This Was Tomorrow: Tomorrowland Presents... (2015)

1
Good morning and welcome to Jovem Pan.
We've waited for months,
and now the time has finally come.
opens the doors to its magical world.
Thousands of people from Brazil
and all over the world
are heading for Itu.
We want to know your experience
at Tomorrowland.
Just call 32526456 and tell us.
Hi, Lucas. How do you feel about
Tomorrowland coming to Brazil?
The fact that Tomorrowland
choose Brazil has one important reason.
It shows that we, Brazilians,
are very joyous people.
Because that's what Tomorrowland
is all about.
Brazilians love experiences.
We love parties.
It is this feeling of being together,
you know?
To be with friends,
to just be free and enjoy life.
Tomorrowland for me is like a utopia.
A perfect world
where we'd like to live every day.
I will be able to experience it
for three days.
For me, that's marvelous.
When I went to the 2013 edition,
it changed my life.
It's more than just a music festival.
It's like a journey. It's a feeling.
You have to be there.
You have to live it.
You have to see with your own eyes,
feel it with your own body and soul,
to understand.
Everyone just wants this so bad,
you know?
We live in a very beautiful country,
and the entire world knows this.
-You came to the right place.
-Tomorrowland came to the right country.
I am really nervous, because
I'm a guy from a small city in Brazil,
and, man, this is the biggest festival
in the world.
So to be playing on the main stage
in my first Tomorrowland...
in my own country. Insane.
It's my dream coming true,
especially because it's in Brazil.
And it's awesome to see how
people react with a Brazilian playing.
See everyone jumping
and getting a lot of energy.
It's... It's insane, man.
I'll be happy for my entire life.
It's my dream coming true.
To make my own music
and make people happy with that.
It's just...
That's what I want to keep doing,
because, you know,
everything's just starting.
People of Tomorrow, welcome
to the world of the fairy-tale keepers.
When you're there,
and then you have the beautiful sunset,
and the book opens,
it's a one-time experience.
It's like you're entering a whole
new atmosphere, a whole new world.
Almost like Alice entering Wonderland.
Full of color, full of joy.
I could feel that in the air.
And it's the first time in Brazil,
actually.
I felt that it's history being made here.
The time has come
to open the Book of Wisdom
and let the stories rise.
My name is Maria Eduarda Mattar,
but everybody calls me Duda.
I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
And I work in Santa Marta,
the favela Santa Marta.
I run a project that uses color
to try to touch people's emotions.
The aim is to bring color
to people's lives through painting
and through art, as well,
and in that way,
try to change the environment.
People often ask me, why do you that,
if people need health,
education, food, etcetera.
It bothers me when they ask me that,
because if you consider that people don't
only need food, education and health,
you're reducing the human being
to just what it needs, basic needs.
And you kind of disregard all the wealth
that there is in being a human,
all the richness in the soul,
in the minds of people.
Life in these kinds of places
is more intense,
so you start living like that
and blend in,
in a culture
that's not necessarily your own.
I think my life has been changed
much more than theirs.
Much more than theirs.
I bring my daughter here a lot,
so that she can see a different living,
even their need of so much
material things in their lives.
They are still happy,
still living their lives.
And it gives you a different sense
of what's really necessary.
To me, going to a place like Tomorrowland
is adding color to my life.
It's bringing to my life beauty,
emotions.
It's this universe of possibilities.
What makes Tomorrowland unique
is diversity.
It's all about the whole festival,
not just the main stage.
So much styles of music, you know?
House, techno, drum & bass,
hip-hop, trap, so...
every day has got, like, you know,
different stages and different DJs.
I feel good to have my own stage.
It makes me feel proud of everything
I've done for over these years.
I'm not just a drum & bass DJ,
I'm a music lover.
If you come to my house,
I've got Bob Marley records,
I've got CJ Bolland, I've got
Malcolm McLaren, I've got rock...
I've even got Prince, Culture Club,
Michael Jackson.
I'm a music lover, you know.
I buy records every day,
I breathe records, you know.
I eat records.
Everything for me is records,
is music, you know.
And this is a part of my life.
And so I want to show this to people.
To be here with, like,
I think like 150 to 200,000 people,
that are all feeling
exactly the same way about this music,
and it doesn't matter if it's hardstyle,
or dubstep, or techno or trance, like...
We're just trying to enjoy the music,
and it's just awesome
to share that passion
with so many people.
When I was a kid, I told people:
"Check out dance music, it's awesome."
And they were listening to it, like:
"It's all the same.
It's the same thing for eight minutes."
Like they didn't get it.
Now everyone gets it.
Crazy, huh?
Oh my God. There's that many people here
right now, it was incredible.
You have no idea
what we're feeling right now.
-Wow, wow.
-Wow.
Wow, wow. It was crazy.
When you want to become a DJ,
there's nothing higher than this.
First time in Brazil.
Same feeling, everybody's united.
We never stop the madness.
-Steve.
-Oh my God, dude. Oh my God.
Holy shit, holy shit.
My fucking... Oh my God.
-Brazil.
-Love rules, man.
Oh my God, the love is crazy.
It's a spiritual thing, man. These kinds
of things are a spiritual thing.
Like you feel something so powerful,
so indescribable.
I mean, that's why I do this shit,
you know?
I do this shit for amazing people,
like these people here.
I'm Giovanna, and I'm here with my mum,
my dad and my brother.
Lots of people are, like,
embarrassed of it,
but music is a passion
that we all have in common.
Being here with my family, that's
something that I will never forget.
Taking the helicopter
was a pretty surreal experience.
You fly over these green fields,
with the sun going down.
And then, around the corner,
there's this magical place.
It suddenly feels like coming home.
It's crazy. You're also really excited,
because it's the very first edition.
We didn't exactly know what to expect,
so it did make a bit of suspense.
Those are the highlights of the year:
TomorrowWorld, Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland, Brazil.
That's like, for us,
the set that we feel like
we have to make a statement, like:
Look, this is our home.
Welcome to our home.
During the intro, I just have that moment
that I'm completely silent
and just try to clear my thoughts
and be ready for it.
I think you can compare it
with listening to a heartbeat.
Everything around you disappears.
It's just you, the stage, the crowd.
That's kind of how you measure, like, OK,
let's fucking do this.
-Brazil.
-Insanity.
Insanity. People just went forever.
It was a sea of people.
Unbelievable.
And I think the Latin American people,
they go off in a different way.
They definitely have
a joy of life in them that's just...
-Infectious.
-Yeah.
It's not Europe, you know?
It's a whole different vibe.
I think, personally,
I think it's the best Tomorrowland.
I think it's incredible. Just...
maybe because it was the first year,
but there's something that is special
when you play in places like that,
because these guys save up to get
tickets, and they save the whole year.
You feel that, it's a once-in-a-lifetime
experience for them,
so they're one hundred percent committed
and fully engaged in the show.
I'm Bruno,
and I'm from Mendoza, Argentina.
I'm Macarena,
and I am also from Mendoza, Argentina.
And to get here, we travelled about
4,000 kilometers, something like that.
We spent five months walking,
getting rides, hitchhiking...
And at times, we spent the night
in the entrance of a church,
in a square under a bench
or at a terminal.
Many of the people we met along the way
told us we were crazy
to travel so far
and make so many sacrifices.
Our family thinks we are insane.
But then, Tomorrowland is insane,
and that suits us just fine.
It changed our life a lot.
More music.
More music, more knowledge,
more experience, everything.
You see things in different way.
That's what Tomorrowland means:
it's a way of life.
Electronic music is a way of life.
It is fantastic,
I would do it again and again.
-Just for Tomorrowland.
-It's worth it.
All the sacrifices we made were worth it.
Brazil!
Oh, my God.
You don't even know how I'm feeling
right now.
This is really an amazing day for me,
because
Tomorrowland is my favorite festival
in Europe.
And Brazil is my favorite country
in the world.
So to have, for the first time,
Tomorrowland in Brazil,
we will make history together right now.
Are you ready?
There is a spirit in Tomorrowland,
and I think people are touched by it.
The positivity that people
can feel from our music
and, even more, when there is
a festival like this
that really embraces this culture,
I think it makes people feel good.
It makes me feel good. Yeah, absolutely.
When I came on stage at
Tomorrowland Brazil yesterday,
of course I was thinking of
all those years and, you know,
when Tomorrowland was small,
when I was also a smaller artist.
And to see everything that happened,
of course it made me emotional.
It's... It's incredible.
Tomorrowland is family,
because I played Tomorrowland
from day one.
I think I'm the only DJ
that has been playing each year
since ten years, when they started.
And it was not, like, almost like a cult,
like it is now, you know.
Like, people coming with all the flags
from every country.
It was a local event.
And that, I think, is very impressive:
to see Tomorrowland
go from a local event in Belgium
to a global phenomenon.
I remembered what was before Tomorrowland,
something that was called
Antwerp Is Burning.
That was my first connection
with Michiel, as well.
And I had a couple of hits back then,
with Universal Nation and Strange World,
that he said: "Antwerp Is Burning
was basically just like a try-out
of something big I want to do."
I'm like: "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, we're going to do something
in Boom called Tomorrowland,
and I want you to close the stage."
Every year
when I come to Tomorrowland here,
I'm like, wow, this cannot be bigger.
But every year, it is bigger.
This is the original place.
This is like the bedrock
of the institution of Tomorrowland.
The whole world is flocking here.
There is this incredible sense
of solidarity and unity.
Like, you see this...
this multicultural landscape of people,
and they're all speaking
at the same time, as one voice.
Studio Brussels. Life is music.
We have an important visitor:
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN,
is in our country,
and today he will pay the King a visit,
he'll visit the European Parliament and he
will greet the organizers of Tomorrowland.
Yes, and he also brings a special
message to the People of Tomorrow,
a message that will get an honorary place
on the One World Bridge in De Schorre.
I'd like to thank you for your invitation
to carve a message of peace
on behalf of the United Nations
on the One World Bridge.
This bridge, and indeed,
the Tomorrowland festival in general,
symbolizes some of the core values
of the United Nations.
Dignity, respect,
diversity and solidarity.
It is exciting to think that, yearly,
200,000 young people
and music fans from almost
every country will come together
to celebrate life
through the unifying force of music.
Let's work as one towards dignity
for all, and let youth lead the way.
I'm Julie. I'm 28 years old, and I'm from
Berchem, right around the corner.
This is my eleventh time.
I attended the first one
and have been coming every year since.
I ended up at my first Tomorrowland
by chance, through friends.
And that's where I met my husband.
That's where I first saw him.
And some years later, we got married.
So, when Tomorrowland started,
that's when my love story began.
Tomorrowland has a special place
in our heart.
I can't describe how big it has become.
That tiny festival around the corner
exploded into a global festival.
People here know Tomorrowland
more than they do Belgium.
-We're from Papua New Guinea.
-Where?
-Papua New Guinea.
-Wow!
-Do you know where that is?
-No.
-It's north of Australia.
-Wow.
-It's a long way from here.
-What do you think about Tomorrowland?
-It's amazing.
-How did you get to know Tomorrowland?
-It's quite big back home.
-It's quite big.
We see the after-movies every year.
By the way, we didn't get your names.
-Oh, I'm Pieter.
-Pieter.
-I'm Julie.
-This is my wife.
-Julie.
-In our country, it's like...
We give gifts to people who we meet.
You come to our country or we come
to your country, we give presents.
-So, I'll give one to your wife?
-Yes.
OK, cool.
Wow. Then I will always remember you guys.
Next year in Belgium. Have fun.
Bye.
The first time I came, I thought it was
a one-off and wouldn't be back next year.
But it's been 11 times now,
and I think it will be around
for at least 11 more.
Who knows? Maybe my kids will come, too,
later. That would be great.
My name is Velekiri Nalu,
and I'm from Papua New Guinea.
Geographically, it's so disconnected
from the rest of the world,
but everything else we see.
We know what's out there.
Everyone knows about Tomorrowland.
We see it on TV.
We see it on the internet, on YouTube,
but in terms of getting there,
that's the challenge.
Being able to do this, that's something,
like, we're so proud of.
You're representing everyone back home.
You're representing your family,
your friends.
Papua New Guinea is...
It's a beautiful country.
Dense forests, mountains.
We have beaches.
But, like, it's as remote as you can get.
This is like a whole new world right now.
It makes you want to come again.
See new things.
Just Tomorrowland, seeing all of this,
you feel so much a part of the world.
One of the things that I love most about
Tomorrowland is seeing all the flags.
You don't have to be shy
for who you are,
where you come from, what you look like.
We're here united in love,
and it's such a positive environment.
I strongly believe that
what we're experiencing right now
is more than a hype.
I think it's a cultural phenomenon.
I remember my parents telling me about
Woodstock, but look at Tomorrowland.
Fifty years later, it's exactly what
happened then: it's a revolution.
And only retrospectively, the historians
will be able to look back on it and say,
oh, that was a moment in time
where everybody came together,
where music really united everybody.
Seeing Armin for the first time, live,
was special.
I've seen him so many times on YouTube
and online,
but it's in front of me.
It's real life happening,
and I think
that's what made the moment so magic.
I am Mokhtar Ben Ammar. I'm 18 years old,
and I come from Tunisia.
If I had to say it in a few words:
Tomorrowland,
for me, it means freedom.
Since I was born,
I've had a kidney illness.
When you have something like that,
you're just not free to go anywhere else.
You have to stay next to home,
with restriction in everything.
At one moment,
when you have kidney disease,
you go through dialysis
three times a week.
I had to do it at five a.m.
in the morning,
to be able to go to school
at eight and a half.
And then return to my home, because
I was too tired to do something else.
That's what made it, you know,
difficult for me to live,
even on a daily basis.
In 2011, I had a transplant.
This was, like, life-changing,
because, from that moment,
everything became possible.
He had some limits, and now he is free.
All the boundaries have been broken.
For him, he's like anyone else,
and he wanted to prove that.
So, when he came to talk about
that festival and thought of going,
I knew that I had to let him.
Because he could achieve his dream.
I have a bucket list, like,
since I was ill.
Tomorrowland was, like,
on the highest of things I wanted to do.
Being here, like, makes me feel alive.
So yes, Tomorrowland now is part of me.
I've had my days when you're cocky
and you think, like, you run the world,
you know,
but you've got to grow up sometimes
to realize that... it's not about you.
We have a lot of fans around the world,
and they'll do anything.
It's incredible to see.
Once you start realizing those things,
I think you just become humble.
In Tomorrowland,
it's not just about the DJs.
You're part of a bigger thing.
It's people uniting with each other,
and I think the DJs, we are part of it.
We control the music, but there's
so much more going on here. I love that.
Thank you. Fantastic. Nice, eh?
Nice work, people.
I'm a very classical musician, but
when I was conducting the first reading
of what they will do at Tomorrowland,
I saw a lot of people
who are used to playing Mozart,
and Beethoven, and Brahms and Prokofiev,
who were really excited
about what was going on.
And I don't think many of them
really know what Tomorrowland is.
But they were really taken by the music
and by the colors.
They are so beautiful colors inside.
I'm a fan.
I listened a lot to techno music,
the Turn Up Your Bass CDs,
when I was a child.
But when you're busy with classical music,
you're losing this a little bit.
It will be exciting to play,
but it will be even more exciting for me
to be part of the dance festival.
It's this fusion
between the old and the new.
String instruments
playing electronic modern music.
Music is a gift to humanity,
and we can all take part in it.
And we can all enjoy it, we can all...
That's kind of what connects us.
We all have that common ground, that base.
And it's just these varieties of music
that are layered on top of that
that create diversity, and that diversity
really gives music its power.
The audience is so much more responsive.
There's so much more of a connection
between them and us.
You feel like a rock star, you really do.
I loved it, I really loved it.
We've got to do it again.
We'll do it again.
Oh, police. Oh, shit.
Tomorrowland is interesting,
because everyone says:
You're so underground.
What are you doing at Tomorrowland?
Of course they have a point,
but it's in Belgium,
so that automatically gives it
a "get out of jail free" card,
because Belgium has a massive heritage.
Like 20 years ago, we were
already doing electronic dance music,
so I think
that helped to build the festival.
And I am proud that it became
such a big festival all over the world.
This place is so different now.
It's hard to describe. I mean...
I remember the mountain,
rolling down the mountain.
For sure.
This is a place we used to come with our
grandparents when were staying with them,
and we stayed with them a lot,
because our parents were working.
We used to spend hours
and hours and hours here.
But it's weird, you know?
Now, it's such a quiet little place,
and to think that once a year
this is like the centre of the world,
it's kind of crazy.
This was rolling down this mountain as
fast as we could, when the snow was here,
-with the plastic garbage bags.
-Yeah.
-With our bicycles.
-Play with firecrackers.
-You know, kid's stuff.
-Yeah.
I still recognize that same kid in you,
for sure.
I guess I'm still a big kid.
What can I say?
It's kind of different,
but we are still playing here.
-Yeah.
-We're still having fun here.
For sure.
Yeah, like, Tomorrowland is
sort of like New Year for us.
That's kind of the moment that you realize
that another year has passed.
It's really crazy.
It's a bit emotional even sometimes,
because you realize how fast time flies.
The year is one big rush,
and before you know it,
there's another Tomorrowland.
Pastries?
The first time we went to Tomorrowland,
it was also the first time
you played the main stage.
And people would come up to us.
A Dutchman said:
"I think that's really cool,
to come out here, at your age."
So I said: "There's a reason."
So I told him:
"See those two rascals there?
They are our grandchildren."
And the Dutchman said:
"Then I'll buy you a beer."
Getting a beer from a Dutchman,
I am still amazed by that.
Very proud.
And they get bigger each year, and better.
-We never expected that.
-No.
We had our doubts about this working out.
There was a time,
a period of about three or four years,
when all we did... He lived with me
and my girlfriend in the studio.
He had a bed upstairs, and for four years
we tried, day in and day out...
We knew we had to produce solid numbers
to make it in this scene as a DJ.
You can't be a DJ who spins records,
and that's it.
No, you have to make it as a musician,
so in their eyes,
there were four years
when nothing happened.
We were two blokes
who sat behind our computers all day.
We had no job, no money...
And you hoped someone would play your CD.
Or take jobs, like at Tomorrowland.
I also worked at I Love Techno,
as a backliner and stage manager.
And I would stuff our CD
in the DJs' pockets,
hoping they would listen to it.
And taking on jobs in factories,
a week here and there,
just to be able to pay the rent.
-Yes, that was...
-That's what they saw.
That's all they saw,
until the moment we actually got
the chance to play at Tomorrowland,
first at the small stage,
then the main stage.
That's when they could finally see that,
OK, they're doing something, after all.
And you did make it.
That's right.
And every time you have a gig,
when I hear about it, it makes me cry.
Oh, so cool.
Grandpa is quick to cry.
Yeah, it's funny how people sometimes say,
they came up fast, but we really didn't.
We really didn't.
It's been the last couple of years,
and it's great that the Tomorrowland
crew, they put their trust in us
and said, like: "Let's do something
together." You know? And...
It's great to see
that the results are paying off.
Is the key to happiness
found at a music festival?
That's the theme of
this year's edition of TomorrowWorld,
a three-day dance festival coming for
the third time
to the Chattahoochee Hills.
This festival has been growing
in popularity all over the world,
but has its origins in Belgium...
Did you go to TomorrowWorld last year?
I sure did.
-How was it?
-Good.
I had a great time.
I went on all three nights.
-All three nights.
-Done some partying.
What kind of music is that?
Techno music.
-Techno music?
-Yeah, it's all...
-Electronic?
-There's no bands or nothing there.
They have DJs.
I think they've got eight stages
this year.
Unreal. Dig it.
The main stage is, like, 100 foot high,
by 400 foot wide. The main stage.
Wow.
-Sounds like fun.
-Well, do you want to go?
I'd better get my tickets.
My name's Steve Seagraves,
and I live in Douglasville, Georgia.
My property adjoins
the Chattahoochee River.
Plenty of different places to eat,
a lot of friendly people,
good bars to go to, good beer to drink.
I mean, it's a good place to live.
I like Douglas County.
I've never went nowhere else.
I've lived in a 60-mile radius
all my life.
So, I really don't know what it
would be like to go live anywhere else.
This is my stomping ground.
This is where I stay.
When I was a kid and a plane flew over,
my head was in the air,
looking at the airplane.
And I've always loved it.
I used to beg my father
to carry me to the airport
and let me watch
the airplanes take off and land.
And I love working on airplanes.
I'm an airplane mechanic,
a certified airplane mechanic.
It's just... My life is airplanes.
When I'm flying, I feel free.
Maybe like a bird, you know? Just free.
I can go where I want to, when I want to.
The surroundings around here's beautiful.
Thousands and thousands of acres
that's undeveloped, with nothing on them.
I think TomorrowWorld
found the best place
they could find to put a festival.
I mean, the rolling hills,
the beauty and all, and the...
A perfect spot.
It makes the landscape beautiful,
in a way.
I'm happiest in my backyard, I really am.
I've always been told I was a kid, never
going to grow up. And I hope I don't.
You're making friends, making buddies.
Have a good time.
And I know what's a good time.
Hey, girl.
I've never been to anything like it
in my life. It's amazing.
I'm one of the people of TomorrowWorld,
absolutely.
People of Tomorrow,
you have been brought here together
to witness the secret
behind a magical key.
The one that found the key
is now here for its return.
She will activate a device
that makes your wildest dreams come true.
I am Antoine Vaughn, a.k.a. Yum Yum.
TomorrowWorld inspired me
on so many levels.
It changed who I was on the inside.
And I enjoy life now,
and I don't hold back, as I used to.
I met some of the best people
I've ever met in my life at TomorrowWorld,
and I wanted to be around them more,
so I decided to move
and be around them up north,
in the Boston area.
So now, being back in Atlanta,
it's kind of bittersweet for me.
Atlanta's one of the most
loving cities for the gay community.
But if you leave midtown, it's not as
accepting. You had to watch yourself.
Gay, at the time, was not in.
It was kind of...
You had to be in the closet.
I came out to my family when I was 14.
I was very fortunate that my family
was very accepting of who I was.
Just because your family is accepting and
just because other people accept you,
not everyone is going to,
and you can't push that on other people.
And even me growing up as a gay black guy,
I felt like it was double tough for me.
How long are you staying here?
In a couple... two more days
I'm going to be out camping in the woods,
partying with my friends,
listening to some great music.
I cannot wait to get out there.
TomorrowWorld really creates
an environment of "be yourself".
And everyone is going to embrace you
right away.
I've never received so much love
and been a part of so much love
on so many levels.
I tapped into a side of me
that I was always scared to tap into.
And it's something I should've done a long
time ago, because I was really being me.
You can kind of take that
and apply it into your regular day life.
There's always a door.
You step through another,
and life is about getting into new rooms
and opening some of those doors,
peering in and, sometimes,
actually stepping in,
and getting lost
and having this wonderful experience.
I think that's what a great festival
like Tomorrowland is.
Heading out this morning?
Grab that umbrella.
Rain and overcast skies
once again in the forecast.
For the third consecutive night,
we endured heavy rainfall.
Luckily, fewer rain areas
are expected for your Sunday afternoon,
so temperatures will make
somewhat of a rebound...
My name is Carl Bouckaert,
and I'm the owner of the property
where TomorrowWorld is held.
This is the third time
we're putting it on, on my property,
and it's been an absolute delight.
-How's it going?
-Good.
-You guys having a good time?
-Yeah.
We came to see this guy perform,
but he's not here.
Yeah, I know. I know, it's...
-Next year.
-Promise?
-No rain, no rain next year.
-No rain next year. We already ordered it.
-Awesome.
-We already ordered the nice weather.
Good to see you guys,
enjoy the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, part of the festival
has been shut down
because of the real bad weather
that we've had in the last several days.
This is sad. I feel bad for the people
that really were looking forward
to a third day of fun.
Hopefully, they will feel good about
coming back next year,
and have the experience next year
and enjoy it so much more even.
The party is not done, and the people that
are still here will have a wonderful time.
It just gives them, you know,
a route to happiness for 12 months.
Who I am? My name is Kyleigh.
-And this is my sister.
-My name is Courtney.
-I am so happy you came along.
-We can't do without one another.
We have to be together all the time.
But I like being with you.
I was born deaf. I don't know why.
My sister was too.
Just because we're deaf doesn't mean
we can't have fun like everyone else here.
Everyone loves music,
not just those who can hear.
Most people here only hear the music.
But me?
I feel the vibrations. I feel the beat.
My heart follows the rhythm of the beat.
I'm happy. I share that with others,
so they can be happy too.
You have a choice. Do you take a positive
or a negative attitude in life?
Why not choose to be happy
and make others happy, too?
We connect.
Our differences are not an issue here.
However you may be, they accept you here.
OK, I may be deaf...
but I don't feel like an outsider.
That's why I like coming here.
Because I can be 100 percent myself.
And I want to keep feeling that way.
I am grateful that I am able to be here.
At a place like Tomorrowland,
you realize you're a very lucky person
to be standing there.
It has a certain magic around it
that is really hard to describe.
It's just a very special feeling
to see all those hands up in the air,
and everybody really into the music
and into the stage.
And it's like, this is
what you dream about - also as a DJ.
The kick that I get from being on stage,
it's like...
it's like a natural high.
But it's such a special moment,
that connection that
you feel with the people. It's...
I mean, that's why you're a DJ,
that's why we do this.
This is, for me, really like
it's already, like, trancy,
and then I just put
my chords underneath it.
Make it bigger.
An orchestra with some strings and...
It's really the first time
I'm going to play it
in front of such a large audience,
so it makes me really nervous,
because this is quite a crazy idea,
you know,
to have a jazz trumpet player
with a trancy beat, coming together.
I don't know.
I just don't know if it's going to work,
and I feel very vulnerable
when I want to premiere a new track,
because every piece of music
is a part of me, you know,
because you put your ideas into it,
you put your soul into it.
And at that point,
you're not thinking about fame or status.
You just want the people to go crazy.
It's like you're almost playing with the
crowd already before you go to the stage,
because a lot of my sets, a lot
of the ideas, I do here at this location.
But I don't pre-mix my set
and just press play and start doing this.
I really make individual tracks,
I put them in a folder,
my favorite folder,
and I end up playing half of them.
You have to play a real, live concert,
you're editing tracks live on the spot,
you use effects
during your mix performance.
You send out a timecode signal,
so you can synch up visuals or fireworks.
You grab the microphone to MC.
You interact with the crowd.
So, it's much more
than just pressing play.
When you're in the studio,
sometimes you get too carried away,
so a lot of times when I go running
outside, I take my production with me
on my phone, I start running.
I listen to the track,
because then you hear it
in a different surrounding.
Then it's like, oh, that needs to be
shorter, that needs to be longer.
You want to keep it exciting
for the crowd,
but you don't want to repeat yourself.
It's a very delicate balance.
-Hey, darling.
-Hi, love. Where are you?
I'm picking up the kids at school.
OK, what time will you be back?
In about 15 minutes?
OK, and what are your plans for today?
To be honest, it's not very easy to mix
being a DJ, with all the travelling
and the busy schedule,
with a personal life. And...
I'm fortunate I have a very understanding
wife, but still it's not easy.
Because it's a very...
egocentric job.
You know, if you fly in private jets,
and you get picked up in limos,
and there are 70,000 people
putting their hands up for you,
I mean,
it can go to your head really quick.
So... I'm really glad I have
a great team of people around me
that help me and guide me. I went to a
coach for a little bit to talk with him,
because you want to keep this head
on the shoulders
and keep focused on what's most important.
The fans and the music.
And if you keep telling yourself that,
then it will be fine.
Good evening, TomorrowWorld.
How are you feeling?
We all know what happened, so especially
for those people who couldn't be here,
our family who couldn't be here,
I want you to embrace,
so please raise your hands,
and let's say a big "hi" to everybody
watching the stream online right now,
who couldn't be here:
We miss you, and we'll see you very soon.
The way Tomorrowland started
and became so important,
I think,
was because the festival was the star.
The mythology was always to create
this incredible,
futuristic, fantastic fairy-tale
kind of experience.
Unity is one of the most beautiful things
that actually exists on Earth.
And I think Tomorrowland
is a perfect example for that.
People from all over the world travel here
to see their favorite DJs,
celebrate life,
share their love for dance music.
It's about a world with no boundaries.
It's amazing for a festival that has
unity as a concept to go global.
It's perfect.
It's not going to stop.
It's not going to stop growing.
We finally smashed the walls
into becoming a global genre.
You know, it's taken guys
15 years to build places like this.
As long as people
are still passionate about what they do,
as long as
the organizer still has a heart,
this can grow,
to become the biggest thing in the world.