Tijs Michiel Verwest (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛi̯s miˈxiɫ vərˈʋɛst],born 17 January 1969), known by his stage name Tiësto (/tiˈɛstoʊ/ tee-ES-toh; Dutch pronunciation: [ˈcɛstoː]), is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music.Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto. On his latest productions, however, he has dropped the “DJ” label and is now known simply as “Tiësto”,an artist name which is a twist of his childhood nickname.In 1997, he founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series. Tiësto met producer Dennis Waakop Reijers in 1998, and the two have worked together extensively since then. Reijers is credited as producer, writer, composer, or arranger on many of Tiësto’s releases.In 1999 and 2000 Tiësto collaborated with Ferry Corsten to create Gouryella. His 2000 remix of Delerium’s “Silence” featuring Sarah McLachlan exposed him to more mainstream audiences. In 2001, he released his first solo album In My Memory which gave him several major hits that launched his career. He ranked at #1 on DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 DJs Poll consecutively for three years from 2002 to 2004.