Tiësto releases “Hard To Be Around” with CLEOPARD2000 and CH4YN

Tiësto released the single “Hard To Be Around” on 9 October 2026, a collaboration with Berlin-based artists CLEOPARD2000 and CH4YN, out via Musical Freedom and Atlantic Records.

According to We Rave You, the track runs at 143 BPM and draws on the vocal trance and Eurotrance of the late ’90s and 2000s, giving that sound a harder, more modern edge. Fast kicks and driving basslines keep the energy up, while bright, euphoric synths carry the melody. The vocal adds an emotional layer, dealing with self-doubt and the feeling of being “hard to be around”.

The outlet describes the release as a meeting of two generations of the scene: Tiësto has deep roots in trance, while CLEOPARD2000 and CH4YN come out of Berlin’s fast-moving new wave of club music. It also places the single within the Dutch producer’s recent run of trance-leaning moments, from a trance set at UNVRS Ibiza to hints at a rebrand of his Musical Freedom label. According to We Rave You, the track shows Tiësto embracing the faster sound now spreading across European dancefloors.

Tiësto is a Dutch DJ and producer, born in 1969 in Breda, associated with trance, electronic dance music and electro house. His newest studio album is “Drive”, released in April 2023, according to MusicBrainz.