Tiesto: Kaleidoscope (Album Review)

by Bradley Stern
filed under: Album Review, Bloc Party, Calvin Harris, Cary Brothers, Emily Haines, Jónsi Birgisson, Ladytron, Nelly Furtado, Sigur Rós, Sneaky Sound System, Tegan And Sara, Tiesto, Tilly And The Wall

Tiestokaleidoscope 300x300 Tiesto: Kaleidoscope (Album Review)

Arguably one of the world’s greatest trance DJs, Dutch producer Tiesto has continued to redefine the boundaries of trance music with his signature emotive style and arena-ready sound for over fifteen years.

For his fourth major studio release Kaleidoscope, the premiere producer of trance sought some of the music scene’s most dynamic characters, ranging from global superstars (Calvin Harris, Sneaky Sound System, Nelly Furtado) to an assortment of lesser known, left-of-center acts (Tegan & Sara, Bloc Party‘s Kele Okereke, Sigur Ros‘ Jonsi) The result? A powerhouse collection of single-worthy uptempos bursting with indie cred and trance appeal, appealing to both the body and soul.

One standout involves Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, who had her first taste of dance with her 2006 album, Loose. Replace the generic Timbaland-produced beats of that album with a flurry of glittering, electro-encrusted pulsations, and you’ve got “Who Wants To Be Alone,” a devastatingly addictive dancefloor haunt guaranteed to delight on repeat time and time again.

Other winners include Emily Haines‘ turn on the storming “Knock You Out,” which plays like Ladytron on E, the warm synth pulsations of the Cary Brothers-assisted “Here On Earth,” and “You Are My Diamond,” a throwback to the days of pure, ‘90’s pulsating bliss. The track is made all the better thanks to a shamelessly celebratory, sugary sweet delivery from Kianna Alarid, known best as the lead singer of Tilly and the Wall.

“Feel It in My Bones,” featuring indie darlings Tegan & Sara is perhaps the album’s greatest track, and undoubtedly the epitome of the album’s intentions. As Tiesto’s cool, calculated trance vibrations shudder underneath, Tegan & Sara’s smart-pop sensibility lift the track and create something new; the result becoming a celebration of the art of collaboration.

Simply speaking, there’s not a bad track in the bunch–at least in terms of the vocal offerings. The album’s only drawback can be found in its five instrumental tracks, included as a kind of overcompensating injection of Tiesto trance, lest we somehow forget who’s in charge behind the scenes of all of these guest spots. Sadly, they do little for the album here, aside from providing long, unnecessary breaks between the meat of the album. Skip them, and you’ve got one hell of a solid set.

Kaleidoscope is unlike anything Tiesto has done before (and surely nothing its guests have recorded). In spite of what could have been a risky undertaking (whether or not devoted fans of each genre will come to embrace this album remains to be seen), Tiesto’s fifth studio album is nothing short of excellence–allowing indie music the pulse it never knew it needed and dance music the lyrical sophistication it has so stubbornly ignored. Hearing the two genres come together? Well, that’s why this is nothing short of a musical dream come true.

Kaleidoscope will be released on October 20.

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  • ivo

    this is a horrible album.

  • Kenny

    This is NOT TIESTO! I felt it was more his Producers telling him to go a different route! I’d say…FIRE their asses. I love Tiesto but he should have never changed or listened to whoever suggested this new album. Remember- he can’t forget what got him to the top in the beginning & that’s TRANCE! Maybe, he’s trying to hit a broader- different demographic but if he’s going that direction then he’s going to lose a big percentage of fans while gaining I’m sure a big percentage of different fans going this route. So basically, it’s about even if you ask me. What I’m trying to say is..I HATE HIP-HOP and what California thinks of as good music, trust me it isn’t. To sum it up..I want to listen to something that’s going to take me out of this world & that’s TIESTO ISOS!

  • Jorge Contreras

    Hey man, come on, we all know that you are better than that, wea ll wanna hear the old you, not this commercial crap, so please, come back with your cool stuff, this album its really bad, really, i am sorry but the truth is not always nice!!!

  • Global Anon

    I am flabbergasted by all the comments by some of the more negative of the ‘fans’ on this page.

    Tiesto in my mind is and ALWAYS has been the Worlds Number One DJ. This album further proves why.

    I agree totally with Baber. His old stuff is great, his new stuff is amazing and I cant wait to see what he comes up with next in future, for as much as we love the music of genius. We will miss them even more when they are gone.

    So stop bitchin’ and enjoy the F’in awesome ride!

  • Jason Chak

    For people who know what Tiesto can do, the brilliance of the In Search of Sunrise series, the brilliance of his past albums and the brilliance of his remixing, this album will be a cheesy, crappy commecial radio poor excuse for an album. It actually made me really sad to listen to the album. This is not Tiesto, he has be repossessed by commercial radio!
    I hope his concert next week will still be like the other 4 Tiesto concerts I have been to and not be filled with commercial crap like this album.
    What happened Tiesto… are you just trying to make money instead of music?
    The reviewer is obviously not a Tiesto fan.

  • Eugene Bartsaikin

    I think the new step was a good one, imo its what his music was missing. I could never include his music in shuffles of different artists because each track didn’t have a beginning and a start. The beginning was track one, and the end was the final track. It was amazing to listen to it and hear how wonderfully it flowed from one to another, but he has fulfilled that gap.

    Those who are dissappointed have a right to be, this isnt genuine tiesto music, but tiesto has come a step forward so open up your minds and enjoy his music!!

    Great album, love it =)
    From Russia, with love

  • Anonymous

    I miss his tastefulness of music.
    He supported unknown artists with great talents in the Trance scene.
    Now he makes Hip Hop more or less.
    This really is commercial crap like David Guetta or someone else and not Tiesto.
    I do want back the ISOS- times.

    Greez from Germany

  • http://www.rgrew.com Ed

    ISOS 8 will be mixed by Richard Durand. ISOS truly rocked… Bye Tijs.

  • Zeus

    When I first listened to this album, I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. I felt the vocals were very cheesy, the sounds were not the greatest, and the structure of most of these songs were pretty dull. But, that is because I am a huge TRANCE fan. Yes, he is a trance DJ, but let him explore and try new things out. If you keep making the same stuff, you will never know what else could be out there. If any of you guys listened to his earlier works, you would be disgusted and not even know it was tiesto! And, the reason why all of you see this album negatively is because, like me, you are all dedicated trance fans. This album was obviously dedicated towards hiphop enthusiasts. He is exploring, trying a new style out, and will adapt what he learns from his achievements and add them to his belt. In fact, this “crappy” album may just as well help us trance fans. If you think of it, many hiphop lovers would listen to this, love it, then listen to more of tiestos songs (his knockout trance tunes). Converting them all with the trance goodness that we know rules the world!

    So let him try these new styles out, yes, it may not be what you like, but others do. Dont count tiesto out, hes doing what hes always been doing, which is exploring and using what he finds in his top tunes!

  • BB

    Being a great fan of Tiesto, i was pretty disappointed with this album. As some of you mentioned, ‘you must adapt to new music and old trance is finished’, well i agree and disagree. Tiesto is known and rose to fame because of his trance music. He should stick to his music and always be creative and come up with new songs but not a complete different ‘tiesto’. I think this album is more commercial and thats why people don’t like it. I believe fans, (like me) expected new songs like, 10 seconds before sunrise, elements of life, traffic, flight 643, barabers abagio, and all his famous hits..
    His still one of the top Dj’s in the world. Hope his next album is better..

  • Anonymous

    Reviewer was spot on with the review…
    Did it sound like old Tiesto: no
    Was it still intricate and progressive: yes
    I dug a number of different songs on the album, not every song was worth listening to but Fresh Fruit, Century, and Louder then Boot were examples of Tiesto’s genius. You have to remember Tiestos been at this game for a long time and its only natural for him to experiment with different styles of trance. When an artist has mastered a style its only natural for them to move onto more progressive styles of art. He can only get better with time :D

  • http://- Davey J

    This album was SHIT, i love good ol’ days of ISOS 5,6 and 7 and his tracks with Jes and Julie Thompson, but now the best vocal trance would have to be stuff by John o’Callaghan, George Acosta, Richard Durand (ISOS8 S,A) strongly recomend these artists.

  • Danielle DiMarco

    This author, like many who are reviewing Tiesto’s Kaleidoscope album, are obiviously unaware what true trance sounds like. Tiesto signed up for studio albums, therefore, he is going to produce a lot of tracks that are more palatable to the general public. I started listening to Tiesto in 2000 when I picked up his first ISOS cd in Amsterdam. I just listened to it again yesterday & that is what I call brilliance. To suggest that Kaleidoscope is “nothing short of excellence” is a pathetic statement, but then again, I am SURE the author did not bother to listen to his ISOS collections to realize, THOSE are brilliant. I am going to his show on Friday night and I have a feeling I will not be wowed like I once was, but when an artist decides to go mainstream, we have to remember from where they came & appreciate their music from before. I will always love Tiesto because he is the artist that opened my eyes to a new and fresh genre that opened the door for so many others out there. Thank you Tiesto for paving the way, but I cannot say I won’t miss your old sound. I hope you bring it back real soon.

  • Sean_from_CO

    Why Tiesto? Why? He might be trying to include & introduce his music to another crowd…but it’s horrible for true fans of his real sound. The sound that made me fall in love with trance in the first place. Pure, melodic, emotional music that took you on a journey. And he wonders why he lost his #1 dj rating. Cause you frikken drifted away from trance. Take a lesson from Armin or Above & Beyond, and stay true to trance. I’m still going to your show, in hope that you will play a little of the sound that made you Tiesto…:(.

  • adrenalin

    dude armin van buuren sure owns ur ass right now…in the past it was u number 1 end of story…but now its a whole different story. i’m very disappointed with this album and it was nothing like the tiesto we all love. there are just a few tracks in this album that are worth listening to, and kaleidoscope track would have been superb if you made it with less vocals and more music. when the music starts it gives me goose bumps, but i have to wait till 5.22 to get those goose bumps. from the moment it starts till 5.22 im just like borinngggggg coz the woman is just moaning…..plz tiesto hope ur next album is much much much better….anxiously waiting.

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