Interview with Tiësto

by **Roland** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 11:48 am

T = TIESTO
RR: The Reporter

RR: First question is probably the dumbest one ... but it's been driving me nuts ...
RR: What do you preffer to be known as, Tiesto or DJ Tiesto? I know neither is your actual your real name .. lol ..
T: Well it's both actually, because Tiesto is the producer and DJ Tiesto is obviously the DJ, so when I put out an artist album, it's called Tiesto because it's my own original music, and when I do a DJ mix album like search of In Search of Sunrise or Nyana, then it's "DJ Tiesto".

RR: How did you start DJing?
T: That guy over there. [Points to his manager Wilfred] He got me into DJing, he's one of my best friends. He came to my place and I was just doing some mixing for him, like playing some records.

RR: You had turntables already though?
T: I only had one turntable and a table deck .. lol. But I listened to the radio, and we had this mixed show, a soul show, every Thursday a couple of hours with USA import record, and the DJ was mixing records, and I was like wow, I want to do this as well.

RR: And how long ago was this?
T: That was ... '89 ... I think, 88-89.
RR: those were good years ... that's when I started getting into club music as well in the Depeche Mode, New Order, that type of generation ...
T: .. Yeah ... Front 242

RR: Do you remember what your first vinyl was?
T: Actually I don't ... my first vinyl ... I bought three at the same time.

RR: Do you remember one of them? lol
T: It was kinda cheesy crap though what I bought ... lol.
RR: lol ... mine was Fine Young Cannibals ... lol
T: I think it was (DJ Daily) Say it Say it, it was produced by Jellybean.
RR: I know that song
RR & T: [try to sing the chorus] .. lol
T: Another one was (Nicole) Don't You Want My Loving.

RR: What equipment do you preffer DJing with?
T: Yeah .. I preffer Vinyl.

RR: Vinyl over CD?
T: Yeah .. I play alot of CDs though, because all the new stuff which is not released yet.
RR: Not much of a choice I guess ...
T: yeah

RR: In terms of the actual equipment itself, like turntables, I guess Technique 1200's that still ... ?
T: Yeah ... Unbeatable

RR: When you mix CDs, that's the big debate on Homeofmusic, what's the best DJ CD player?
T: The Pioneer, it's still the best. I tested out the Technique, but I had a prototype and it wasn't working that well actually. So maybe they improved it ..
RR: Yeah .. That the problem with prototype, it could be the best it will get or it could get 100 improvements before it goes retail.
T: Yeah exacly ... so I'm very happy with the Pioneers.

RR: Which model do you use?
T: MK2 .. CDJ1000

RR: Only the best for you I guess eh? lol .. That the good thing about making it to the top ... once you're there you can enjoy the benifits I guess!
T: Yeah definately

RR: Any particular favorite mixer?
T: Actually that's a Pioneer as well, the Pioneer 600, DJM600. It doesn't sound that good cause all the sound engineers are always complaining when I come to the club, because the 'Rane' mixer is much better or the new ... what's it called .. the ["_____ one thousand" ... I'm fairly sure he was referring to the Allen and Heath V6 as Aria has a DJM600 and a V6] like they have at Aria [Montreal] with the knobs. But for me ... DJ Tool wise ... I preffer the Pioneer .. with all the effect.

RR: What do you preffer, knob or sliders?
T: I like the faders/sliders.

T: If you keep the Pioneer out of the red, then it sounds great. But most DJs push it up to the red and then it sounds horrible.

RR: What's more important, not necessarily for you, but in general, mixing technique or track selection?
T: Track selection .. yeah definately .. because sometimes you have a bad night or the monitors are not good, and mixing isn't as tight as it can be ... and people can still go off .. you have to play good tracks ... or sometimes you have a great mixer, you can play for 3 hours and you don't hear any [off-beat] mixing, but it can still be kinda boring, so I think track selection is definately the most important one.

RR: Do you have a favorite DJ story ... something crazy that happened or a disaster or something funny or a favorite story you like to tell?
T: Favorite story ... lol ... well ... well I did some stupid stuff in the past ... but I once put a ... I was in a hurry .. I put the record down on the record that was playing ... the place was packed no doubt ... [Tiesto adds sound effect of a record scratching ... sssshhhhhwwwwwwt] .. yeah ... it was terrible.

RR: [Discussion goes to some of my own funny DJ disasters involving a balloon and another involving a falling pile of records]

RR: With the mainstream popularity of digital music and the increase of quality DJ equipment aimed at professional DJs, do you see vinyl and vinyl DJs becoming a rare breed in years to come?
T: Yeah ... That's inevidable, because indeed the new techniques are getting better and with the CDJ1000's. I play already 50/50 or 60/40 sometimes. Yeah ... Vinyl is old school [some regret obvious in his voice] ... it sounds super.
RR: Yeah it's a hard habit to break too as a vinyl DJ because there's something about the feeling of ...
T: Exactly ... I love the vinyl, but nobody even presses vinyl anymore .. you get sent so many CD-Rs ... and the greater tracks are on CD-R, so that's why you/I have to use CD-R.
RR: [Reffers to fact Tiesto's new album 'Just Be' isn't even availlable on vinyl in Canada as all 1000 copies for North America we quickly picked up in the US]

RR: How/why did you make the step from DJing to producing?
T: Well, it took me quite a long time actually, because I was first DJing, and then I really liked it and wanted to do it myself and make tracks like that, so I bought a small sampler. That's what I started off with, so my first productions sounded terrible .. [lol] ...
RR: It's always a learning game I guess.
T: Yeah ... I bought it in 1994 in think [the sampler] ... in 1998 I stepped up a little bit in my equipment and I made some more money, so I could invest a little bit more ... and that's how I became slowly better.
RR: You've only been producing since then? Your stuff is really amazing! Top quality stuff!
T: I have somebody that mixes the tracks down. the end mix I don't do much of. I just do the whole production and the sound ,, the sound design and the arrangement of course ... and then it .. sounds great .. but ... not top mix down ... I have a great mixer in Holland. He does the mastering as well .. and after that it sound so [snaps his fingers] .. it makes a big difference.

RR: What equipment do you use to produce in terms of hardware and software?
T: Well I use QBase .. on the PC actually .. I'm one of the few PC users I guess .. [laughs] ..
and my favorite equipment at the moment is the Moog Voyager with the expansion boards .. it sounds phenominal.
RR: [laughs] ... nice expensive tool there ...
T: It's a bit expensive, but it's definately worth it, the basslines they just stick there you know ... they dont ... Back in the days, all the basslines got a bit fluffy sometimes .. because when it was too busy with the beat on top of it ... so I always had to make sure that I didn't put too any bass on the bass drum ... but now with the Moog .. it just stands there .. it stays there .. it's great! ... yeah [laughs]!

RR: What's your motivation and why do you produce slower ballads, the more mellow stuff?
T: Well .. actually ... because .. I really like to listen to chillout music .. it comes because when I go every year to Ibiza .. and when I'm in Ibiza, I lie on one of the beaches over there and then you always hear that beautiful melodic chillout music .. like Cafe Del Mar stuff .. and I'm always hoping that one day I'll hear my own song over there .. [laughs] .. that's the main reason why I produce it.

RR: Are you somewhat afraid that these ballads or slower chillout tunes won't get as popular as they could be because you're labelled a Trance DJ?
T: Yeah ... Yeah definately they will never really be popular because of that [reffering to between question discussion him being involved in lots of great Trance productions] .. and because of the name I have ... because people know me as the energetic DJ [laughs] .. yeah .. that's why I only do one or two on the album and the rest has to be dance .. because that's what I preffer .. but I just like to do it on the album .. just as a break .. you know.
RR: ... Well .. to me personally I enjoy having variety .. .. to me it's a bit unfortunate because Closer To You is a beautiful song and it should be played on the radio here but it never would be played because [North American] radio don't play Trance.
T: ... but on the other hand .. you have people who don't like the slower songs .. and if I release one ... then people will say Tiesto isn't Tiesto anymore because he's releasing a slower song. So that's the other hand as well ... so ... [laughs] .. nobody's happy with the slow songs actually .. [laughs] ... except for you and I maybe .. [more laughing].
RR: [laughs] ... I love them ... don't stop!
T: Have you heard the new one? UR?
[conversation wanders to some of his other chillout tunes like]

RR: A lot of people are wondering what the situation is with you and Ferry Corstens is with Gouryella ... there's a lot of rumours that said some label owned the name Gouryella and they wanted him to produce something "fast fast" to take advantage of the name .. is there any truth to that.
T: Well ... yeah .. I don't know exactly what happened .. but .. I know Ferry and I .. because .. when we started with Gouryella we were both almost unknown DJs .. and the last few years we both blew up very fast ... and then he had some other projects like System F and Veraccocha that was on his label and I had Black Hole Recordings with my own sound .. with Tiesto .. and we both just we so busy with that and DJing as well that we didn't even have time to make a new track ... and then his record company demanded a new track pretty fast .. so Ferry called me and said "We really have to make a new track" .. and I said "yeah but .. I know .. but I just don't have the time at the moment" .. and then he asked "Is it OK if I do it by myself" ... I said "yeah .. sure" ... and I think he felt the pressure of the record company over there .. that's why he kept on making new Gouryellas.
RR: So your last Gouryella production was what? Ligaya or ...
T: Tenshi!
RR: [Laughs and mentions how Tenshi and other Gouryella tunes are some of best Trance tunes ever]
T: Yeah .. I think my least favorites is Walhalla .. that's a bit out of reach ... but one of my favorites of all times is the first Gouryella ... it was just a special time ... Ferry and I are very good friends .. we still call each other.
RR: It's just a time thing then?!
T: It's a time thing and record company preasure.
T: We've been calling each other In the last four months, I think almost every two weeks "Hey .. I'm in holland now ... shall we go out for dinner?" ... "Yeah but I'm in Japan now" ... and now I'm in Montreal and he's in Spain ...
RR: Is there any hope that you guys will do something again together in the future?
T: Yeah .. I think so .. I think if we both have the time then we'll definately do something together .. I mean I would like to ... for the good old days .. it's nice to do something together again ... I know Ferry wants to as well ... but I think for now we both just go our own way and we're both doing well .. so .. it's great.
RR: Well I think you should do something again ... [laughs]
T: [laughs]

RR: Is there anybody else you enjoy working with in terms of production?
T: Ummm ... Well .. I like to work with other kinds of artists who do something different than I do. Because then you can mix things together.
RR: Yeah ... On "Just Be" you have somebody from Nashville [reffering to Jo Lloyd and Dan Muckala, songwriters of Sweet Misery"] ...
T: That song was actually written for Evanessence .. and it didn't make it on their album .. and then they gave it to me .. and I said "well .. I can do something with this song" [laughs]. For me it was a challenge because it's also comepletely different from what I would normally play .. and that's what I like to do now-a-days, work with people who do something different like Matt Hale [Aqualung] for UR ... and also BT ... he wrote the lyrics for Love Comes Again.
RR: That's a really good song too ...
T: Yeah ... I played it last night in Toronto ... everybody was singing along ...
T and RR: [sing chorus in unison ... Love ... comes ... again ...] [laughs]

RR: Is there anything you're working on currently in terms of production, or are you just riding out the summer [DJing]?
T: Well actually ... most of the time when I'm in Holland I do production work .. because I just love it ... and when I'm home in the week I try to spend two or three days in the studio ... so actually I finished two new tracks already ... but they're just for fun ... they aren't big anthems or something ... actually I made a breakbeat track two weeks ago ...
RR: Are we going to hear them tonight?
T: Yeah ... I'm going to play them tonight ... so if you hear a breakbeat track tonight .. you know it's mine .. [laughs]
RR: So the next album is one or two years away then I gues at this point?
T: Yeah .. well you never know.
RR: Well the new one just came out here just last week [June 1st]. When was it released in Europe, was it before?
T: Yeah .. the 20th of May.

[ ... short comments by RR about Trance in North America ... ]

RR: Do you find any difference between North America and Europe?
T: Yeah .. they are a little bit behind here ... more in the sence media wise ... the clubbers are the same and they know everything ... but you don't have really good television stations or radio stations playing our music ... that's the only thing that's missing here ... as soon as that happen it will blow up here! But on the other hand .. it's nice to see that it's still pretty cool underground compared to Europe ... in Europe it's mainstream on the radio .. on television ... 'star' ... you know if you smoke on the street nobody recognises you here ... and like last night in Toronto it was amazing to see the crowd ... you saw at least 50 people with selfmade/homemade Tiesto T-Shirts in the crowd ... it's great to see ... yeah.

RR: You ever get any crazy gifts from fans?
T: yeah ... I had some crazy gifts ... yeah ... actually I had turntable once .. from a girl ... a Japanese one .. a small one ..
RR: From your DVD
T: Yeah, I got that from a girl .. and I've also gotten some paintings

RR: Are you planning on going back to Ibiza this summer? Do you have something set up?
T: Yeah. Every Thursday I'm at Amnesia together with Paul Van Dyk ... so we team up again.
RR: That's a nice team up ... I know a lot of people who would want to do that!
T: It's great ... because I play before Paul, and he plays a little bit faster and tougher than me, so I can just play whatever I want and build it up and build it up till there, and then Paul starts.
RR: lol ... I remember the first time I saw him live I was like: Paul Van Dyk was always in my mind "For An Angel", the classic Trance tune, and then you hear him live and it's like ...
T: and it's FAST .. lol
RR: ... like ... who is this? It's not the same person ... lol ... [Infering that PVD plays much harder and faster than For An Angel when he spins live]

RR: Similarly, do you find there is a difference between what you play as a DJ and what you like produce. Not in terms of your slower ballads, but in terms of your actual heavier faster Trance?
T: No .. the tracks I produce are made for myself to DJ out .. yeah .. that's the main target for me, and then based on the reaction of the crowd I see if they're really into the tune.
RR: ... and then you develop it a little bit more?
T: Well ... no ... when it's finished for me, it's finished. That's what I like about the Just Be album, all the tracks are made not on the road, but in the last 15 months, and every track has its own story, and I just keep playing those tracks out and everybody likes them, and then I put them together on an Album, so it's more like a kind of best of Tiesto compilation album ...
RR: And nobody even knows it except for the people who see you live. [Because those who don't see him live obviously never get to hear the other non-album tunes]
T: Yeah
RR: lol .. always a big trip to see you live.

RR: Do you have any longer terms goals .. in terms of stuff you want to accomplish .. in terms of anything on your to-do list of life that you haven't crossed off yet that you want to get done?
T: ummm ... lol ... wow ..
RR: Well ... you have your Label, you have your "Magik" record store, you have your music, you have your DJing, you have your studio ... is there anything else?
T: aahh ... I'm a very happy person ... lol ... as you can imagine .. everything is going really well .. and I have some other goals I still have to acheive that I'm working on that at the moment ... so ... ... I will let you know when I'm there ... lol ... ...
RR: lol .. it's top secret stuff is that it? lol
T: yeah ... lol
RR: You'll have to kill me if you tell me? lol
T: lol ... I have some hot things lined up for this year [*HINT HINT ... OLYMPICS*] .. and a couple of more dreams come true.
RR: That's good ... good for you ...
T: Yeah .. lol

RR: So ... when did you realise that you had ... "made it"?
T: ummm ... well ... I think ... ummm ... when? yeah? lol ... yeah ... it goes slowly actually ... you don't go like "oooh ... I made it" ... no it doesn't go like that ... you just keep working and keep working and then suddenly your there and there [hands showing increasing levels] and then the next step and the next step. ..
RR: lol ... but there must have been one morning when you were like "ooh man .. it's really nice to wake up today .. I'm really happy with the way everything is .."
T: Well .. when I was voted #1 DJ in the world by DJ Magazine ... that was for me like "[snap] look I just made it" .. I was in Vegas and I couldn't be there because the tour was already booked and I didn't expect to be #1 anyway ... and then I got the #1 position and that was just for me ... the biggest acheivement as a DJ ... I think every DJ in the world dreams to be in that position, it's such a famous magazine.
RR: ... and it's not just an abstract choice ... it's deserved ...
T: It's the crowd (people) who picks the DJs ... it's not a judge or something ... which is nice I think ...
RR: lol .. which means it's really #1 ...
T: Yeah
RR: It's something to be proud of ... it's good ... you don't have to quiet about it! lol
T: yeah ... I am very proud of that ... yeah

RR: When do you see Trance going .. in the next 10 years let's say?
T: Well .. that's difficult to say ...lol .. I can't even look ahead a half year sometimes ... so umm .. yeah ... where's Trance going? ... it's still holding .. and I think it's getting better again ... there was so much crap around it .. and I think it's getting better .. .better tunes coming out now .. and the quality is getting up again ... it had a pretty bad year I think last year (2003) ..
RR: I personally through homeofmusic ... especially since it's about both House and Trance .. find that there are trends .. and people sometimes go: "how come you don't put any Trance reviews or Trance tunes or Trance whatever" ... it's just because there's not that much coming out ... but then 6 months later it will be just the opposite: "well how come there's no house and this and that bla bla" ...
T: Yeah
RR: .. but it's more just because there's all kinds of Trance coming out .. normally there's a small number of tunes that will come out and inspire more artists to sorta come out with similar tunes and take things to the next level and the next level and things evolve and mutate more and more ... You've actually been responsible for part of that in terms of your stuff from over the years and also the Gouryella stuff .. it's all stuff that is really up there ... it's something that myself and my members thank you for helping to push it to the levels further.

RR: Do you have a favorite place to play?
T: lol ... well after tonight I'm not sure any more cause I've had good nights here.
RR: lol ... ok .. well excluding Montreal then let's say ... maybe Toronto (cause he played there the night before)?
T: Montreal was really good last night ...
[he didn't get much sleep .. lol .. I think he meant to say Toronto, but as a Montrealer I cn't blame him for thinking any good Canadian Party HAD to be in Montreal .. lol]
T: ... the people were so warm to me there ... it's definately one of my favorite places now .. I like Miami alot ... and Ibiza of course .. and I like Montreal .. actually I like Canada alot ... especially Montreal .. and Toronto ... two of my Favorite places ...
RR: You find we're more like Europe in Montreal?
T: Montreal is more like Europe and Toronto is more American ... two totally different scenes .. but both really really nice.

RR: Do you have a favorite place not to play, but to visit? I guess it's probably the same thing?
T: yeah ...
RR: I guess you're in towns for such short periods of time that you're in the DJ booth for almost as long as you're in the city ... lol
T: yeah .. lol

RR: Do you have any inspirations as a DJ or producer either now or when you were learning .. is there anybody you sorta looked up to as your hero or as somebody you wanted to be like?
T: No ... actually not really ... I'm more inspired by songs ... not by some kind of artist ... but sometimes you hear a song and go: "oh ... this is nice" .. and then you take a little element from that and take that feeling with you ... I'm more inspired by the feelings of a song ... not exactly samples or words or anything ...
RR: That's good ... so you see past the name and the label and all that stuff .. that's cool .. [exactly how I feel on the matter as well] .. lol .. you remember back in 1990 around there .. remember when Milli Vanilli came out and everyone people went "oh I love this song I love this song" ... and the moment people heard Milli Vanilli were fake "oh I hate this song I hate this song" .. Why ??? lol .. it's the same song ...
T: Yeah .. lol
RR: .. to me ... I liked some of their songs and I hated some of their songs ... but I remember when we found out they were fake I said "I still like this song" ... I think the artists are questionable ethically .. .but in terms of the songs .. what does it change anything? ... no it doesn't change anything ... either they are good 'songs' or bad 'songs' "
T: yeah .. exactly!
T: One of those guys commited suicide.
RR: Really?
T: Couldn't handle it !?
RR: Geezz ... it was a big thing back then ... but I don't know if suicide was worth it for that ...
T: Well actually I was in Germany a couple of weeks ago ... that's why I'm so up to date with that story .. but there was a guy telling me that they had to perform live at the Grammies in USA ... and then they spoke with the same accent as I do ... lol
RR: Oh geezz ... [Tiesto speaks very good English, but there were several words in this interview I wasn't 100% sure of when I was typing this up .. lol]
T: ... so they couldn't sign that perfectly in the American language ...
RR: Weellll ... I know some people who have heavy accents, but with alot of signing, they practice so much, that the accent does go away.
T: Yeah ... maybe now ... but back in those days ??? lol

RR: If you could choose on of your tunes to represent yourself, what would it be? Could you choose one?
T: I would say I would choose two ... from the album I would say "Forever Today" and "Traffic". Those two definately represent my sound .. warm ... melodic ..
RR: I LOVE that ... in "Forever Today" it starts [hand movent showing smooth progression] ... I love that .. the start ... duunnduuuudnnnuuudnndnnnnnnn
T: The drive ... yeah ... it picks up and then the beat comes in .. duggaduggaduuu duggaduggaduu... yeah
RR: ... lol .. yeah ... it's a really good Album ... i really like it myself alot!

RR: Do you have a message for people who want to start to DJ?
T: Ummm ... well ... yeah ... ummm ... a message on how do you start DJing .. well ...
RR: Is it like 'practice' or like 'go and watch a DJ' ...
T: It is ... it is practice ... yeah .. it takes alot of time actually .. I think you only should be a DJ if you're really 100% dedicated .. so I was practicing every day, the whole day ... and sampling and stuff ...
RR: cause on Homeofmusic.com I get people saying "oh I wanna DJ .. oh I wanna DJ" ... but it's like ... the theory is not that difficult ... there's certain levels .. you hit one level and then the next ... you learn beatmatching ... you learn your 8s your 16s your 32s ... and then you play with your EQs and drop the bass in your mix ... it's progressive .. .every level is theoretically not very difficult ...
T: Yeah .. it's not ...
RR: But it's all about practice practice practice ...
T: yeah .. it's not that difficult to learn definately ...
RR: But I always find that people overlook the fact that it's alot of time and when you say it's alot of practice people don't realise that ...
T: yeah
RR: So how long would you say it took you to get from when you first started mixing, until you felt comfortable playing in front of a large crowd?
T: Yeah ... that took a while ... yeah
RR: I know for me too it took a while before i could say I was happy with my stuff

RR: Do you have a message to your fans?
T: Well ... "Thanks for coming out" ... I mean .. yeah ... like i said before, yesterday was amazing .. and tonight is sold out .. Vancouver was sold out 3 weeks in advance and Edmonton ... and Canada has been really great to me and .. "I really appreciate it" ... yeah.

RR: Where do you stand in the whole MP3 debate?
T: What kind of debate?
RR: The MP3 debate ... in terms of file sharing and ...
T: I think it's cool to do it ... I mean I think if you really like an album then you're gonna buy it anyway ... at least that's how I think about it ... and then .. so yeah ... I'm fine with it ... and then .. thanks to that I became a big DJ .. because people were file sharing my whole albums albums in the past which were not availlable for sale anywhere in the world ... so yeah ... it's great ... it's been great for me!
RR: At some point I'm going to get you to read Homeofmusic's mission statement because it besically develops the thought or the idea that it's good to get the stuff and have access to it and learn about new stuff that's out there, but it's also important to know where to draw a line in terms of letting people have what they want, but also making sure the artists can make a living from what they're doing ..
T: Yeah
RR: Do you see there being a danger in terms of it going to far? Or do you think things are going to be OK and everything is going to work out in the end?
T: I think it's going to be great for artists in the future ... because .. you know .. to be honest ... an artist, he makes the less on the album ... I mean the record stores make half the money on the records ... if an album is $12, then $6 goes to the stores ...
RR: ... and then $3 goes to distri ...
T: $3 dollars to distribution .. lol .. and $3 to the record company and 50 cents to the artist ... lol
RR: lol .. to Tiesto ... lol
T: lol .. well yeah ... but that's the way it is ... so I think in the future it will be good for artists ... I think if an artist puts out an album out and downloaded it for $1.99 and he will be happy if he sells a few million ..
RR: lol .. yeah

RR: I have 2 token questions that we like to ask people from Homeofmusic ...
RR: ... do you have a favorite drink?
T: Vodka - Apple Juice
RR: Vodka - Apple juice ?? lol ... we don't really have that here (in clubs) ...
T: Oh you have it here ... lol ...
RR: lol

RR: There's a fun side site to Homeofmusic called Homeofmuppets which is more for fun and joking around ... I'm not sure if you have the muppet show over where you are ...
T: yeah yeah ... lol ... we have it .. lol
RR: So who is your favorite muppet? lol
T: lol .. my favorite muppet? .. lol ... it's Kermit of course ... lol
RR: Kermit? lol
T: yeah ... lol

[Recorded a Homeofmusic Radio ID]

RR: Thanks alot man ...
T: Peace ... PEACE