Tiësto endorses bass house with Jauz collaboration, ‘Infected’
Over Tiësto’s decades-long career, the Dutch producer has received mixed feedback for his perennially-evolving style. While many fans laud Tiësto for adopting the trends of growing genres into his own style and supporting aspiring artists, many others consider him to be “selling out” from his trance roots by leapfrogging from bandwagon to bandwagon. Regardless of how his career trajectory is perceived, it’s objectively true that Tiësto is a trend-follower, but also a tastemaker with a vast platform and degree of experience. When the veteran DJ sees value in a burgeoning genre, he hops onboard by collaborating with the genre’s most pivotal artists.
EDC Las Vegas 2016 indicated that Tiësto’s latest leanings trend toward bass music. In addition to trolling EDC’s audience by “revealing” himself to be Marshmello during a staged unmasking, Tiësto joined Jauz onstage to reveal their new collaboration, “Infected.”
Now available for free download via Tiësto’s Musical Freedom imprint, “Infected” is certainly a departure from Tiësto’s prior releases. Centered around around virulent LFO synthesis and thunderous percussion, Tiësto’s influence is clear in the bridge between the first and second drops of the song, but not very apparent elsewhere. Progressing from bass house to dubstep-inspired broken beats, “Infected” plays like a signature Jauz original, leading many listeners to question how much involvement Tiësto had in the song’s production.
Regardless of this question, “Infected” is a strong collaboration, and Tiësto’s endorsement of bass music is a symbiotic relationship. While Tiësto has expanded his relevance to a new fanbase with his EDC appearances and Jauz collaboration, he also has lent a vast amount of exposure to both Jauz and Marshmello in doing so. Lastly, Sam Vogel is also certainly not disappointed that he can add Musical Freedom to his résumé of supporting imprints.
Categories: Music