We Were There Again! Video interviews at Tomorrowland 2011. One of the most unforgettable experiences of this summer for more than 180,000 club goers was the massive 3 day festival ‘Tomorrowland’. It is already considered a phenomenon that grows each day, as more and more people search for information about it on the web, and I guess the tickets for 2012 edition will sell out in just as short a period of time. The question that is on everybody lips at the moment is ‘WHY is this festival so successful’, and in just a few years managed to become so popular and be the place that every DJ aspires to spin his tunes? The answer is obvious for everyone who has visited this festival already - and I have had the chance to be there twice.
First of all, there is the unique atmosphere because of the fantastic natural scenery of De Shorre recreational park, and the excellent decoration of the various stages with a certain theme, different for each year, and also the line-up which includes the hottest and most talked-about artists of the moment in the EDM scene. Second is the great attention that organisers pay to the security and safety of the visitor, based on high technology. Third, and most important, Tomorrowland is not just a festival, it is a whole experience because you have something to do from the very minute that you enter its doors.
We carry on publishing the interviews which we conducted at Tomorrowland 2011. Our next stop is the backstage at Trance Addict to meet with one of the fastest rising stars in the progressive Trance scene. He is the DJ and talented producer Sied van Riel! The Riel Deal: From the prolific electronic dance breeding ground that is The Netherlands, with close to overnight speed, in 2008 he landed. In that year alone he was tipped by Tiësto as “the hottest producer around”, by DJ Magazine as “the next big thing to hit trance” and took home Trackitdown.net’s Trance Award for the scene’s ‘Best New Face’. 12 lightning-fast months later he’d qualified all those early markers through a fleet of equatorially hot track releases, club-hypnotizing DJ performances and a ‘next-level’ remix ethic. In 2009 he played over 60 show-stopping sets (which included spinning at an incredible 7 world-class events in just 9 days). It was an achievement which culminated in him making his debut on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 2009 DJs chart. He’s the latest DJ to graduate to trance music’s ‘Van Clan’ hierarchy. He is Sied van Riel...
The Riel-eases: Following several notable ‘early years’ releases (including ‘Fearless’ on Subtraxx and the PVD-championed ‘MyDreams’ on Expedition), Van Riel started to beat a path to the dancefloor. In 2007 he was signed to Dutch super-label Spinnin’ Records; a move which bore immediate fruit through dancefloor bullets like ‘Changing Places’, ‘Sigh’ and ‘What You Want’. With the quality-control locked in place, his production career went supernova as ‘Contrasts’, ‘Minimal Symphony’, ‘One’/’Two’ & ‘Riel People Know’ brought mayhem to dancefloors throughout 2008. In August of that year the track ‘Rush’ was un-caged and marked not only a first release through Tiësto’s Black Hole Records but also Sied’s vital breakthrough record. Thrashed by Armin, Ferry Corsten, PVD and (naturally enough) Tiësto, its nu-skool tech-trance sound surged through the world’s festivals and arenas. The Liquid Recordings released ‘MME’ (which was part of the ‘Dedication EP’) & ‘Mongoosed’, and the Black Hole follow-up ‘Sunrise’ arrived in 2009, provoking similar floor-quaking upheaval.
The Riel Floor-Rocker: Sied cut his DJ teeth early in his career playing at events like Germany’s illustrious Love Parade and Tiësto’s round-the-world ‘ISOS’ Tour. FFWD three years and he is become a essential mainstay of festivals and arena events, which have included the goliath Netherlands Trance Energy, Armin’s country-hopping ASOT400, the 4-gig-long Trance Energy Australia tour, Gatecrasher’s 15th Birthday event, Planet Love and the legendary Crobar in Buenos Aires. Through far-sighted track selection, marksman-like mixing and an intrinsic ability to read crowds he has raced through the ranks of DJs. This rise was brought into the sharpest possible focus when Van Riel entered the DJ Magazine Top 100 Chart in 2009 at No.85.
In Riel Time: In late August of 2009 Sied released his first CD compilation. A double disc outing, ‘In Riel Time Vol.1’ became the ultimate at-home, in-car platform to experience the Van Riel sound. It proved a sales smash on Beatport and was made Album of the Month in Mixmag. The magazine noted that Sied had “rapidly gained in status over the last year” and that the album itself brought with it “one intense peak-time track after another”. In 2011 he brought you "Rielism". A brand new compilation series on Black Hole Recordings. The first one was released on May 4th.
Sied4Life: In late 2008 Sied became an official Dance4Life Ambassador. Donating tracks to the D4L albums and DJing at fund-raisers for the charity (which works to improves the lives of HIV and AIDS sufferers), he is a proud member of the charity’s team.
The Riel-Mixes: For the last 3 years Sied’s been lending the Riel touch to tracks from the worlds finest trance labels (including Armada, Black Hole, Spinnin’, Flashover and High Contrast). In that time he’s captured the minds of music lovers, re-touching tracks by luminaries like Armin van Buuren & Ferry Corsten, Cosmic Gate, and Offer Nissim.
The Rielism Radio Show: Following numerous radio appearances (inc. Ministry of Sound – UK, Sunshine Live Maximal, Germany &Radio 538 in The Netherlands), Sied launched his own radio show, Rielism in 2008.
His set at Tomorrowland was really explosive and you could sense the positive vibes all around, and the amount of raw energy that was radiated to all those who had the chance to be part of his banging set. It was big pleasure to meet him, and he was a pleasure to interview. We asked him about his set at Tomorrowland, his compilation Rielism at Black Hole, his forthcoming album, and the vocalists he is going to use. He tells us about his favourite software and hardware which he uses in his productions, and he tells us about the job he did before going full-time producing music, and DJ'ing all over the world. He confesses his favourite clubs around the world, and how he loves to go to the dance floor after he finishes the set, and have good time as a clubber. He is Sied van Riel.
Interview was conducted and edited by Dimitri Kechagias
Camera & Sound Engineering: Paul Aldridge - 1mix radio www.mix.co.uk
Many thanks to Debby Wilmsen, ID&T Belgium and Getinpr for giving us press accreditation to attend this fantastic once in a lifetime
experience.
Many thanks to Dan @ Armada Music (Sied van Riel manager) for all his amazing help.
The video interview is also published at 1mix radio web site, click here..
Additional info:
http://www.twitter.com/siedvanriel
http://www.flowd.com/hot/SiedvanRiel
http://www.youtube.com/siedvanriel
http://www.siedvanriel.com
