Will The Real Tiesto Please Stand Up For Ibiza 2023.
Written by Dan Kirwan
Tiesto was royalty for those of us of a particular generation, the Bora Bora faithful, Space terrace sunrisers, the Cream and Manumission ravers, He was revered like a King throughout the decade from 1997 to 2007, establishing trance music as an artistic genre of real substance over style. He was part of the first wave of Dutch DJ talent that visited Ibiza in the mid-’90s, witnessing the last days of the island’s beautiful and innocent Balearic soul.
He captured those emotions most eloquently in what I regard as one of the finest trance albums ever made, In Search Of Sunrise Ibiza, which was released in 2007. Its Balearic intro, Es Vedra, was sublime and instantly transported you back to those carefree days of joy and euphoric moments. It was a musical masterpiece, almost spiritual in its energy. Those were the days, but as we all know, nothing lasts forever as time moves on. Sadly our nostalgic innocence was destroyed by money and greed, and the scene and the music changed soon after
For many of us back then, Tiesto was the biggest casualty of that movement. It broke our hearts to see him walk away; our King abdicated. In our eyes, he was lost to us. He became a prodigal son. It all went Pete Tong after that. EDM began to take over, evolving the music into an experience and a stage production show. But then, they say progress is each day’s rising sun. At 54, I am the same age as Tiesto. Many of our friends who were part of that scene are now spirits dancing in the sky.
Those of us who survived were, at best, lost at some point in our lives. Others were left staring into deep holes of addiction and depression. Tiesto most probably had his demons to fight. He left Ibiza in 2012 during a shitstorm of negative publicity driven by egos and agendas that did not serve him or the island well. Before leaving for Las Vegas, he correctly predicted that the island had lost its soul. The energy he captured and crafted so beautifully in his Search Of Sunrise Ibiza album, which I would encourage you to listen to below.
Ibiza has always been a special place to me.”
Ten years later, Tiesto is set to return to an island that has changed so much since then. Bora Bora, Space, Privilege, the original Pacha and Pikes are all gone. Thats just in the last decade. Tiesto witnessed the scene during his Space and Bora Bora days in 96 before he founded Black Hole Recordings and released the first Search Of Sunrise series albums in 1999. His Gouryella collaboration with Ferry Corston followed before releasing the iconic remix of Delerium’s Silence which elevated him to god-like status. In the press release for his Ushuaia residency this summer, he rightly sets the record straight on his feelings about Ibiza stating, “Ibiza has always been a special place to me”. That is the correct feeling to convey about the island, as its the people, not the land, that has changed it the most.
In the teaser video for Tiesto’s new Tuesday residency at Ushuaia, he brings us back to those magical Search Of Sunrise days. It’s lacking in detail and full of Balearic soul and nostalgia, but will he revisit that concept at Ushuaia this summer? It’s what every Tiesto fan connected to his music before 2008 wants to experience. We would love to have our King and champion return inspired by those magical days when trance music was euphoric, a spiritual experience lifting the mind and body from reality and setting it free. If the real Tiesto finally stands up, even for one show, we are in for a genuinely memorable residency.
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