An inevitable result of an artist’s growth and experience in this industry is a journey through genres. Few have been longer in the game than Tiësto, real name Tijs Verwest, whose journey began in trance with his hits ‘Adagio for Strings’ and ‘Traffic’, and progressed into electro-house, big room and dance pop. Since his departure from his trance roots nearly a decade ago, fans have been calling for a return to his old style.
Through his mysterious Tweet last week, it seemed he had finally answered this calling with a brand new alias for what is not exactly trance, but what he describes as ‘melodic house music’. The eponymous alias, VER:WEST, was teased alongside a 15-second trailer of its debut single, ‘5 Seconds Before Sunrise’. Indubitably suggestive of his old classic trance tune, ‘Ten Seconds Before Sunrise’, its successor sees a release on Tiësto’s deep house label, AFTR:HRS, today.
The tune itself serves as a quintessential progressive production; it’s anchored on a bedrock of soothing kicks, and flaunts exquisite melodies overlaid on top of each other, fading in and out of the mix with incredible grace. The melodic riff will no doubt find its way into your head, making for the perfect debut release.
The VER:WEST project seems to have much more up its sleeve, starting with a debut live performance at this year’s online Tomorrowland Around The World. While Tiësto brings the house down on the Mainstage, his deeper side in VER:WEST will grace the Freedom stage on Saturday, July 25. It’s a performance that few will want to miss, for as Tiësto says, “Expect the unexpected”.
