Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978),^[1] better known by his stage name Diplo, is a Philadelphia-based American DJ, producer, and songwriter. Together with DJ Low Budget, he runs Hooked on Hollerphonix, a club and music collective. He also founded and manages record company Mad Decent, as well as the not for profit organization Heaps Decent. Among other jobs, he has worked as a school teacher in Philadelphia.

During his rise to notability, Diplo worked with British musician M.I.A., an artist who is credited with helping expose him in his early career. Later, he and fellow M.I.A. producer Switch created a Jamaican dancehall project titled Major Lazer. Since then, Diplo has worked on production and mixtape projects with many other notable pop artists, such as Beyoncé, No Doubt and Usher.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} His alias, short for Diplodocus, derives from his childhood fascination with dinosaurs.^[7]

Career[link]

DJ and Hooked on Hollerphonix[link]

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised in various regions across Southern United States, Diplo developed an interest in much of the local culture.^[8] He began attending the University of Central Florida in 1997, and then moved to Philadelphia to continue his studies at Temple University, where he first gained notoriety as a DJ.^[9] After frequently running into fellow DJ Low Budget, the two began throwing parties under the Hooked on Hollerphonix moniker in 2003 as a way of maintaining control of what they were able to play during DJ gigs in Philadelphia.^[3] The success of these parties allowed the two to release mixtapes, both separate and together, gathering acclaim across the country.^[10] One such mixtape, Never Scared, was named one of the New York Times' top ten albums of 2003,^[11] and the Hooked on Hollerphonix name became synonymous with parties featuring guests like Bun B, Spank Rock, M.I.A., among others.^[12] Hooked on Hollerphonix's sound has been described as "disparate genres to be smashed together for maximum attention-grabbing impact" an aesthetic which takes from the "organic, cohesive, whole" aesthetic of acts such as Bun B, Lil Jon, Drama, M.I.A., Björk, Busta Rhymes, and others.^[5][13]

Diplo accentuated the club aesthetic of his Hooked on Hollerphonix music for a more reflective sound on his solo debut, Florida, which was released on the Ninja Tune imprint, Big Dada Records.^[14] The album Florida was pressed twice, first with a CD and the second with a CD and DVD. The DVD was created by System D-128, another artist who has collaborated with Diplo on some audio and video projects. Before Florida’s DVD accompaniment, another DVD surfaced called Diplo: "Banned in Libya" which was released by Money Studies, the first label to release a solo project by Diplo under his original DJ name Diplodocus. It was a 45 rpm record called "Thingamajawn" for which there is also a music video System D-128 directed. Similar to the Florida DVD, "Banned in Libya" is an experimental audio and video mix of some of Diplo's original music blended with a number of other unidentified sources.

His particular affinity for one genre of music called baile funk (or favela funk) would spawn a series of mixtapes (Favela on Blast, Favela Strikes Back), which served to bring the Brazilian dance music of the ghettos to the United States.^[10]

It was not long before his Hooked on Hollerphonix parties would provide him the success necessary to move to the next logical step and build a studio where music would become his full-time focus. With this goal in mind, Diplo built "The Mausoleum," a video studio, recording studio, record label office, gallery, and event space in Philadelphia.^[15] Since its inception, The Mausoleum has become the home to recordings by artists like Christina Aguilera, Shakira, M.I.A., Santigold, Spank Rock, Plastic Little, Blaqstarr, Paper Route Gangstaz, and hosted concerts by Glass Candy, Skream, Boys Noize, Nicos Gun, and more.^[15]

M.I.A.[link]

After hearing one of his songs in 2004, M.I.A. approached Diplo when he was DJ'ing one night at the Fabric Club in London. Regarding their first meeting, M.I.A. said "It had that same homelessness about it. It didn't have a particular genre, which is what people always say to me: Your song doesn't fit anywhere. So I went on a mad mission to find other people like that, because then we could make a home."^[16][17] Coincidentally, Diplo was playing her songs "Galang" and "Fire Fire" as she entered the club, which he got from a worker at i-D magazine.^[17][18] Diplo added, "She came through and she wanted to meet me 'cause she'd heard my single and the funk mix from one of her A&Rs and she just thought I was right up her alley. Besides me being a white dude from Florida and her being a Sri Lankan girl in England, everything else was the same: [We were both] film graduates, [listened to] all the same music when we were kids, were going in the same direction right now in music, it was amazing... I always wanted to make a beat with her, but all my beats were really shitty at the time."^[18][19] The two eventually collaborated on a mixtape, Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1., where Arular track acapellas were mashed with other artists' songs and was mentioned as ‘Albums of the Year’ from the New York Times and Pitchfork Media.^[18][20] At this time it is rumored the two became romantically involved and continued to work together after the release and he toured as a DJ on her 2005 Arular Tour.

Diplo would continue to work with M.I.A. and, through her, meet London DJ Switch; together they created the Grammy nominated track ‘Paper Planes’, peaking at No.4 on the Billboard US Hot 100.^[21] Diplo would go on to release a slew of similarly styled mixtapes with Downtown Records’ Santigold and Polydor Records’ La Roux, as well as mixtapes with Paper Route Gangstaz, Das Racist, and Gucci Mane.

Producer and Mad Decent[link]

From this, Diplo went from an unknown DJ to taking off as a producer, landing him collaborations with artists like Shakira, Robyn, Kid Cudi, Bruno Mars and Snoop Dogg, as well as work with Maluca, Kid Sister, Die Antwoord, Alex Clare, Rolo Tomassi, Amanda Blank and Dark Meat. After taking a trip to Brazil to investigate the Favela music scene,^[3] and fascinated with the energy the scene had to offer, Diplo decided to import a dance-funk group Bonde do Role from Brazil for release on his Mad Decent record label (also housed within ‘The Mausoleum’).^[22] This group would serve to define Baile Funk in the United States, spawning a host of others to join the movement. Diplo also spent some time documenting the music, and the favelas of Brazil^[23] with a film he produced and directed called Favela on Blast.^[24]

Although Favela Funk remained an interest (the Favela on Blast documentary just saw release in 2009), his Mad Decent imprint would serve as a blank palette for Diplo to showcase the myriad different sounds he’d come across while touring around the world.^[9] Diplo quickly developed a reputation for his extensive touring. In the April, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine Diplo was touted as one of ’40 Reasons to be Excited About Music’.^[25] This kind of jet setting pushed his label far beyond the Favela Funk genre with which it initially began. Since founding it in 2005^[26] Diplo’s Mad Decent label has released music by Santogold, Lil’ Jon, Gucci Mane, Peter Bjorn and John, Bosco Delrey, Rusko, Buraka Som Sistema, Savage Skulls, Oliver Twizt, Jamie Fanatic, Douster, Boy 8-Bit, and Popo.^[27][28] Beyond the scope of their own releases, there is Mad Decent Worldwide Radio, a mixtape/podcast series showcasing artists who have seen release on Mad Decent, but also many more who may have caught the attention of the label.^[29] Additionally, Diplo and Mad Decent have put together an annual block party, showcasing talent from the label. While the first three years of the festival only occurred in the label hometown of Philadelphia, 2010 saw the party spread to include Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.^[30] He also produced mathcore band Rolo Tomassi's sophomore album, Cosmology.

In 2011, Diplo worked with Beyoncé on "Run the World (Girls)" and the album track "End of Time" for her fourth studio album 4. He also worked with Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts on her debut solo single "Beat of My Drum". In 2012 Diplo produced for Usher on the single "Climax" which Usher released on his Facebook page. He also produced the track "Lies" on Marina and the Diamonds' second album Electra Heart, released 30 April 2012.

Major Lazer[link]

Although highly sought after to create productions for other artists, Diplo’s focus soon turned to another collaborative project with Switch, this time in the form of a full-length record under the guise Major Lazer. After landing a deal with Downtown Records before even recording a note of music, Diplo & Switch set out for Jamaica to record a project that, like most of Diplo’s projects before it, would highlight the little-known subgenres, this time of Jamaica’s dancehall scene.^[21] The two received support by many already established Jamaican artists such as Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man and Ms. Thing, and the resulting record Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do also featured vocals from Santigold, Amanda Blank, Nina Sky, Ricky Blaze and more.^[31] When discussing the Major Lazer project, Diplo described the dancehall sound as being " the end of the world, all the little influences—house, soca, oldies, R&B, jazz—it all ends up in Jamaica."^[32] The track "Pon De Floor" (originally sampled from Afrojack's "I'll be there") from Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was sampled for Beyoncé's single "Run the World (Girls)".^[33]

Major Lazer's first album was followed up with an EP, Lazers Never Die, which was released in 2010. An as yet untitled album is also due to be released by Major Lazer in 2012.

Major Lazer played at Notting Hill Carnival, London CF, in 2010 and have confirmed they will be there again in the summer of 2011.

Additional Projects[link]

Beyond Major Lazer and Mad Decent, Diplo has continued to show support for 'all the little influences', the lesser-known music scenes around the globe. Most recently his focus shifted to the ‘Bounce’ scene in New Orleans, Louisiana for a television piece commissioned by Current.tv.^[34] In 2007 Diplo also founded a not-for-profit organization for the underprivileged in Australia, called Heaps Decent.^[35] As Diplo has throughout his career as producer and DJ, the organization’s focus is to integrate indigenous and underprivileged artists’ music into a wider spectrum of recognition through original productions created via schools, juvenile justice centers, and studios.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Sound and Fury (2002)
• Florida (2004)
• Decent Work for Decent Pay (remix compilation) (2009)

EPs and Singles[link]

• "Newsflash" (2003) (as Diplodocus)
• "Epistemology Suite" (2003) (as Diplodocus)
• "Thingamajawn" (2003) (as Diplodocus)
• "Diplo Rhythm" (2004)
• "Reload It" 2005 (as Diplo)
• "Blow Your Head" 2008 (as Diplo)
• "C'Mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)" (vs. Tiesto featuring Busta Rhymes) 2010 (as Diplo) UK No.13
• "Make You Pop (Vs Don Diablo)" 2010 (as Diplo)
• "Amplifier (with Skrillex)" 2011 (as Diplo)
• "Pick Your Poison (with Datsik and Kay)" 2011 (as Diplo)
• "El Tigeraso" with Maluca 2011 (as Diplo)
• "Express Yourself feat. Nicky Da B" (as Diplo)

Mixes[link]

• AEIOU (2003)
• AEIOU Pt. 2: Making Music Your Own (2004) (with Tripledouble)
• Piracy Funds Terrorism (with M.I.A.) (2004)
• Favela on Blast (2004)
• Favela Strikes Back (2005)
• FabricLive.24 (2005)
• Mad Decent Radio, Vol. 1 (2006)
• I Like Turtles (2007)
• Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub (with Santogold) (2008)
• Benzi & Diplo Present: Paper Route Gangstaz: Fear And Loathing In Hunts Vegas (2008)
• 2009 Rewind (Mixmag Jan 2010 Cover CD) (2009)
• Diplo Presents: Free Gucci (Best of The Cold War Mixtapes) (2010)
• Major Lazer & La Roux present: Lazerproof (2010)
• Blow Your Head – Diplo Presents: Dubstep (2010)
• Benzi & Diplo Present: Mansions on the Moon: Paradise Falls (2010)
• Riddimentary: Diplo Selects Greensleeves (2011)

Singles[link]

2005[link]

• Disco D – "Lets Hug It Out Bitch (Diplo Remix)"
• Edu K – "Popozuda Rock n' Roll (Diplo Remix)"
• Gwen Stefani – "Hollaback Girl (Hollatronix Remix)"
• Kanye West – "Gold Digger (Diplo Mix)"
• Spank Rock – "Put That Pussy On Me (Diplo Tonite Remix)"
• Three 6 Mafia – "Stay Fly (Mad Decent Remix)"
• Biz Markie – "Vapors (Diplo Remix)"
• Walter Wanderley – "Popcorn (Diplo Remix)"

2006[link]

• Beck – "Wish Coin (Go it Alone)"
• Bloc Party – "Helicopter (Diplo Remix)"
• Clipse – "Queen Bitch (Diplo Remix)"
• CSS – "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (Diplo Remix)"
• Daedelus – "Sundown (Diplo Remix)"
• Hot Chip – "Over And Over (Shake It Over And Over)"
• Justin Timberlake – "My Love (Diplo Remix)"
• The Beatles – "Twist and Shout (Diplo B'more Edit)"
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Gold Lion (Diplo Remix)"

2007[link]

• M.I.A. – "Birdflu (Diplo remix)"
• Claude VonStroke – "The Whistler (Diplo Remix)"
• Daft Punk – "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Diplo's Work Is Never Over)"
• Peter Bjorn and John – "Young Folks (Diplo's Drums of Death Remix)"
• Znobia – "Tchilo (Diplo Mix)"
• Bart Simpson – "Do the Bartman (Bartman So So Krispy Remix)"
• The Decemberists – "The Perfect Crime No. 2 (Doing Time Remix)"
• Bloc Party – "Where Is Home? (Diplo Mix)"
• Black Lips – "Veni Vidi Vici (Diplo Remix)"
• Hot Chip – "Shake a Fist (Diplo Remix)"
• Dark Meat – "Unsuccessful Space Jam (Diplo Mix)"

2008[link]

• Sunny Day Sets Fire – "Brainless (Mad Decent Remix)"
• Spoon – "Don't You Evah"
• Kanye West – "Flashing Lights" (Diplo Remix)
• The Black Ghosts – "Repetition Kills You (Diplo Remix)"
• Marlena Shaw – "California Soul (Diplo Remix)"
• Radiohead – "Reckoner" (Diplo Mix)"
• Telepathe – "Chrome's On It (Mad Decent Remix)"
• PRGz – "Bama Gettin Money (Diplo Remix)"
• Journey to the West – "Monkey Bee (Diplo Remix)"

2009[link]

• Private – "My Secret Lover (Diplo Remix)"
• Britney Spears – "Circus (Diplo Circus Remix)"
• Britney Spears – "Circus (Diplo Alt Clown Mix)"
• Bassnectar – "Art Of Revolution (Diplo Remix)"
• The Dead Weather – "Treat Me Like Your Mother (Diplo Remix)"
• As Tall As Lions – "Circles (Diplo Remix)"
• Feist – "I Feel It All (Diplo Remix)"
• Brazilian Girls – "Good Time (Diplo Remix)"
• MIA – "Paper Planes"

2010[link]

• Sia – "Clap Your Hands" (Diplo Remix)
• Madonna – Hung Up (Diplo Remix)
• I Blame Coco – Caesar feat. Robyn (Diplo Remix)
• Maroon 5 – Misery (Diplo Put Me Out Of My Misery Mix)
• La Roux – Bulletproof (Diplo and Bot Remix)
• Deerhunter – Helicopter (Diplo and Lunice mix)
• Sunday Girl – Four Floors (Diplo Remix)
• Linkin Park – When They Come For Me (Diplo Remix) For DJ Hero 2
• GD & TOP – Knock Out
• Robyn – Dancehall Queen feat. Spoek Mathambo (Diplo and Stenchman Remix)
• Proxy – 8000 (Diplo remix)

2011[link]

• Sleigh Bells – "Tell 'Em" (Diplo Remix)
• The Streets – "Going Through Hell" (Diplo Remix)
• Kelly Rowland featuring Lil Wayne – "Motivation (Diplo Remix)"
• Travis Barker – "Can a Drummer Get Some? (Diplo Remix)"
• Mavado – "Delilah (Diplo Remix)"
• Ceci Bastida – "Have You Heard? (Diplo Remix)"
• Lil Wayne – "Two Shots"
• Chris Brown featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne - "Look At Me Now"
• Wale featuring Big Sean - "Slight Work"
• The Wombats - "Techno Fan (Diplo Remix)"
• Tiesto vs. Diplo featuring Busta Ryhmes - C'Mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise)
• Yelawolf featuring Fefe Dobson – "Animal"
• The Bloody Beetroots - Church of Noise (Diplo remix)
• Julianna Barwick - Vow (Diplo and Lunice Remix)
• Star Slinger featuring Reggie B - Dumbin' (Diplo Remix)

2012[link]

• FKi featuring Iggy Azalea - "I Think She Ready"
• Usher - "Climax"
• Usher - "Climax (Diplo Bouncier Climactic Remix)"
• Usher - "Climax (Flosstradamus and Diplo Remix)"
• Katy B - "Witches' Brew (Diplo Remix)"
• Marina and the Diamonds - "Lies"
• Sleigh Bells - "Demons (Diplo Remix)"

Soundtracks[link]

• ATV Offroad Fury 4 – Tambo, Newsflash (featuring Sandra Melody)
• SSX on Tour – Big Lost, Indian Thick Jawns (featuring P.E.A.C.E.)
• Midnight Club Los Angeles – Wassup Feat Rye Rye (Crookers Remix)

Podcasts[link]

Diplo presents these podcast serials:

• Mad Decent – http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/mad-decent-worldwide-radio/id128879031

References[link]

External links[link]

• Diplo (DJ) at the Internet Movie Database
• Mad Decent
• Diplo's bio on Mad Decent
• Stylus Diplo interview (10/2004)
• Village Voice article (December 2004)
• Philadelphia Weekly article (February 2005)
• Dummy Magazine interview (October 2009
• Interview With The Smoking Section (2/08)
• Interview with ION Magazine (April 2010)
• Diplo and Friends at BBC Programmes

Diplo may refer to:

People

• Ramón Rivero (Diplo), a Puerto Rican actor, comedian and composer
• Diplo (DJ), an American DJ, producer and songwriter

Places

• Diplo, Pakistan, town in Sindh, Pakistan

Publications

• Diplo magazine, British international monthly publication
• Le Monde diplomatique, international monthly publication nicknamed Le Diplo

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Tiësto
Tiësto performing in Winterworld at Palazzo in Bingen, Germany, on February 25, 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Tijs Michiel Verwest
Also known as	DJ Tiësto, Allure, Da Joker, Drumfire, Handover Circuit, Paradise In Dubs, Passenger, Roze, Steve Forte Rio, Stray Dog, Tom Ace, Wild Bunch
Born	(1969-01-17) January 17, 1969 (age 43) Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands
Genres	Trance, House[1], Progressive House[2], Electro House[3], Electronica[citation needed]
Occupations	Musician, DJ, record producer
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Noculan (1994) Basic Beat (1994–1997) Lightning (1995–1996) XSV Music (1997) Black Hole (1997–2009) Ultra Records (2007–Present) Musical Freedom (2009–Present)
Associated acts	Gouryella, Kamaya Painters (more)
Website	tiesto.com

Tijs Michiel Verwest, OON (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛi̯s miˈxil vərˈʋɛst]; born 17 January 1969),^[4] known as Tiësto ( /ˈtʃɛstoʊ/ CHES-toh; Dutch pronunciation: [cɛsto]), is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music^[5]. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto. On his latest productions, however, he has dropped the "DJ" label and is now known simply as "Tiësto",^[6] an alias which is a twist of his childhood nickname.^[7]

In 1997, he founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series. Tiësto met producer Dennis Waakop Reijers in 1998, and the two have worked together extensively since then. Reijers is credited as producer, writer, composer, or arranger on many of Tiësto's releases.^[8] In 1999 and 2000 Tiësto collaborated with Ferry Corsten to create Gouryella. His 2000 remix of Delerium's "Silence" featuring Sarah McLachlan exposed him to more mainstream audiences. In 2001, he released his first solo album In My Memory which gave him several major hits that launched his career. He ranked in the #1 poll position 3 consecutive times in the DJ Magazine Top 100 Popularity Poll from 2002 to 2004.

Just after releasing his second studio album Just Be in 2004 at the Summer Olympics, he performed live at the opening ceremony in Athens, Greece, becoming the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympics. Tracks he made especially for the Olympics were mixed together and released as the mix compilation Parade of the Athletes later that year. In April 2007 Tiësto launched both his radio show Tiësto's Club Life on Radio 538 in the Netherlands and released his third studio album Elements of Life. The album reached number one on the Dutch album chart as well on "Billboard Top Electronic Albums" in the U.S. and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008.^[9] Tiësto released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope in October 2009.

As at 2012, Tiësto attained the #3 poll position of the DJ Mag 100 Popularity Poll, and he refers to the styles he mainly plays as House, Electro House, and Progressive House. He plays a new balanced sound sometimes demonstrating lesser known genres such as Dubstep. For nostalgia, Tiësto still throws in the odd Trance House record, the style he became attached to in the early 2000's.^[10]

Life and musical career[link]

Early life and career[link]

Tijs Michiel Verwest was born in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands on January 17, 1969. He had an interest in music since the age of twelve.^{[citation needed]} When he was fourteen he began DJing professionally at school parties.^{[citation needed]} He then moved on to become a resident DJ between 1985 and 1994 at several clubs in the Netherlands after his manager and friend Wilfred encouraged him.^{[citation needed]} However, it was at The Spock, a small club in Breda, where he was able to fine-tune his own style by playing in a separate room from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on weekends. In the beginning of his career, as a DJ he played mostly New Beat and House music.

In 1994, he began releasing material on Noculan Records' sub-labels Chemo and Coolman. During these years, he produced hardcore/gabber tracks under aliases such as Da Joker and DJ Limited. He was later discovered by the general manager of Rotterdam-based Basic Beat Recordings.^[11] In late 1994, he signed to Basic Beat where he met Arny Bink, Tiësto released records on the sub-label Trashcan, founded by Arny, and later created the Guardian Angel sub-label with Arny in which they introduced the popular Forbidden Paradise series. Meanwhile from 1995 to 1996 he released four extended plays on Bonzai Jumps and XTC, sub-labels of Lightning Records. In 1997, Tiësto joined his friend Yves Vandichel on his sub-label, DJ Yves, a division of the now defunct Human Resource label XSV Music. In the fall of 1997, both Arny and Tiësto decided to leave Basic Beat and create their own parent label, now known as Black Hole Recordings, Trashcan was discontinued and Guardian Angel continued releasing music until 2002. Through Black Hole, Tiësto released the Magik series and also created two major sub-labels in 1998; In Trance We Trust and SongBird.

From 1998 to 1999, Tiësto released music on Planetary Consciousness where he met A&R Hardy Heller and invited him to release some records on Black Hole. Tiësto later included the In Search of Sunrise series on SongBird. In 1999, Tiësto joined forces with fellow Dutch deejay Ferry Corsten to create the trance based duo of Gouryella.^[12] He also collaborated with Benno de Goeij from 1998 to 2000 under the name Kamaya Painters. Since November 1999, he performed monthly as a resident at Gatecrasher in Sheffield, one of the most popular clubs in England. In 1999 he also played in a 12-hour set, being his longest lasting concert in Amsterdam.^[13]

Late in 2000, Tiësto decided to concentrate on his personal work and left Corsten by himself to write and produce Gouryella's next single with John Ewbank, the record company was demanding more tracks and neither Tiësto or Ferry could work together at the time.^[12] Tiësto introduced Armin van Buuren, Johan Gielen and Ferry Corsten to the mainstream with his first compilations and the In Trance We Trust series. Summerbreeze became Tiësto's debut DJ mix album in the US with the help of a contract signed to Nettwerk.^[11] Summerbreeze featured his remix of Delerium's "Silence", which spent four weeks in the UK's Top Ten chart and reached number three in the Billboard dance chart.^[11] In Search of Sunrise 2 was released in 2000. Tiësto decided to create a sub-label, known as Magik Muzik. The label began releasing Tiësto’s own releases, but it has also released tracks for the Filterheadz, Oliver Lieb, Mark Norman, Mojado, Phynn and Jes Brieden. The label became a trademark that stands for high quality electronic dance music which was due to the release of Tiësto's classic dance anthem "Flight 643" in 2001.^[14]

[edit] In My Memory era (2001–2004)

Tiësto's popularity started to rise in the early 2000s^{[citation needed]} after his set at the first ID&T Innercity party (Live at Innercity: Amsterdam RAI), and the release of In My Memory, his first solo album released in 2001 which contained 10 singles and 5 major hits; The singles from the album were: "Lethal Industry" which was actually produced in 1999 and had only 3 copies released at that time, the track was officially released in 2001 which was remixed by Richard Durand in 2006 along with "Flight 643" which was another leading single that was later adapted with vocals by Suzanne Palmer and released as "643 (Love's on Fire)". Other tracks were "Obsession" in which Tiësto worked alongside Junkie XL, the instrumental tracks "Dallas 4PM" and "Suburban Train" with "Urban Train" as its B-Side which contained some vocals. The last singles to be released were "In My Memory" which is the title track for the album as it only received high ratings in the United States and the opening track "Magik Journey" which opened Tiësto in Concert (2003). On February 2, 2002 Tiësto played nine consecutive hours during the second edition of the Dutch Dimension festival. On February 27 he was awarded a Zilveren ('Silver') Harp music award. The same year he also received a Lucky Strike Dance Award in the category Best DJ Trance/Progressive. In August he became part of Moby's Area2 Tour. For eighteen days he travelled through the United States with artists such as Moby himself, but also David Bowie and Busta Rhymes.^[15] In January 2003, Tiësto received the annual Dutch Popprijs ('Pop Award') during the Noorderslag festival. After touring with Moby, Tiësto remixed two songs from him, "We Are All Made of Stars" and "Extreme Ways" in the same year, having "We Are All Made of Stars" reach number 13 in the Hot Dance Club Play. In 2002 he released his first In Search of Sunrise mix to feature a place on its name, In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama. On March 28, 2003; Tiësto, Dieselboy, Bad Boy Bill, and Noel Sanger joined the PlayStation2 Dual Play tour. Tiësto and Noel's appearance began on April 13 and ended on June 6.^[16]

His fame continued to increase in the early 2000s, following his six-hour "Tiësto Solo" sets which he performed without other DJs or opening acts. This idea, of one DJ playing alone to a large crowd was new. Tiësto was the first DJ to hold a solo concert in a stadium; on May 10, 2003, he performed for 25,000 people in Arnhem's GelreDome.^[15] This concert was later called Tiësto in Concert. He repeated the same type of concert the following year during two consecutive nights in late October.^[17] In addition to holding these two concerts for 35,000 of his fans, he held another concert for a crowd of 20,000 in Hasselt, Belgium the following week.^[17] DVDs of both his May 10, 2003 and October 30, 2004 concerts have been released, having the other DVD titled Tiësto in Concert 2. The DVD's show the journey from the first idea to the main event, it features live performances by Andain, Dinand Woesthoff, and Jan Johnston. The event includes live music and dancers performing at different times throughout the set. The theme of the event is a mystical, musical journey around the world based on the theme of Magik.^[18] It consists of 200+ minutes of performances with a second disc with special features, It includes a behind-the-scenes looking at The Making Of the event, the music video for his song "Traffic" and TV Commercials for the event. The second DVD has performances from Aqualung and violin player DJ Mason, Micha Klein and the Bulgarian Children of Orpheus choir. During this period, he attained the #1 poll position in the DJ Magazine (UK) Top 100 popularity poll in 2002, 2003, and 2004.^[19]

[edit] Just Be era (2004–2007)

In 2004, he released his second artist album Just Be, which featured his first single "Traffic" which is the first non-vocal track to reach number one spot in the Dutch national charts for 23 years.^[20] The track "Sweet Misery" was originally written for Evanescence but it did not meet the deadline for the release of their album. In support to his Just Be album, he played at Breda, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Amsterdam; these stops were later named Just Be: Train Tour. On May 20, 2004 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

The Olympic Flame at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

The Athens Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) asked Tiësto to perform at the Olympic Games, making him the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympic Games at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, where he played for 90 minutes.^[21] Tiësto flew to Athens in January 2004 to have a meeting with the ATHOC. His Tiësto in Concert DVD caught their attention, after which he was asked to write more tracks based on his opening tune "Adagio for Strings" which could fit in with the Olympic spirit and combine the classical with the modern age. The first rehearsal was on Saturday August, 7, for an empty stadium; the second rehearsal was on Sunday August 8 with 35,000 volunteers. The last rehearsal included almost 60,000 people in the stadium which was on Tuesday August 10, there were some technical problems.

During the course of his performance at the olympics, the Dutch athletes started dancing in front of the DJ booth and had to be moved on by officials. The performance included new tracks produced especially for the Opening Ceremony and songs that were created to complement the spirit and theme of the ceremony. A condensed studio-recorded album of the songs played on the Olympic set was later released, including new songs specially composed for the occasion, entitled Parade of the Athletes in October 2004.^[22] In the liner notes, he noted the IOC requested that the music not contain any lyrics as they could be inadvertently misinterpreted.

In late 2004, he began his touring across Latin America, with his release of In Search of Sunrise 3: Panama in which he gained influence from the sun and sand in summer 2002. The tour continued in 2005, and Tiësto performed live at Brazil, Argentina, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia. Following the tours, In Search of Sunrise 4: Latin America was released in 2005, featuring a second CD for the first time in the In Search of Sunrise series.^[23]

In 2005, his Perfect Remixes Vol. 3 compilation was released through Warlock Records, containing ten tracks which were created during the beginning of his career, between those is Junkie XL, Mauro Picotto and The Roc Project. On August 20, 2005, Verwest took Tiësto in Concert to the US when he played to 16,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena with Cirque du Soleil dancers.^[24] For the second year in a row he performed live at a New Year's Eve/New Year's concert in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena to a sell-out crowd. His four-city US tour was postponed due to the hurricane damage in New Orleans and Miami. BPM magazine has an annual poll in the US which is unveiled in the WMC, in 2005 Tiësto took the No. 1 spot.^[25] The influences of Los Angeles remained with him and would later influence his In Search of Sunrise compilation.

Tiësto at Lush! in Portrush, Northern Ireland on March 5, 2005

A wax sculpture of Tiësto was placed behind a turntable at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam where visitors can mix Tiësto's music together.^[26][27] In the fall of 2005 he went on a very successful tour across Central and Eastern Europe where he played once in each country to crowds of 10,000 to 15,000 fans.^{[citation needed]} Stops were made in Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Poland and South Africa. The United States tour that was part of Tiësto in Concert was dwarfed by his appearance at Sensation White in 2006 where he performed to over 45,000 people in the world's biggest dance event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.^[28]

In Search of Sunrise 5: Los Angeles was released in 2006 which was certified Gold in Canada for sales over 50,000 copies.^{[citation needed]} It also charted, peaking at number 34 in Canada and number 59 in Austria. The compilation was launched in the Winter Music Conference at Mansion in South Beach Miami to support his release, Tiësto went on his In Search of Sunrise 5 Asia Tour for more than three weeks.^[29]

In September 2006, Tiësto was admitted to hospital after experiencing pain in his chest. He was diagnosed with pericarditis and subsequently had to cancel a number of shows.^[30] With the diagnosis, he was invited to support Dance4Life to help teens who are not aware of the risks of HIV/AIDS. He was chosen as the official ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation in May 2006, and released the song "Dance4Life" with Maxi Jazz to help spread the awareness of HIV/AIDS.^{[citation needed]}

On April 6, 2007 Tiësto began presenting a new weekly two-hour radio show called Tiësto's Club Life on Dutch radio station Radio 538. It is syndicated worldwide and later released as a Podcast.^{[citation needed]} Later in the summer of 2007, he played at the large South American beach rave where thousands danced on Ipanema Beach, Brazil.

[edit] Elements of Life era (2007–2009)

Tiësto performing on his Elements of Life World Tour in Amsterdam on March 16, 2007

On April 16, 2007, Tiësto released his third studio album Elements of Life, the album moved 73,000 units in its April release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[25] During the production of the album Tiësto in several cases sent a demo with the music to certain artists, and they replied back with the lyrics and vocals and other duration times. In the case of Christian Burns from BBMak, Tiësto met him through MySpace and got in contact with him and the production of the single "In the Dark".^[31] The album consists of rock, trance and experimental music, which shows the style Tiësto has grown throughout the years since his previous albums which contained lyrics, In My Memory and Just Be. Producer Brian Transeau collaborated with Tiësto in three tracks, he composed "Bright Morningstar" and "Sweet Things", he also performed the vocals in the single "Break My Fall". Together, they produced more tracks which were not released in the album, Tiësto has mentioned they would work again during the coming summer.^[31] In December 2007 it was announced that the album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the category "Best Electronic/Dance Album."^[9] The album also received gold certifications in Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, and Romania.^[32] A special release party was held at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on November 3, 2007 for In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza.^[33]

His last three full-length releases broke the 70,000 mark^{[citation needed]}, and the 2003 2CD compilation Nyana recently hit 87,000^{[citation needed]}, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In support of the album, he embarked on his Elements of Life World Tour which had shows across the world. Tiësto's performance at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 10, 2007 was also sold out.^[34] The Copenhagen: Elements of Life World Tour DVD was released in a party which was held on February 29, 2008 in London at the IndigO2 club.^[35]

Tiësto announced his residence at Privilege. He played in Ibiza every Monday, from July 7 until September 22. The gigs consisted of sets in the style of his In Search of Sunrise series. In 2007, he had released In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza which was inspired by the island.^[36]

Tiësto at the O₂ Arena in London on August 8, 2008

On April 28, Tiësto released Elements of Life: Remixed, a recompilation of the Elements of Life album with all songs being replaced by remixed versions.^[37] In mid-2008, Tiësto announced his In Search of Sunrise: Summer Tour 2008, which will be presented by Armani Exchange on May in support of his upcoming In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia compilation^[38] and the previously released In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza. On August 8, 2008, Tiësto became the first DJ to perform at the famous O₂ Arena in London as part of his In Search of Sunrise 7 summer tour, the event was sold out^{[citation needed]} with a capacity of 20,000 people.

Tiësto performing on Queen's Day on April 30, 2009 at Museumplein in Amsterdam

A sole production was prepared for Tiësto from June 8 to September 21 for his return at club Privilege for the second year in a row on Monday nights, after a successful year as a resident in 2008.^{[citation needed]} During his time at Privilege he previewed tracks from his upcoming artist album. InTheBooth, the official members-only fansite of Tiësto launched July 17, 2009.^[39] On July 31, he was the first DJ to perform for 25,000 people at an exclusive outdoor concert in Victoria Park, London.^[40]

[edit] Kaleidoscope era (2009–present)

On October 6, 2009, Tiësto released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope, which featured artists such as Priscilla Ahn, Calvin Harris, Tegan & Sara and Nelly Furtado. Unlike his earlier albums, which were all mostly trance, Kaleidoscope explores other electronic genres, and is considered Tiesto's most experimental album. The first single "I Will Be Here" featuring Sneaky Sound System being released in July 2009.^[41][42][43] In its first week, the album reached the Top 10 chart on iTunes.^[44]

To release the album he has set up a new record label called Musical Freedom after parting ways with Black Hole Recordings. Tiësto felt that his music was evolving in a new direction and his focus as an artist was moving away from what Black Hole was set up to support.^[45] His new tour, sharing the name of his new album, called Kaleidoscope World Tour commenced in late September.^[46]

Tiësto contributed songs to both DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 video games and is a playable character in the second game.^[47][48] He contributed two exclusive mixes to the second game, and used content from DJ Hero 2 to create the official video for his single 'Speed Rail' - the world's first music video to be created entirely using in-game footage.^[49]

Tiësto has produced a trance-flavoured song on Memphis rap duo Three 6 Mafia's upcoming album Laws of Power called "Feel It," which features Flo Rida and Sean Kingston.^[50]

On March 16, 2010, Tiësto released his greatest hits album called Magikal Journey: The Hits Collection 1998–2008, a two disc album focusing on his most famous songs and remixes of his songs.

On April 7, 2010, Tiësto announced that he would start a new compilation series called A New Dawn with his own label Musical Freedom. In his interview Tiësto furthermore confirmed that he would no longer have any more involvement with Black Hole Recordings.^[51]

On August 31, 2010, Kaleidoscope: Remixed was released, a remix album of his album Kaleidoscope.

On December 11, 2010, Tiësto was one of the headlining acts at ZoukOut 2010,^[52] which was held in Singapore at Siloso Beach, Sentosa Island.

Present[link]

On April 4, 2011, his mix compilation Club Life: Volume One Las Vegas was released.^[53][54]

On June 13, his studio album Kiss From The Past was released under his alias Allure. It was released on Tiësto's own label Magik Muzik. The album featured artists such as Christian Burns, JES, and Emma Hewitt.^[55]

On August 15, his single Work Hard, Play Hard was released.

On September 5, his single Maximal Crazy was released on Beatport. Tiësto uses this song for the end of his sets.^{[citation needed]}

On March 5, 2012, Tiësto announced the second installment of his Club Life series, Club Life: Volume Two Miami. It will be released on April 24.^[56]

In The Booth Series[link]

In The Booth is a YouTube series that started on January 18, 2012. It's starred by Tiësto and is a behind-the-scene series about some of the gigs and travels of Tiesto and his tour friends around the world. One new episode is released every Tuesday on his YouTube channel.^[57]

Philanthropy[link]

On January 6, 2005, Tiësto performed in an outdoor fundraiser in De Dam, Amsterdam. The event was free, and many famous Dutch artists like Dinand Woesthoff, BLØF, Acda & De Munnik, Di-rect, Berget Lewis, Xander de Buisonjé and Trijntje Oosterhuis were involved in it to provide financial aid to the people who suffered from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Southern and Southeastern Asia. All profits made of all TV commercials and live broadcast were given to the organisations collecting the relief funds.^[15][58]

In April 2006, Tiësto was named the official worldwide ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS, as the foundation's ambassador he has helped the organisation with fundraising along with recording the track "Dance4life" that he recorded with Maxi Jazz from Faithless. The foundation consists on a better way of living with safe sex in exchange of entertainment to the young crowd.^[59] The song was a huge success, peaking for five weeks in number 3 and eleven consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the Dutch Singles Chart, it also reached number 5 in Belgium, number 6 in Finland and also charting in the UK and Germany. With the successful release of Elements of Life, Tiësto and fashion designer Giorgio Armani collaborated on a limited edition Tiësto T-shirt available at Armani Exchange stores. His single "Sweet Things" comes with the shirt including an exclusive "A|X Remix" by Tom Cloud which shows the great influence Tiësto has in fashion culture.^[60] The charity raised over US$300,000.^[38] On November 29, 2008 artists like Tiësto himself, Sied van Riel, Leon Bolier, Joop, and MC Gunner presented a concert at The Sand, Amsterdam promoted by Dance4Life, the sales from the event will go to the foundation to support next year's Schools4Life project.

Personal life[link]

Until early 2006, Tiësto was in a relationship with Dutch model Monique Spronk. On January 10, 2008, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf announced that Tiësto and his girlfriend Stacey Blokzijl were going to get married on October 10, 2008 in Cartagena, Colombia. He proposed to her in December 2007 while they were visiting Mauritius.^[61] Tiësto cancelled his wedding for October 10, because he claimed to have a busy schedule and too little time for the preparations.^[62] During Christmas 2008, Blokzijl broke off the engagement owing to the constant delays to their wedding.^[63]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• 2001 In My Memory (As DJ Tiësto)
• 2004 Just Be (As Tiësto)
• 2007 Elements of Life (As Tiësto)
• 2009 Kaleidoscope (As Tiësto)
• 2011 Kiss From The Past (As Allure)

Tours[link]

• 2002: Area2 Tour
• 2004: Just Be: Train Tour
• 2005: Tiësto In Concert: North America Tour 2005
• 2005: Central Eastern European Tour 2005
• 2006: In Search of Sunrise 5 Asia Tour
• 2007–2008: Elements of Life World Tour
• 2008: In Search of Sunrise: Summer Tour 2008
• 2009–2010: Kaleidoscope World Tour
• 2011: College Invasion Tour

See also[link]

• List of awards and nominations received by Tiësto
• Tiësto's Club Life

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Tiësto on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official website
• InTheBooth - official members-only fansite
• Tiësto at the Internet Movie Database
• Artist Site at Ultra Records

Major Lazer
Major Lazer performing at Sasquatch 2011
Background information
Genres	Dancehall, reggae fusion, reggae, hip hop, electro house, daggering
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Downton, Mad Decent, Interscope
Associated acts	Diplo, Switch
Members
Diplo
Past members
Switch

Major Lazer is a musical project by DJ/Producer Diplo. Formerly a collaboration along with DJ/Producer Switch, they parted ways in late 2011.

Background[link]

Switch (left) and Diplo are the producers behind Major Lazer.

Made up of DJs Diplo and Switch, the two were introduced after working with M.I.A.. The duo's first album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was released on June 16, 2009, on Downtown Records. It was recorded in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studios.^[1] Vocalists such as Santigold, Vybz Kartel, Ward 21, Busy Signal, Nina Sky, Amanda Blank, Mr. Vegas, Turbulence, Mapei, T.O.K, Prince Zimboo, Leftside and others contribute guest vocals to the album, as well as additional production from Afrojack and Crookers.^[2] This is the first release to come out of the label partnership between Downtown Records and Diplo's label Mad Decent.^[3] Major Lazer ended a US tour last summer.^[4] The album's first single was "Hold the Line", the video for which, directed by Ferry Gouw, was nominated for a MTV Video Award in the Breakthrough Video category. "Hold the Line" was also featured in the video game FIFA 10. The track "Zumbie" has a music video that features comedian Andy Milonakis.^[5] Music videos for the songs "Pon de Floor" and "Keep It Going Louder" were both directed by Eric Wareheim. Major Lazer performed at the Falls Music & Arts Festival (Lorne, Victoria, Australia) on the December 30, 2009, the Coachella Music Festival in April 2010^[6] they also performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July 2010 and the Sasquatch Music Festival on Monday May 30, 2011. Live visuals were created by Pomp&Clout. Major Lazer performed at the 2011 Outside Lands festival in San Francisco.

A mixtape with La Roux entitled "Lazerproof" was made available for free download on May 26.^[7] Diplo posted cover art on his Twitpic. It is the character Major Lazer in War Machine's silver suit, Elly Jackson of La Roux in the signature Iron Man suit, and Whiplash, the villain in the Iron Man 2 movie.

On June 20, 2010, the group released an EP titled "Lazers Never Die". It contained two new songs and three remixes, by Thom Yorke and others.

Major Lazer's live shows previously included hype man Skerrit Bwoy^[8] although Skerrit Bwoy left the group in 2012 to pursue religion.

Switch provided production for Beyoncé's "Run the World (Girls)", which sampled "Pon de Floor".

Switch has left the collaborative effort due to "creative differences" as claimed by Diplo. He departed in late 2011. Diplo is now the sole producer behind the project.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do (2009)
• TBA (2012)

EPs[link]

• Lazers Never Die (EP) (2010)
• Original Don (EP) (2011)

Mixtapes[link]

• Major Lazer Essential Mix (available as podcast) (2009)
• Lazerproof (with La Roux) (2010)
• Major Lazer Summer Mix (available as podcast) (2010)

Singles[link]

• "Hold The Line" (2009)
• "Zumbie" (2009)
• "Pon de Floor" ft Vybz Kartel (2009) 125 UK
• "Keep It Goin' Louder" (2009)
• "Jump Up" (2009)
• "Original Don" (2011)
• "Get Free" (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Major Lazer on Myspace
• Major Lazer on Twitter
• Major Lazer's channel on YouTube

"Pon de Floor" is a song by Major Lazer, a collaborative musical project composed of the American DJ Diplo and the British DJ Switch. The single was released in 2009 by Mad Decent and Downtown Records as the second single from Major Lazer's first studio album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do (2009). The duo wrote the song and produced it with Afrojack, while Vybz Kartel provided its vocals. "Pon de Floor" is a dancehall and funk carioca song and was positively received by music critics. It appeared on the charts in the United Kingdom in 2010, where it reached number 125. Eric Wareheim directed the music video for "Pon de Floor", which shows people dry humping, and incorporates daggering choreography. The song has been sampled in Chiddy Bang's "Shooter" (2009) and Beyoncé Knowles' "Run the World (Girls)" (2011).

Composition[link]

"Pon de Floor" was written and produced by Major Lazer, made up of Diplo and Switch. It features vocals from Vybz Kartel, and Afrojack provided additional production and mixed the song.^[1] "Pon de Floor" is a dancehall^[2] and funk carioca song.^[3] The song uses a rapid marching snare drums beat and synth riffs.^[4][5] Its hook is a chopped-up vocal line,^[6][7] and according to Josh Heller of Drowned in Sound Kartel's input is "laughing and occasionally shouting 'Major Lazer!'".^[8]

Reception[link]

John Bush of Allmusic lauded the production of "Pon de Floor" and named it a tour de force.^[9] NME's Pete Cashmore called the song "shitfacedly loopy",^[3] while Andy Freivogel from Dusted Magazine noted it as one of the best tracks from Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do.^[5] "Pon de Floor" is used during the video game DJ Hero 2.^[10] "Pon de Floor" entered the UK Singles Chart of 17 April 2010 at number 187.^[11] It later peaked at number 125.^[12]

Music video and live performance[link]

The music video for "Pon de Floor" was directed by Eric Wareheim, and shows people dry humping against a cartoon background depicting suburbia.^[13] It incorporates daggering choreography.^[14] Ted Maider from Consequence of Sound wrote "This song is already fucking whacked, but the video takes it to a whole other level ... 'Pon de Floor' seems equally as offensive as watching porn on hallucinogenic substances."^[15] Major Lazer performed "Pon de Floor" at the Go! music festival at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore in September 2010.^[16]

Cover versions[link]

"Pon de Floor" was sampled in Chiddy Bang's "Shooter", a song on his mini-mixtape, Air Swell (2010).^[17] In 2011, Beyoncé Knowles released "Run the World (Girls)", which contains a sample of "Pon de Floor".^[18] "Run the World" was produced by Switch and The-Dream, and co-produced by Knowles and Shea Taylor.^[18]

Track listing[link]

Release history[link]

References[link]