Tiësto wins ‘Best International DJ’ at the Dancestar Electronic Music Awards Miami USA.

Tijs Michiel Verwest, OON (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛi̯s miˈxil vərˈʋɛst]; born 17 January 1969),^[1] known as Tiësto (pronounced [tiɛsto]), is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. 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”,^[2] an alias which is a twist of his childhood nickname.^[3]

In 1997, he founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series. In 1999 and 2000 he 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 was named “World’s No.1 DJ” 3 consecutive times by DJ Magazine from 2002 through 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 titled 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.^[4] Tiësto released his fourth studio album called Kaleidoscope in October 2009.

Sandra Collins wins ‘Best DJ’ at the Dancestar Electronic Music Awards in Miami USA.

Before I started spinning, I went on the dancefloor and watched everyone. They were all smiling and happy. It was almost like everyone’ inner child was coming out. And I thought ‘Wow… this is what I wanna do. I want to create this.’” Sandra Collins (Sweater, 1997)

Put simply, Sandra Collins is one of the US’ finest Progressive House and Trance DJs. Dubbed “The Trance Goddess”, Sandra has captured the imaginations of dance floors around the globe with her driving beats, hypnotic grooves and mesmerizing melodies. Her rare ability to combine a powerful groove for the body and an elevating journey for the mind continues to win the loyalty of fans throughout the world and looks set to make her one of the biggest names in global dance music today.

Sandra’ ability to inspire the crowd stems back to her early years. Born into a famous Las Vegas show business family, Sandra is no stranger to the spotlight. She began DJing in Phoenix in 1989 and demonstrated a rare flair for working the dance floor. Her talent was soon recognized in the underground scene and her name became synonymous with ground breaking parties including the historic New York “Storm” raves with Frankie Bones and The Fifth Column with Josh Wink in 1992.

Sandra’ relentless passion for dance culture led her to Los Angeles in 1992. Here, she again proved herself as one of the originators of the underground sound with three year residencies at LA’ legendary “King” and “Sketchpad” afterhours. During this time, Sandra was a regular guest DJ on Powetools 106FM, as well as helping to set up the first US office for the German Trance label Eye Q – Harthouse. From 1995 to 1998, Sandra also held a three year residency at LA’ most popular weekly “Metropolis” alongside Doc Martin and former partner in crime Taylor. It was here that Sandra befriended Sasha and played alongside greats such as Carl Cox, Chemical Brothers, Paul van Dyk and Orbital… just to name a few. Sandra’ popularity continued to soar over the years as she DJed to enthusiastic audiences across the US and overseas. Whether doing international tours of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, or headlining the US Electric Highway Tour with the Fluke and the Crystal Method, Sandra was more in demand than ever before. Having DJed in a Coca-Cola commercial and graced the cover of ‘XLR8R’ magazine, she has also been featured in Urb, Option, Jump, BPM, Sweater, Mixmag, UHF and Fix magazines.

In addition to extensive touring, Sandra found time to record her first mixed CD “Lost in Time” on Fragrant Music in 1997. Described by Option magazine as “A beautiful sensual journey through the realms of hard house and trance by one of America’ best known DJs”, the CD continues to receive rave reviews throughout the US and was grounds for her nomination as “Outstanding Electronica Artist” in California’ BAMMIE Awards and “Best Trance DJ” in the forthcoming 1998 Global DJ Awards. Continuing her growth as an artist, Sandra has also begun recording her own tracks. Her spectacular first release, “Ode to Our” b/w “Red” through Fragrant sold out in Europe and the US in one day and was named Trance Release of the Month in XLR8R magazine.

With fervor continuing to grow about Sandra’ scorching sets, she was invited to move to New York and take up a residency at the prestigious Twilo in early 1998. It is here, alongside fellow residents Sasha & Digweed, Paul van Dyk and Carl Cox that Sandra Collins has firmly entered the upper echelon of international DJs… where she is destined to become a key player in the global dance scene due to her profoundly positive attitude, driving creative force and monumental sets. Sandra’ popularity continued to soar over the years as she DJed to enthusiastic audiences across the US and overseas. Whether doing international tours of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, or headlining the US Electric Highway Tour with the Fluke and the Crystal Method, Sandra was more in demand than ever before.

Sandra has become an ambassador for American trance, she landed on the covers and pages of every major U.S. dance music magazine, as well as in magazines like Spin, Gear, Urb, Option, Jump, BPM, Sweater, Mixmag, UHF and Fix

Continuing her growth as an artist, Sandra has also begun recording her own tracks. Her spectacular first release, “Ode to Our” b/w “Red” through Fragrant sold out in Europe and the US in one day and was named “Trance Release of the Month” in XLR8R magazine.

Other nominations

“Outstanding Electronica Artist” – BAMMIE Awards California

“Best Trance DJ” – Global DJ Awards

“Best Female Artist” – URB Magazine

Her ability to be both a crowd-pleaser and connect emotionally with her audience won her the daunting opening night slot at Woodstock ’99. Spinning after Moby, she admirably held her own with a six hour set in front of the 80,000 mostly-neophyte dance music fans, and by the end of her set had by all published accounts won them over.

Now with residencies at Chicago’ “Crobar” and Las Vegas “Utopia”, Sandra is one of the progressive dance music’ most in-demand DJs, travelling to raves and clubs across the country and around the world, from Little Rock to Lima, Peru and now finally Finland.

Now with Tranceport 3, Sandra marks the first time an American (and woman) has been behind the decks for the genre-defining trance series. Following up the global trance introduction of Paul Oakenfold’ Tranceport 1, and the deep, end-of-the-night vibe of Dave Ralph’ Tranceport 2, Sandra’ installment turns up the emotions and lets the melodies and beats pulse with a vibrance that’ somehow both introspective and anthemic.

Tranceport 3 is, like her life, a journey to places both brightly familiar and darkly exciting, mapped out by progressive underground anthems and new tracks of her own that point to the future of trance, in America and the world. The journey, as always, is as much ours as it is hers.

Sanda Kleinenberg wins ‘Best Remix’ at the Dancestar Electronic Music Awards Miami USA.

Kleinenberg is not only an artist who declines to stick to a single, easily defined sound, he also utilizes more than one medium to create a night out. Long at the forefront of integrating video imagery and other visuals in his DVJ sets, Sander includes Pioneer among his sponsors for these innovative performances. The manufacturer has been involved with outfitting select clubs around the world with the SVM-1000 audio-visual mixer (which Kleinenberg helped develop), DVJ players, plasma televisions, and other custom video installations exclusively for his performances.
Integrating music and images single-handedly requires sharpened skills and on-the-fly invention. “Now, in the process of DJing, I am in control of another dimensions. The thought processes are not just about music; there is a visual element as well.” Which allows his to shape his identity, and stimulate crowds, in a host of fresh ways. “This is a whole new way of looking at what you do creatively. In the end, that is very challenging. It makes you more versatile as well. I love keeping on my toes.”
Sander will continue to show off his aesthetic flexibility at residencies around the world during the course of the year, including Pacha in Ibiza, Avalon in Los Angeles, Discoteque in Moscow, and Melkweg in Amsterdam. Each of these gigs affords him unique creative opportunities; the exclusivity and luxury of Pacha elicits different impulses from him than the storied, historic Avalon, pristine sound quality of Discoteque, or the iconic pop temple status of Melkweg for example. Which is how he likes it. “Residencies are like laboratories: You can go in and experiment. As you get to know the sound system and the clientele, and become comfortable, you have more faith in each potential change of direction.”

The year 2011 will be the year of the release of Sander Kleinenberg’s debut album ’5K’.
This is what Sander has to say himself about the album:

”I’m sure the listener will find the ambivalence between the DJ in me trying to make a soundtrack for Saturday night and the writer in me trying to write a substantial song with more depth to it.” Sander explains, “The internal battle bothered me for a long time and it’s obvious that I’ve been struggling to chose sides. As a matter of fact I’m still not sure but simply had to move forward. I noticeably tried to marry the two on this album and in my humble opinion succeeded, which resulted in this exciting ‘5K’ studio album on which I’ve been working for the past year and a half. It’s been great working with such a variety of extremely talented people in order to make this happen.”

Those “extremely talented people” include British jazz singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum, an artist whose involvement in Sander’s album may well turn some heads. In fact, it represents exactly what Sander wanted to achieve with his LP and in-turn Jamie admits “I’ve watched Sander for many years from the dancefloor as a fan, so it was an absolute dream come true to work with him! He’s an amazing producer to work with.”

Across 5K you not only get a true account of all the sounds that are currently exciting Sander, but you get all the experience and wisdom that a 20-year DJ career has brought, This really Is Sander Kleinenberg. Starting with a nod towards his first love of De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest, ‘This Love’ featuring Ace Reign opens the album in style with a high-energy rap of the highest quality. Flowing smoothly into ‘Remember When’ (the Jamie Cullem single) and then into ‘Follow Me’, Sander quickly sets his stool out that this is not an album consisting of 10 instrumental dancefloor bangers, in fact, despite it’s very danceable sound it’s quite the opposite, packed full of character and radio-appeal.

Another point worth noting is the flow that Sander’s achieved on 5K, deliberately choosing not to use gaps between each track, the album (although not seamlessly beat matched) builds in a way not too dissimilar to a DJ set. With the opening three tracks sucking you in, Sander then drops ‘The Healer’ – a straight up four to the floor banger – into ‘The Journey’ featuring Kraak & Smaak and Ursula Rucker – a classic Moroder-like analogue-synth journey – and then the huge summer club anthem ‘M.A.N.I.A.C.’ – the biggest dancefloor-focused track on the album.

From there Sander diversifies again, drawing on his love of epic rock, ‘Closer’ featuring Neil Ormandy could easily be mistaken for U2 or The Killers. Followed by Sander’s “attempt at being French”, the 80’s-inspired vocodered ‘R.Y.A.N.L.’ (Rock you all night long) and then into ‘Disko Riot’ ft Jon Fugler, which is, in Sander’s own words “a techno protest song written strongly to stand up against what the world of money has done to us all – how bankers obsessed with wealth have fucked us all over… and still do.”

‘Chemically’ featuring Ryan Starr is strongly influenced by The Prodigy, with rave breaks providing the backdrop to Ryan’s perfectly suited vocals – a real standout on the album. With the brilliant Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee, providing his services for an almost dubstep reprise with ‘This Love’, the album then draws to a close with ‘Wish I Said’ featuring Miss Montreal – a deeply personally song dedicated to Sander’s mother and all the things he wanted to say to her before she passed away.

It’s an emotional end to a very personal album. An album that’s been developed and worked on for a lot longer than most, we only hope that the follow up is not too far in the future. You already knew Sander Kleinenberg the DJ, you now know Sander Kleinenberg the artist.

Paul Oakenfold wins ‘Best Compilation’ at the Dancestar Electronic Music Awards Miami USA.