DJ Tiesto Biography

Tijs Michiel Verwest (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛi̯s miˈxil vərˈʋɛst], better known by his stage name Tiësto (/tiˈɛstoʊ/ tee-es-toh; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈcɛstoː]), is a Dutch DJ and record producer.

Formerly known as DJ Tiësto, he is now known simply as "Tiësto".

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; the two have worked together extensively since then.

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. The title track is a remix of an original song written by and featuring Nicola Hitchcock. This album gave him several major hits that launched his career. He was voted World No. 1 DJ by DJ Magazine in its annual Top 100 DJs readership poll consecutively for three years from 2002–04.

Just after releasing his second studio album Just Be he performed live at the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Athens, the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympics. In April 2007 Tiësto launched 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 Belgian album chart as well on "Billboard Top Electronic Albums" in the U.S. and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008. Tiësto released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope in October 2009, followed by "A Town Called Paradise" in 2014. He won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remixed version of John Legend's hit "All Of Me" at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.

Headed by legendary producer and Grammy winner, Tiësto, Musical Freedom Records has been the hub for emerging talent for the last six years. Created in 2009, the imprint has been responsible for discovering many new talents early on in their careers. Hand picked by Tiësto himself, the label has had releases from some of EDM's biggest stars including Hardwell, Diplo, DVBBS, Martin Garrix, and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Some of Musical Freedom's most iconic releases include Quintino & Sandro Silva's "Epic", which jump-started the popularity of EDM in mainstream music as well as the release of Oliver Hendens' "Gecko (song)", which is responsible for kicking off the widely popular future house sound. In addition to singles, the label also hosts a radio show that invites artists to showcase their own 'musical freedom' in an hour-long set going guests the opportunity to step outside the box of what they might typically play live.