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It’s true, Tiesto is heading back to Australia for Stereosonic this summer! It’s the biggest news we’ve heard all year and is sure to get plenty of punters excited for a big season of dance music ahead. To get you appropriately amped up, we tracked down the mighty Dutchman to get all the details on Tiesto’s next Australian visit and also to quiz him on his next moves and how he thinks dance culture has changed over the last decade.

I was really impressed with your new track Dreaming that you produced with BLK JKS. They’re a really interesting group in their own right, but how did you find the process of working with them and applying your way of production to theirs? That sort of collaboration is, at least from an outsiders perspective, the latest thrust of your musical career. You seem to be using your profile and clout as a producer and bringing that to bands outside of the trance, and even dance, field and introducing those acts to an entirely new audience. How do you feel about that and what’s been your motivation behind that turn?

As a musician, I’ve always strived to push myself forward. I love to collaborate with other artists whose music I enjoy and who inspire me. That’s the nice thing about electronic music; there are no limits. There is an amazing freedom that we have as DJs and producers, nowadays. Today there are fewer boundaries as far as style and so blending various genres is just a natural progression. Working with BLK JKS was just another extension of that and I couldn’t be happier with the result, they were great to collaborate with.

That for me was one of the most enjoyable things about Kaleidoscope, I was really impressed by your willingness to explore some new horizons and open yourself up to new collaborators like CC Sheffield, who was great on Escape Me. How do you go about approaching someone for a collaboration like that? I imagine it has to be an organic/natural process for it to work successfully.

Absolutely, it all happened very organically. When I started spending time with a lot of these musicians, most of them didn’t necessarily think of my music as ‘trance’, as much as it was electronic dance music. Pretty much all of them had been to my shows or other dance events in the past, had a great time and sincerely enjoy many kinds of dance music. I’m very lucky to have been able to collaborate with so much talent on this album.

You and I spoke last year when Kaleidoscope was just about to be released and you were excited for people to finally hear it. How do you feel now more than six months down the track? Have you found the reaction’s been positive?

Yes, the fans reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, especially during my live sets. For this tour I wanted to create the biggest and best production to date, based much more on visual content and concepts of the Kaleidoscope theme. We did it and to see it be embraced with such positivity is a real thrill for me. It’s been a great year so far and it seems to keep getting better.

Have you found that it’s gathered you an entirely new breed of fans who might not’ve been exposed to you before?

Definitely! Dance music in general is broadening its reach across the globe and with Kaleidoscope I wanted to open myself up to all the styles and artists that have been inspiring me recently. I think fans, both old and new, can hear and appreciate that.

2010 is the 10th anniversary of our website, inthemix.com.au, and I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how the dance music scene has changed/evolved in the last decade from your perspective. Any developments that’ve affected you over the past 10 years?

I’ve noticed that my music appeals to a much broader audience now. I think dance music is growing and will continue to get bigger. At the end of the 90’s and into 2000 electronic music was still an underground phenomenon that has been gaining traction ever since. The mainstream acceptance that is starting to happen now is a result of that early boom 10 years ago. The new kids coming to shows seem much more open to all styles of music.

Similarly to that question, as someone who has performed at such a consistent level for so long in dance music, I know that you’ve got strong opinions about the scene and the culture surrounding it, including the predominance of glowsticks and rave paraphernalia. If you could play God a little bit and remake the dance music scene in your own way, would there be elements of clubbing culture that you would eradicate/remove?

It’s all good, as long as everyone is having a good time I don’t care what they look like, but yes I would be a happier man in a non-glowstick world.

Besides the track with BLK JKS, who else have you been working with recently? Are the rumours really true that you’ll be producing for Britney Spears and Lady Gaga?

My management team and I have been in talks with a few different artists and there are some promising developments. Unfortunately that’s all I can say for the moment.

Are there other artists that you’d want to work with in the future? Do you have a wishlist of sorts?

My list of artists is always growing. I’d still love to work with Santigold at some point. And MGMT would be interesting to work with. I like Bertie Blackman a lot.

I know you’ve got a lot of love for the Australian crowds out here, were there any particular highlights from the Kaleidoscope Australia tour?

The crowds in Australia have been amazing to say the least. It is always a pleasure to play down under. I have to say though that Brisbane was an amazing night for me. Rain was pouring down throughout the show but the crowds only got more and more into it the wetter they got. It was an amazing night.

You’re coming back to Australia to headline the Stereosonic festival in the Australian summer, how excited are you to be coming back so soon?

Extremely excited, I had a great time there back in January and look forward to the energy that the country brings! It should be a great time.

Obviously these festival dates can’t be the scale and size of your Kaleidoscope shows, but what can fans expect from the Stereosonic sets?

I’ll be playing a lot of new stuff I’ve been working on and as far as the production goes, you’ll have to wait and see!

Excited for Stereosonic? Well, head on over to our festival page at inthemix.com.au/stereosonic and make yourself a fan, then we can give you the festival updates direct to your inbox first!

Stereosonic 2010 dates:

Saturday 27 November – Sydney
Sunday 28 November – Perth
Saturday 4 December – Melbourne
Saturday 4 December – Adelaide
Sunday 5 December – Brisbane

Source: www.inthemix.com.au