After completing his first residency at [UNVRS] Ibiza, Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto has reflected on his return to the island, the transformation of Ibiza's club scene and the changing relationship between technology and electronic music.

In a new interview, the global dance music star described his five-date Monday residency at [UNVRS] as an emotional return to his roots, particularly because the venue occupies the site historically associated with Privilege, where he performed during an earlier stage of his career.

The residency ran every Monday from August 3 to August 31, 2026, marking Tiësto's return to Ibiza with a programme built around his evolving relationship with trance, progressive and melodic electronic music.

A Return to His Ibiza Roots

Tiësto's connection with Ibiza stretches back decades.

The DJ previously held residencies at some of the island's most influential venues, including Privilege and Pacha, and has experienced several different eras of Ibiza nightlife.

Returning in 2026 meant stepping into a very different club environment.

For Tiësto, the connection to his past was particularly strong because [UNVRS] is located at the former Privilege site.

He described the experience as emotional and said that the residency felt like a return to his roots.

The club itself, however, represents a completely different generation of nightlife technology and production.

"UNVRS Is on Another Level"

Tiësto made a clear distinction between the old Privilege and the new [UNVRS].

While the former venue played an important role in his career, he described [UNVRS] as operating on another level.

The new club has been designed around large-scale audiovisual production, advanced lighting and sound systems, and a format that combines the traditional energy of a nightclub with the immersive production associated with contemporary entertainment.

For Tiësto, that technological evolution does not necessarily mean that something important has been lost.

He says the atmosphere remains fundamentally about people dancing.

Technology Has Changed the Club Experience

The DJ does not share the concern that modern clubs have become too dependent on technology.

Instead, he believes advances in sound, lighting and production have made the experience better for audiences.

He pointed to cleaner sound and higher production quality as positive developments.

But for the DJ behind the decks, much of that technology is effectively invisible.

Tiësto explained that he does not spend his time watching the visuals or lighting effects while performing.

His focus remains on the audience and the music.

His role, as he sees it, is straightforward: make people happy.

The Smartphone Question

One of the biggest differences Tiësto has noticed between his early Ibiza years and today's club culture is the presence of smartphones.

When he performed at Privilege and Pacha in earlier decades, audiences were generally focused on dancing.

Today, phones are almost universal.

Tiësto acknowledges that many people spend a significant amount of time filming or photographing the beginning of a DJ set.

But he does not necessarily see this as a problem.

According to his experience at [UNVRS], the pattern tends to change as the night develops.

Phones Go Away as the Night Progresses

Tiësto says that audiences often use their phones heavily during the first part of a set.

People want to capture photographs and videos as memories of their night.

But later, that behaviour changes.

By the final two hours of the set, he says, phone use drops considerably and people become much more focused on dancing.

For Tiësto, that shift is particularly noticeable when performing into the early hours of the morning.

The technology may be everywhere, but eventually the dancefloor takes over.

Ibiza Still Has a Unique Audience

Tiësto has performed in some of the world's biggest electronic music markets, from Las Vegas and Miami to Dubai, Istanbul, Tokyo and destinations across North America.

Yet he continues to see Ibiza as something different.

The island's musical history is one of the reasons.

He also pointed to the exceptionally high expectations of audiences who travel to Ibiza specifically to hear electronic music.

Visitors come to the island to experience nightlife and discover different sounds.

That creates an unusually informed and diverse audience.

There Is No Single Ibiza Sound

One of the things Tiësto values most about Ibiza is the diversity of its electronic music scene.

He sees the island as a place where different styles can coexist.

A pop-oriented DJ can attract a huge audience, while an underground artist can find an equally passionate following.

Between those extremes is an enormous range of house, techno, trance and other electronic styles.

For Tiësto, that variety is one of the qualities that makes Ibiza difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Tiësto's Journey Back Towards Trance

His current musical direction also represents something of a return.

Tiësto became one of the defining figures of the global trance movement before later becoming one of the biggest names in EDM.

Over the course of his career, his sound has shifted repeatedly.

He says he has moved through different musical periods, including trance, EDM and influences associated with artists such as Swedish House Mafia and Avicii.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he felt that something was missing.

That feeling led him towards a renewed interest in trance.

A 30-Year Journey in One Residency

The Ibiza residency was designed partly as a reflection of that journey.

Tiësto described the music as representing approximately 30 years of his career, bringing together elements of old-school trance with newer interpretations of the genre.

Rather than simply recreating the past, he says the intention is to present those sounds in a more refined and contemporary form.

He compared the process to fashion, where new collections can draw inspiration from decades-old styles while giving them a modern interpretation.

For Tiësto, his current musical direction is inspired by his beginnings but produced for today's audience.

Nostalgia Without Simply Repeating the Past

The approach was also evident during his August performances at [UNVRS].

Reviews of the residency highlighted the way Tiësto incorporated classic dance music into contemporary sets.

Songs associated with the early 2000s and the trance era appeared alongside more modern material, creating a journey through different periods of electronic music.

The emphasis was not simply on playing old tracks for nostalgia's sake.

Instead, the music was presented as part of a larger story about how dance music has evolved.

The Emotional Power of Old Dance Records

Tiësto's catalogue contains some of the defining records of modern electronic music.

Tracks such as "Adagio for Strings" and "Silence" remain particularly powerful on a large Ibiza dancefloor.

During the August residency, these records reportedly produced some of the most emotional responses of the night.

That reaction illustrates something Tiësto understands particularly well: a record can carry memories for an entire generation.

Hearing it through a massive sound system surrounded by thousands of people creates a very different experience from listening alone.

A New Generation Is Discovering the Classics

One interesting consequence of bringing older trance records back into large modern club settings is that the audience is no longer made up solely of people who experienced them when they were first released.

Younger clubbers are hearing many of these tracks for the first time in an Ibiza environment.

That gives older records another life.

Tiësto's current approach therefore connects different generations of dance music fans rather than simply revisiting his own past.

Electronic Music Is Still Getting Stronger

Despite occasional predictions that electronic music will lose its cultural influence, Tiësto remains highly optimistic about the genre.

He remembers similar predictions being made in the 1990s.

Instead of disappearing, electronic music has continued to expand.

It is now a central part of global popular culture, from clubs and festivals to streaming platforms, advertising, fashion and major sporting events.

For Tiësto, the current strength of the scene confirms that electronic music has become far more than a niche musical movement.

Young DJs Are Driving the Next Wave

Tiësto also pointed to the strength of emerging talent.

He specifically highlighted young DJs from Britain and the Netherlands as examples of a new generation capable of pushing electronic music forward.

For an artist with a career spanning more than three decades, the emergence of new talent is an important part of keeping the culture moving.

Electronic music has always evolved through new producers, new technology and new interpretations of existing sounds.

Tiësto believes that process is continuing.

Can AI Replace DJs?

The rapid development of artificial intelligence has created questions across almost every creative industry, including music.

Tiësto does not believe AI can replace the most important part of a live DJ performance.

For him, the crucial element is the human decision being made inside the booth.

A DJ might be standing on stage at six in the morning, watching the crowd and deciding exactly which track should come next based on what is happening in that particular moment.

That decision cannot easily be reduced to a formula.

The Human Connection Remains the Point

Tiësto's argument is not that technology is irrelevant.

He embraces technological advances in sound, lighting and production.

But he believes technology should support rather than replace the human connection at the heart of a DJ set.

The ability to read a crowd, react to its energy and choose the right track at exactly the right moment remains fundamental.

For him, that is what gives electronic music its emotional power.

Visuals Are Not for Everyone

The increasing importance of visuals and production has also changed how audiences experience major electronic events.

Some artists now build elaborate performances around video, lighting, animation and other effects.

Tiësto sees nothing wrong with this.

He believes there are different types of DJs and different audiences.

Some people want a spectacular audiovisual experience.

Others prefer a DJ working with minimal production and putting the music first.

The strength of electronic music, in his view, is that there is space for both.

Ibiza Has Room for Every Style

This is another reason he considers Ibiza unique.

The island can accommodate huge commercial dance productions alongside intimate underground sessions.

It can host trance, progressive, house, techno, melodic music and more experimental sounds.

That variety means visitors can shape their Ibiza experience around their own musical preferences.

Tiësto sees that breadth as one of the destination's biggest strengths.

A Dream That Has Already Come True

Asked what he still dreams about after such a long career, Tiësto gave an unusually personal answer.

He said that many of his dreams have already come true.

He pointed to his family, his children and his life in Ibiza as examples of things he considers deeply meaningful.

His professional ambition, however, remains surprisingly similar to when he first started.

He still wants to perform.

He still wants to produce music.

And he still wants audiences to enjoy themselves.

Ibiza With His Children

Tiësto also described spending time in Ibiza with his children as part of that sense of fulfilment.

He mentioned watching the eclipse and shooting stars with them among his favourite experiences.

The comment reveals a different side of the internationally famous DJ.

Away from the clubs and enormous stages, Ibiza also functions as a place where he can enjoy family life.

It is another reason the island appears to occupy an important place in his life beyond his professional career.

Thirty Years Later, He Still Loves DJing

Perhaps the most revealing part of Tiësto's interview is his continued enthusiasm for performing.

After decades at the top of electronic music, he says he remains just as excited about DJing as he was when he started.

That enthusiasm is reflected in his decision to return to a sound associated with his early career while continuing to experiment with contemporary electronic music.

Rather than viewing his legacy as something finished, Tiësto appears to see it as something that is still developing.

Why the [UNVRS] Residency Mattered

The five Monday nights at [UNVRS] represented more than another Ibiza booking for Tiësto.

They linked several different chapters of his career.

The location connected him to Privilege and his early Ibiza history.

The music connected his present sound with the trance era that established him internationally.

And the production represented the technological evolution of Ibiza's club scene.

In that sense, the residency became a meeting point between the island's past and present.

The Changing Face of Ibiza Nightlife

Tiësto's comments also offer an interesting perspective on how Ibiza has changed.

The island's clubs are now larger, more technologically advanced and more visually sophisticated than many of the venues where today's biggest DJs began.

Audiences behave differently, with smartphones now an unavoidable part of the nightlife experience.

But Tiësto believes the central ingredient has not changed.

People still come to Ibiza to hear great music and dance together.

The Dancefloor Still Wins

That may be the simplest theme running through the interview.

The technology has changed.

The clubs have changed.

The music has changed.

The audience has changed.

But when the right song is played at the right moment, people still react collectively.

For Tiësto, that is the part of DJing that technology cannot replace.

Tiësto's Ibiza Chapter Continues

The Dutch superstar's first [UNVRS] residency has now ended, but his relationship with Ibiza clearly remains strong.

His five August dates connected his earliest experiences on the island with one of its newest major nightlife venues.

At the same time, the music reflected a renewed interest in trance and the sounds that defined the beginning of his career.

After more than 30 years behind the decks, Tiësto says he is still excited about performing, still interested in evolving and still motivated by the same goal he had when he started: making people happy through music.

For an artist who has watched electronic music transform from an underground movement into a global industry, Ibiza remains one of the places where that connection between DJ and dancefloor is most powerful.

And for Tiësto, the story is clearly not finished yet.