In just two years, the Budweiser STORM Festival has established itself as Shanghai’s version of EDM megafests like Tomorrowland and Electric Daisy Carnival. The October holiday tradition is expected to attract over 35,000 people to the West Bund for a star-studded party that boasts dance music icons like Skrillex, Paul Oakenfold and Tiësto.
At 46 years old, Tiësto’s career has paralleled dance music’s rise from the clubs to the radio. As a teen, he was spinning hardstyle sets in underground clubs across Holland. Now, he’s a bona fide legend flying into Shanghai to perform in between sets at New Taipei’s Poseidon Electric Carnival.
Not content with solely riding on the accolades of a legendary career, he won his first Grammy Award this year for his collaboration with R&B singer John Legend, while also scoring his first American gold records.
“If you told me 10 years ago that this music would blow up to this degree I might think you were joking,” he chuckles.
“These days, nothing surprises me at all. The reality is that dance music has been ingrained so far into pop music that anything is really possible.”
The Dutch DJ and producer has been a major reason behind this change. After becoming enchanted with trance, Tiësto rose to heights previously unseen for a DJ. His 1999 remix of Delirium and Sarah McLachlan’s ‘Silence’ unexpectedly became a mainstream hit. His 2001 solo debut In My Memory is a certified trance classic, containing five of his biggest hits.
As a performer, he popularized hours-long marathon sets and became the first DJ to perform a solo concert in a stadium at his landmark 2003 show at Arnhem’s GelreDome. From 2002 to 2004, he topped DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 DJ List, a feat only matched by Armin Van Buuren.
“I never concern myself with rankings,” he says nonchalantly. “The thing that motivates me is connecting with the fans. I hope to provide them with the soundtrack to a fantastic night.”
Musically, he’s moved away from the anthemic trance he perfected to flirt with mainstream sounds. Last year’s A Town Called Malice featured appearances from rising pop stars Icona Pop and DJ Magazine’s current top DJ, Hardwell. The disc has produced his first two American gold singles, ‘Red Light’ and ‘Wasted,’ which he promises “go off when I play them in my sets.”
“I wanted to make great songs that people could dance to,” he explains. “Stylistically, it’s where I’m at musically. It’s all part of a natural progression and evolution of my music.”
While some of his fans might prefer the Dutch producer would return to his earlier style, Tiësto has his eyes firmly towards the future. The inaugural chart-topper of Forbes annual Electronic Cash Kings list typifies the DJ as a brand, earning over USD28 million thanks to deals like his residency agreement with Hakkasan in Las Vegas.
The organizers behind the Budweiser STORM Festival are hoping to tap into his name, teaming him with Chengdu pop sensation Jane Zhang on ‘Change the World.’ The track debuted last month with hopes that it will match last year’s Avicci and Wang Leehom collaboration in topping China’s charts.
Always a proponent of emerging talent, Tiësto has given current stars like van Buuren their first major exposure through his popular compilation mixes. While he lavishes praise on ascending artists like Dzeko & Torres, MOTi and Zaxx, he’s reluctant to look too far into dance music’s future.
“There are just endless possibilities right now thanks to technology, from creating music to how to play it and market it,” he exclaims. “Things move so fast that I can’t possibly figure out what’s next.”
// Oct 3-4, 2-11pm, RMB380-480 (RMB480-1,180 for two-day pass). Xuhui Riverside, tickets.
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