Paradiso 2017 has come and gone, and with many phenomenal acts to choose from, it was impossible to see everyone to the fullest capacity. In my honest opinion, though, tyDi was the most fun I had all weekend, playing the second to last set at the Digital Oasis.
My love for dance music began in 2011 with big room house acts Swedish House Mafia and Alesso, but this love wasn’t solidified until a random person in a group Skype chat, from Guatemala of all places, sent me a link one day in March 2012 to the live broadcast of A State of Trance 550 in Kiev. I loaded up the link not knowing anything about trance, or about Armin van Buuren, or about the artist playing at the time.
It was Tyson Illingworth of Australia, or as he is known on stage, tyDi. Banging through the speakers of my Beats headphones was pure magic. To me, it was the energy of big room, but more upbeat, more euphoric, and more creative. All I really knew was that I wanted more. I would go on walks for hours around the neighborhood streaming sets from that weekend’s podcast. tyDi’s stuck out most to me for its unique sound. I hate to say that I illegally downloaded his album Shooting Stars that weekend as well, but as a broke teenager, I didn’t have means to purchase it. It would play on repeat riding the bus to and from school for the rest of that year.
That album helped me through my first breakup. It was like each track had its own special message for me, especially “Sex, Lies & Still Oblivious” even though it didn’t have many words, and “Acting Crazy“.
Since then, I’ve been listening to trance on an almost daily basis. I was heartbroken in 2013 to see that tyDi was on the lineup for Paradiso that year, but I was not yet 18. He was bumped to the mainstage after an artist couldn’t make it and seeing on Twitter from countless fans there, he was phenomenal.
I finally got to see him at USC Loves You in 2014, almost two years since hearing him for the first time. I actually made it into a picture from that show that he posted on his socials! Right above his head to the left, pointing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/qWd407DufC/?taken-by=ndwiggins01
It has been a pleasure watching tyDi’s style transition over the last five years. His live sets have always been full of energy and unique song selections, opening with The Walking Dead theme song for example in 2012 and throwing in vocals from The Killers and many other bands, but this time was something special.
With the sun well over the horizon and the party refusing to end, tyDi took the stage after an amazing set from fellow Australian MaRLo that I thought was going to be impossible to top. I was wrong because tyDi pushed the energy up even further with his lovely blend of trance in his sound, one that he does not want to be classified as any genre in particular.
The passion flowed from him through the mixers and into the speakers, moving an audience that was already exhausted from two days of intense heat at The Gorge but would not quit. He came out from behind the DJ booth a few times to interact with the crowd on a more personal level, which is something you don’t see very often these days.
He has stated that Paradiso is one of his favorite festivals, in this video shot by RMR’s very own Isaiah Campbell, featuring a brand new track “Beautiful War”, which will be released this Friday on Spinnin Records:
https://www.facebook.com/tyDimusic/videos/10155468551647500/
What made his set even more special to me was the fact that it was my lovely girlfriend’s first dance music festival, and she was having the time of her life as well. Talk about a wonderful set to make-out during, oh man! tyDi has got the love on LOCK!
When I got home from Paradiso yesterday, I couldn’t help but cry. I was sad that the weekend was over, but I’m so excited to come back to The Gorge in September for ABGT 250, and to see tyDi again in the near future, whenever that shall be.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV0cKTwAPWn/?taken-by=ndwiggins01
Thank you to USC Events for the phenomenal festival, and also Tyson Illingworth for the incredible set!
Here’s one last gem to enjoy, the Tomas Heredia Remix of “Acting Crazy” by tyDi, just how I remember it as a kid in high school.
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