During one of his last shows of the year, Tiësto confirmed his new musical direction, paving the way for a spectacular 2026
It has been a truly incredible year for trance music as it comes to a close, and especially so for Tiësto: a period that, for us as for many others, has felt much longer than usual, shaped by an almost endless series of events that have gradually, and now definitively, brought the Dutch icon back to the genre so deeply cherished by fans.
During his 180-minute performance beneath the Great Pyramids of Giza, Tiësto presented once again his PRISMATIC live project, which over the course of the year, starting in Mexico City, has opened the doors to a new and complete musical evolution: the extended track selection does not radically differ from that of his most recent DJ sets, such as his Dreamstate SoCal appearance, but the generous amount of time available allowed him to craft an extremely refined musical journey: a first part often hovering between progressive and techno-trance, followed by a second half fully dedicated to trance, featuring newer productions, timeless classics, and elegant remakes.
The performance, however, opened with a particularly fascinating choice. Even before his now familiar intro of this period, Bring Me To Life (with FORS), Tiësto chose to move the crowd with one of the signature tracks from his landmark 2004 album Just Be: Forever Today.
Already during his Dreamstate SoCal performance last November, Tiësto had premiered several tracks that will be part of his upcoming album, expected in 2026, and which we had the pleasure of hearing again on this occasion. Among them were Lost In The Ocean, Tears In My Blood and what already seems destined to become one of the highlights of his releases for next year: the widely acclaimed Beautiful Places. Beneath the Pyramids, additional new and unreleased tracks were also played, further confirming Tiësto’s current philosoph, a return to trance music that embraces multiple styles, while almost completely abandoning the mainstream EDM approach that has defined much of his output over the past fifteen years.
As mentioned, significant space was dedicated to remakes of his own historic productions as well as reinterpretations of iconic trance tracks. One of the most striking characteristics of the set was Tiësto’s ability to perform independently of strict stylistic boundaries or release dates, creating a sonic atmosphere reminiscent of some of his DJ sets and compilations from the early 2000s. Back then, despite being at the very top of the trance scene, Tiësto did not shy away, contrary to common belief, from incorporating techno or progressive house productions, seamlessly blending them into playlists of pure and refined trance. An approach that now seems to have fully returned to the forefront.
The link to the full playlist is on 1001Tracklist:
Tiësto @ PRISMATIC, The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, 2025-12-19
and the official video of the show, which was streamed live on Twitch, will be released soon.