Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Tiësto is one of electronic music’s most influential tastemakers. After leaving trance behind to rebrand himself as a purveyor of big room house several years ago, the Dutch superstar DJ/producer has recognized the trend in favor of more sophisticated styles, and has kicked off his AFTR:HRS deep house label with BLR’s “Nungwi.”
The track is built around a melodic groove using chime-like synths reminiscent of Bonobo’s “Cirrus.” Where more traditional deep house follows a longer, more driving groove, “Nungwi” is built around percussive ebbs and flows that make it more accessible to the short attention spans of more mainstream music fans.
Once again, Tiësto has proven himself informed enough to identify emerging music trends and be among the first to capitalize on them. As the 2016 festival season unfolds, time will tell how his AFTR:HRS releases will be received, but so far, we’re feeling pretty optimistic about the DJ’s new venture.