It's been a long time coming for the legend Tiesto to come out with some new music since last year's smash "C'Mon" and Kaleidoscope: The Remixes album. Now the man is back in full force! This time teamed up with young Dutch house producer Hardwell for the new single titled "Zero 76". An interesting move for Tiesto to say the least. For those unfamiliar with Hardwell, he's one of the newer generation rising stars in the house realm. For being only 21 years old, the kid can bang with the best of them, having started his career at 13 years old! Wow! Being that young and having a long enough resume to team up with Tiesto for a track is nothing short of amazing. But back to the subject at hand... Take a listen:
Really really housey for Tiesto. This is truly Hardwell's style if you have listened to his previous productions. This could really be a Hardwell track all on its own if I didn't know any better. In all honesty, it's kind of hard to tell which parts are Tiesto's contributions. But if I were to put my money down, it would be the pitch bending synth that happens after the snare rolls and the parts leading up to it. That kind of big room trancey synth sound is a Tiesto trademark. While it is an undisputed progressive house track (beatport classified correctly this time!), it does have juuust a little taste of Tiesto's "Trouse" element. Overall, I think it is a really organized track. Everything kicks in at the right time, the layers sound great together, the mix is good, and has its good balance of uplifting and breaking it down. I don't necessarily think anything groundbreaking for either artist, but will be a staple in DJ sets for sure.
Looking deeper:
This is just another great track that will further launch the blossoming career of young producer Hardwell. Well played for him, however I feel like it marks the next step in a continued metamorphosis for the Tiesto. He has been long revered for his legend status and being a pioneer (if not "the" pioneer) in Dutch trance. Lately though, he has taken a BIG step away from all this by immersing himself more on the house side. Listen to his Club Life Podcast, listen to his recent singles (especially "C'Mon"), and take note of all the house acts that he brings on tour and plays with at festivals (house acts like Dada Life, Chuckie, Avicii); mainly house! Does that mean he's done with trance? I wouldn't necessarily think so, but I wouldn't hold your breath to hear another anthem like "Flight 643" anytime soon. I think it means he continuously wants to re-invent himself; which is a good thing. However, one has to understand that switching up the style means alienating some fanbase in exchange for new fans. It's unavoidable...I'm sure some of the trance loyalists that idolized Tiesto in the past might not be so enamored these days. It certainly happened with him moving more into a pop direction with his Kaleidoscope album, and has continued to do so with a continued direction into progressive house. Could this be the reason why he's taken a step down to #3 in the DJMag Top 100 poll? Most likely. "Trouse music all day" has been Tiesto's motto of late, and we can certainly see he is a man of his word. House music with trance elements: it's a perfect marriage.
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5 stars)
The song is available NOW exclusively at Beatport: http://beatport.com/s/r1neSb
~Mark
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