It's no surprise that Dutch DJ demi-god Tiesto again headlines Ultra Music Festival this Friday. For him, it's now a yearly ritual. "It's actually the only festival in the world I can play every year. All the DJs over the world come together to go to Miami that week, so it's not just a festival that's only for people in Miami," he says by phone from Iceland before a recent gig. "It's like a showcase almost for everybody to show that's going to happen in the next year."
This time around, though, he does come with a more locally oriented release to promote: the latest installment in his Club Life mix series, this one dedicated to Miami. As opposed to Tiesto's recent artist albums, which have found him relying on more song-based, vocal fare, this mix is purely for the dance floor, and more specifically, for a club vibe that's relatively intimate for this frequent stadium spinner.
"The Club Life concept is about journeys in the club. The first one was about Las Vegas, which has a very strong club culture. I spend a lot of time in Miami and go to all the clubs there. I always play at LIV, which is an amazing club," he says. "The club album is warmer and sexier than a stadium sound."
Still, it's playing for massive crowds like the ones at Ultra, or the recent 26,000-strong throng for which he played at L.A.'s Staples Center, that gets Tiesto the most fired up. "You just can't compare the two experiences. If I play in a club, it's an amazing vibe, but it's a totally different story from playing a festival," he says. "I just really like to play for a lot of people. It's fun to play for tens of thousands of people!"
Tiesto. Friday, March 23 at Ultra Music Festival. Bayfront Park, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Sold out. Click here.
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