“Vibe Zoo” Exclusive – Tiësto

Every week leading up to Electric Zoo 2012, VIBE will introduce you to a banger-producing-party inducing DJ that will make Randalls Island shake like a polaroid picture on speed come Labor Day Weekend. This week on the decks, is an extended Q&A with Tiësto.

Did you have any hip-hop influences growing up?
I didn't to be honest. I grew up with dance music, as hip-hop was not big in my country.

Tell me about Boys Will Be Boys. The 3 tracks you released were a major success on Beatport and in the clubs.
Boys Will Be Boys is actually just Angger Dimas and me. I think it’s a great story how things worked out after we started talking online. I didn’t even realize at first, but Angger was in Indonesia. We exchanged messages like, “I like your tracks,” and eventually I got to meet him when I was in Thailand. We created “We Rock” in a hotel room. There weren’t really any goals at first, we just liked each other’s music and the decision to collaborate came naturally.

What can we look forward to from your new Guess line?
I'm really excited about the new line, it is a really strong collection of men's and women's items, including tees, jackets and jeans. They look awesome! I worked really closely with the great design team over at Guess, it was a really collaborative process and I love the way they've turned out. Fingers crossed my fans will too!

As EDM continues to flourish, mainstream artists such as Chris Brown, Rihanna and Pitbull are constantly teaming up with big room house producers such as Calvin Harris, David Guetta and yourself. How do you feel about this? Is it more of a ‘pop’ house music sound?
I think that it is important that dance music evolves, drawing inspiration from different areas whether inside dance music or from other areas of music. I think that these producers adopting elements from dance music has had a huge impact on the popularity of dance music in the US. It has allowed it to be on the mainstream radio, really boosting public awareness.

You have been around for so many years in electronic music and that being said you most certainly have a good ear for good music and good talent. Who do you think will continue to carry the torch for EDM in the future? Who are some up and comers you think will be bursting through in no time?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the kind of talent coming through that there is right now, it is amazing, particularly with young producers emerging. There are many that have come a long way in a really short time and will no doubt be huge part of the future of the genre. I’ve been working on some tracks with Tommy Trash who is no doubt one of the fastest rising stars. Elsewhere there are lots of great producers coming out of my country – Holland. Guys like Hardwell are super talented and have a huge future.

Finish this sentence..."Electric Zoo is a festival that..."
I look forward to every summer! It is one of the highlights of the year without a doubt and I love playing in New York.