Dance 4 Life this year? Any big plans?
Yeah, at the end of the year there’ll be another party the week before World AIDS day, but I dunno how many countries will share it, but two years ago we ha 10 who joined in and now we hope to double that and more and more people are getting involved.

Can we expect you at Ibiza this year?
Yeah, I’ll be there this year, but it’s changed for me. You say like Ibiza again, but its been two years, Last year I did two Elements of Life shows with Privelege and that was the only time really in the past three years. This year I’m going to be back there doing a residency though with Privilege on the Monday nights, every Monday.

What still attracts you to playing Ibiza after all this time?
New inspiration. The island is always changing and so is the development of the music on the island, its never the same. It’s the new kids who decide whats hot or not, could be there to see what’s happening and g et inspiration and its very good for me to go.

When can we expect a new artist album?
I’ve started thinking about the next record, but at the moment I’m still enjoying the success of the Grammy nominated Elements of Life album!

What stage would you say this album is at?
I’ve contacted a few artists about doing some collaborative work, nothing concrete yet. I’ve done some sound demos and at very premature stage.

How did that feel – being nominated for a Grammy!?
I was extremely surprised, I was blown away by it to be honest!

Will there still be more to come from the Elements of Life tour this year?
Yeah, I still have one leg to go to Asia and doing the April and May in Australia and that’s last part of the tour.

After all this success with the album, will It add any pressure when you go into the next one?
Not really, the artist album gives me more freedom than when I do a mix album because I also have the In Search of Sunrise album which for me is more pressure, because people expect a proper mixed album and with the artist album I am able to experiment a lot more and like I did on In The Dark on Elements of Life, good freedom for more.

Will there be another In Search of Sunrise this year?
Yeah!

You’ve also done some very high profile remix work and mentioned that we can expect more of that. Can you tell us a bit more?
Yeah, there’s a buzz about them right now and I have a lot of record companies who are approaching me for remixes. I’ve done a couple at the end of last year and there’s definitely more coming because artists keep asking.

Can you tell us who some of the people that are asking you are?
On my MySpace there is the Britney one and one for Feel, couple of others that I am not allowed to name yet but I’s good to work with high profile people and expect more soon.

What do you enjoy about the remix side of things?
It’s just fin to do and be given licence your own musical opinion on a track. For me it’s not always for me to play out in the clubs. I see remixing as a piece of art and something very enjoyable. The Britney Spears remix is really high profile and when someone says ‘oh it’s remixed by Tiesto – what a shitty name!’ but if you listen to the track and what I did with it, it’s so different, it’s a pure artistic piece of work and one of the best ones I’ve ever done.

You’re coming to the IndigO2 next month – tell us what’s happening there.
A lot of previewing from the DVD, it’s the world premiere, so an hour from that and a special DJ set from me for a couple of hours and a special new talent from England is going to play who is only seventeen. MATZO is his name.

What elements of the DVD do you think will please the fans when they put it on?
I think it will please people and those especially who went to the show. If you went to the show and had a good time then it’s a must have, that’s what is made for. I’ve been to the show. I have the DVD and now I want to relive it all over again.

Elements of Life Live is out now