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DJ Mag Top100 DJs
2
Tiësto
| NON MOVER

After a "hectic summer" Tiësto is chilling out on a beach in the Maldives, away from phones, email and everything else modern life can throw at a man. In fact, he had to jump on a boat to the main island just to talk to DJmag, and when he dials us up he sounds relaxed and in good humour. And why not, it's been another great year for the People's DJ™. But the highlight for his British fans was surely the night he took over London's O2 Arena for the first ever all-night event there. "It was quite a big challenge because I've been touring England quite a lot," he admits. "But we pulled it off. It was an amazing night, there was a lot of really young people there." Around 20,000 people in total packed out the O2 Arena for Tiësto's massive gig, which was the complete opposite of the intimate he played earlier that day in the Armani Exchange store, on London's Regent Street. And that wasn't his only dalliance with the brand this year. He's also put together a three-CD compilation for them in a year where sponsorship has provided some rather interesting possibilities. "But sponsorship needs to fit," explains Tijs. "I get a lot of offers - one time a TV ad for soup - but it needs to be an extension of yourself. That's why the Armani Exchange deal works - I feel connected to the brand, it's a classy brand. I don't really look at the money as a first thing. Of course it's nice that they give you money, but more important is that the brand fits with what I stand for." Reebok obvious fit what Tiësto stands for, as now the big man can stand in his own trainers designed with the British company. Tiësto says he doesn't often wear trainers out but when he DJs they get plenty of action. "When you're playing for four or five hours it's nice to have comfortable shoes," he says. "And I must say, they're really comfortable. I'm not just saying that because I designed them!" Tiësto has also hooked up with Coca-Cola, remixing the music from their advert and exposing his sound to one of the biggest new markets on the planet. But it hasn't all been forays into the corporate world. For 'In Search Of Sunrise 7' the Dutchman decamped to Thailand, a trip that had a huge affect on the sound of the compilation. "The first CD is the same old Tiësto sound," he says. "But the second CD came from me searching for something different. When I was playing over there the old school trance sound was really bouncing back this year. I played some old school records and some old sounding new records and it went off so I decided to make the second CD totally inspired by the Asia tour." There's also been some radio action in 2008 with a stint as the presenter of Dance Anthems, as well as his own Tiësto's Clublife show, a remixed version of his 'Elements of Life' LP, a live DVD, and an Ibizan residency at Privilege. Oh yeah, and he was nominated for a Grammy even though he was genuinely too busy to go. "I was booked for the Brazilian Carnival," he explains. "I was up against The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk so I thought the chances were small that I'd win so I didn't want to cancel a gig for 10,000 people." It's not the only award he's been nominated for this year with Tijs picking up gongs for Best Global DJ and Best Full Length DJ Mix CD at Miami's IDMAs. He also scooped an award for exporting more music than anyone else in The Netherlands in 2007. Tiësto is using his well-deserved holiday to plan his next move in his incredible career. "I'm in the middle of thinking about where I want to be," he says. "I think I'm going to spend the winter in the studio. And maybe bring some equipment into my DJ set."