No mention of an EDM “Hall Of Fame” would be complete without the induction of arguably the most influential currently active producer in the game: Dutchman Tijs Michiel Verwest…better known as the immortal Tiësto. Staking claim to an impressive length of tenure in electronic music (being active since 1994), Tijs has been known by many monikers and been a member in many associated acts including: Control Freaks, Allure, Kamaya Painters (with Rank 1), Gouryella (with Ferry Corsten), Alibi & Major League (with Armin van Buuren), Vimana & Steve Forte before settling on the simplistic yet statement-invoking Tiësto.
Most educated fans of electronic music know that mid-early career-wise, Tiësto was a fixture in trance music and played a pivotal role in the explosion of the genres popularity. Through his creation of the record label Black Hole and his releases of such classics as “In Trance We Trust”, “In Search Of Sunrise” & ”Summerbreeze”, he exposed future superstars Armin van Buuren, Johan Gielen & Ferry Corsten (and trance) to the mainstream.
Never being one to settle for the current state of affairs, Tiësto constantly evolved as a producer through the “In My Memory” to “Just Be” and “Elements of Life” eras into his more current sound of the “Kaleidoscope” and “Club Life” age. The #3-or-above Top DJMag DJ in the World every year since 2002 has exhibited quite the staying power and helped to shape electronic music as we know it today.
Having such a storied and varied (and equally opinion-dividing) discography makes selection of 5 tracks quite the daunting task. We have decided to shift the format of our series slightly, in order to spotlight what tracks we feel that were the brightest stars (in our opinion) of that inductees’ entire body of work. Just one request, before you start trolling me hard…try to come up with 5 choices yourself. Not as easy as it sounds, eh?
Alright, without further ado… Tiësto’s Masterpieces (in chronological order):
Delerium feat. Sarah McLaughlin – Silence (Tiësto Remix)
Little introduction is needed for this immortal track from 2000. Released on his “Summerbreeze” album, the remix of “Silence” took the original track to heights it had never experienced before. Tiësto’s mix spent 4 weeks in the UK’s Top 10 Charts and reached #3 on the US Billboard Dance Charts as well. My own personal first Tiësto memory stems from this release, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Lethal Industry
Officially released in 2001, “Lethal Industry” was a single off of Dj Tiësto’s first album “In My Memory”. Prior to its official release, Tiësto unofficially released the track in an underground/grassroots style, in order to gauge crowd reaction before releasing his production to the masses. (Kind of a cool insight to early Tijs teaching himself how to read crowds.) He also became the first DJ to perform alongside a live violinist in some of his live sets with the track, and additionally the staying power of “Lethal Industry” has been commendable to say the very least.
Love Comes Again (with BT)
Adagio For Strings
The classic example. Everyone is familiar with this one. Originally dropped in 2005 also off Tiësto’s “Just Be” album, “Adagio For Strings” hit substantial chart successes…but the sheer magnitude of the release continued to grow to epic proportions over time. Tiësto’s rework of Samuel Barber’s original masterpiece took flight into the cosmos and never has looked back, or let up. I feel like talk is cheap in regards to this one, so here you go…
Maximal Crazy
Alright, guys I can hear the comments now: “You are prejudiced towards old Tiësto” and so on and so forth. I won’t comment on that assertion at the moment, because it’s time to pay homage to “Club Life” Tiësto. His 2011 release off his “Club Life Vol: 2 Miami” compilation was massive to say the least. The big room anthem has caused many a-crowd to erupt in sheer madness during each drop, which just goes to show that there is more than one way to make waves in electronic music. Let’s hope that the future of the genre takes our third inductees’ lead – by keeping EDM creative, intriguing, and constantly evolving.
The Pre-Party: “Power Mix”
This assignment was too gargantuan to follow all of the rules (sorry, guys). So in addition to my “Editor’s Choice Set” (muahahaha) I have decided to feature a little pre-party for you all…just to gear you up for what I (well, via Tiësto) have in store for you. It is aptly named, and defies definition – “Goosebumps” as one editor succinctly put it. Plus, you get to see that violin action mentioned above. Here is Tiësto’s own “Power Mix.”
Editors Choice Set – “The Elements of Life World Tour: Copenhagen”
Here’s a kleenex to wipe your eyes. You are gonna need a clear path for more tears to flow when you experience my choice Tiësto set: The Elements Of Life World Tour: Copenhagen. Here’s where I get to really subject you to my preference (please hold any negative comments until after experiencing the full set below, and then see if you can’t hear from my perspective. Tracklist available here.) The event took place in Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on November 10th, 2007 but the DVD was released in 2008. Featuring an all-encompassing theme, sick mixing, a moving track selection, mind-altering visuals and a crowd of 25,000+ – this set is one for the history books. With a total length of 4:13:09, Tiësto left no stone unturned in his interpretation of The Elements Of Life. Luckily, this experience has been uploaded on YouTube for all to experience – trust me, you will not look at life the same way again after this one. After watching this, no more words are necessary to outline reasons for Tiësto’s induction to EDMTunes’ Hall Of Fame.
Part 1