Dutch DJ and producer Ferry Corsten is well and truly at the forefront of the global trance movement, he is a man respected and admired by many individual who have a preference for the melodic and uplifting side of trance music. After consistently blowing his Australian fans away on each of his journeys down under, he is gearing up to make his triumphant return to our shores as co-headliner (along with Tall Paul) for the Ministry of Sound 2002 Annual Tour. i_have_ADD spoke to Ferry and got the low-down on his work as Gouryella, what it’s like to DJ in front of 80,000 people, and how to propose marriage in a nightclub.
Ferry Corsten’s relationship with dance music began in his hometown of Rotterdam in 1991. He cites the influx of US house music in the Netherlands and a local radio show on around that time as his defining musical influence, “I begun buying records from a very young age. I started to make and sell my own mix tapes, and one of the people who bought one happened to have his own studio. From there we sat down and began making music.” Growing up in Rotterdam, a town more than famous for its infatuation with hardcore and gabba, I was interested to hear how Ferry had seen the city shape his musical development, “In the beginning there was only house and techno, and that was when I first started going out to clubs. Hardcore and gabba became big, but I never liked them. The Netherlands is placed in-between the UK and Germany, so we would always get a good mixture of music.”
Corsten’s trademark style of trance is a genre that is ordinarily a little neglected in the Australian market, with many preferring to go with the harder acid-tinged style of trance. He stands at the vanguard of the melodic and uplifting sound, along with the likes of fellow countrymen Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto. As many would be well aware, Corsten is well known for his production work with Tiesto under the name Gouryella. Recently reports surfaced proclaiming the end of the successful production team, however after a constant stream of requests Corsten made the decision to continue releasing music under the Gouryella moniker, “We may team-up again in the future, but for now Tiesto is very busy with his own production work. We get so many requests for new Gouryella tracks, it’s such an established name in the trance scene, so I decided to continue.” A very wise decision it seems, as Ligaya, the most recent release from Ferry under the Gouryella name, is already receiving rave reviews around the globe and taking pride of place in many trance DJs record boxes.
On Ferry’s tour down under last year he introduced the track Punk to local audiences. It became an instant hit with many dance music fans, even though it was a little removed in style from past productions, “Punk is very different to anything I’ve done before, it is definitely not typical trance.” Ferry began playing the track, which was produced over 18 months ago, in Ibiza during the 2001 party season to an ok response. It wasn’t until his Australian tour last year that local audiences latched on to the track and a groundswell of interest began to build, finally culminating earlier this year just prior to the northern summer and 2002 Ibiza season. It has done remarkably well in Australia, being added on high rotation to JJJ, a remarkable feat for a producer of Corsten’s style. It was also one of this year’s Ibiza anthems, with Ferry dropping the track regularly at his Judgment Sundays residency. As a regular visitor to the party island, I was interested to hear Ferry’s opinion on the scene there, “People are on holiday and they’re there to have fun, so in a way they don’t care so much about what you’re playing. There is a lot of drunk English people..!”
Having DJed at shows on a scale Australian audiences can only imagine (he headlined the main stage of Dance Valley with over 80,000 people in attendance), I was also interested to hear if Ferry had a preference between the large scale dance events and smaller club shows, “An average venue size for me is around 1500-2000 people, so the shows are never in too small a space. I can play ‘quieter’ records in a smaller venue, but at the big parties outside I play a harder set as the energy of the music can disappear.” Interestingly, Ferry has only ever played at larger scale parties and venues, taking up DJing only after attaining success with his productions. I asked Ferry how he saw his background in production affect his approach to DJing, “During the week I’m a producer, and on the weekend I’m a DJ; they go hand in hand. DJing is great because I get to play all the latest stuff I have produced. I think the quality of music will only get better with more DJs getting into production.” And his personal approach to production? “There is always a theme that is easily recognisable. I focus on the melody and build from there.”
I asked Ferry what initially attracted him to trance, “It’s always very melodic – I prefer melody over dragging beats. I have experimented with other sounds in the past, like drum & bass, ambient, techno, but I always come back to the trance sound.” After completing several high profile and very successful remixes in the past, such as his reworking of William Orbit’s Adagio for Strings and Kosheen’s Catch U, I asked if he had any future remix work on the horizon, “I was approached by Moby to remix one of his new songs, but I didn’t think I could do it well so I turned it down. I have remixed Moby before (Why does my Heart Feel so Bad), so there were no hard feelings. We have a mutual respect.” As a regular DJ at many of the larger club-brand events around Europe I was also interested to hear Corsten’s opinion on the recent financial issues some of them were facing, “I think some of them lose sight of the fact that it isn’t always about the club, it’s about who plays and who comes to dance.”
After his upcoming Ministry of Sound tour Ferry will be straight back in the studio, working hard on a new album, currently slated for release in April/May of 2003. His set is one many people are anticipating, and if a recent occurrence at an LA show is anything to go by Australian audiences may be in for a rather bizarre experience, “A guy proposed to his girlfriend on the dance floor!” While marriage proposals may not necessarily be a frequent event, you can be assured that all punters will walk away from Ferry’s set with a smile from ear to ear.
Ferry Corsten headlines the Ministry of Sound Annual Tour along with Tall Paul. Remaining dates:
Friday 1st November – Sydney – GAS Nightclub
Saturday 2nd November – Adelaide – Heaven Nightclub
Monday 4th November – Melbourne – QBH
