Ferry Corsten is a producer’s producer. In spite of being somewhat overshadowed in the popularity stakes by the trademarked pedestals of Armin and Tiesto, Ferry has managed to remain at the forefront of the trance scene for over a decade, preferring to concentrate on his personal journey rather than boosting his profile. Relentlessly shaping the sound from the bow of the ship, Ferry has made generations of trance lovers throw their arms aloft in unrestrained ecstasy and while he shows no signs of slowing down, the new dad is safeguarding the future of innovative melodic trance through his label Flashover Recordings, home to a fleet of young talent from Holland’s P.A.F.F. to American protégé Breakfast.

While 2006’s L.E.F. was a rebel yell against the worrying formulaic preset trend, Twice In A Blue Moon is a return to pure trance from the charismatic Dutchman. The album opens with an eerie cacophony of intricate sounds that reminds me of Mike Oldfield’s Exorcist score, with the added bonus of a big thumping kickdrum. A fine example of melodic tech-trance, the wave breaks into a gorgeous emotive piano which sets the tone of the longplayer right from the off. Taking the baton, Melbourne’s own Julia Messenger provides a sensual vocal over the deep rumbling electrotrance of Black Velvet in a lyrically dense but intelligent number as the master layers subtle effects and tweaks superbly. An unexpected surprise is the pleasurable fruitiness of We Belong, an interpretation of 1983 Italo-Disco classic Happy Station – a bouncy discotrance track with a clear respect for the era. Check out the original HERE for some seriously twisted synth noises.

One of my highlights is the fantastic spacey 90s synth of Gabriella’s Sky which drops purely into a trance breakbeat with all the Balearic goodness of Hybrid or Future Sound of London, conjuring images of tropical skies and waterfalls in a very personal track named after his daughter. Tightly produced and melodic as hell, Made of Love is a straight-up epic vocal number that dips and soars wonderfully into the monster single Radio Crash. What more can be said about this one? Voted a future classic on virtually every radio show and rarely allowed to cool in the CD wallets of trance luminaries across the board, this is full throttle futuristic tech-trance. Rushing on, the album’s title track brings a long driving piece that surprises me halfway in with a melodic riff that grabs me by the balls – like a vice. The spaceman brings us down with the beautiful shimmer of Feel You, a near perfect melodic prog-trancer which is made a little too poppy by a Britney-like vocal, but hey that’s what dub remixes are for!

Sadly this vocal rises in my esteem in comparison to that of its successor, Life. Ben Cullum from The Egg provides a poppy, nonsensical vocal which overshadows the balladry of the track’s breakdown and the smooth techy edge – think Going Wrong but with slightly less cheese. Originally released in 2007, Brain Box’s Zombie Nation-esque organ riff saves face with a great distorted ping pong effect over layered eerie sounds. A big room stormer, this is loud, electronic and ferocious. Penultimate track Shanti, complete with Shaman chant is an absolute classic. Epic but pacy, the track graduates from good to great with an unexpected electrotrance riff which explodes in and brings the fireworks. All that remains is a two minute ambient instrumental to finish off. Visions of Blue is a gorgeous intricate emotive piano score which floats along as spacey noises dive below. A stunning downtempo composition to round off a stunning soundtrack.

When an album reminds you of Chicane’s Far From the Maddening Crowds and BT’s Movement in Still Life and demands no excuses, you know that you have encountered something special. Ferry demolishes all competition with a labour of love that has definitely been worth the wait. Sophisticated effects, synth scratches and whooshes abound throughout as the Dutchman takes as much care in the overall composition as the melody. Reaching the heights of his seminal debut, this album heralds the return of the king. Trance is in safe hands – In Ferry We Trust.

Roll on the summer tour!

Out now on 405 Recordings, check out the tracklisting…

01. Shelter Me
02. Black Velvet (feat. Julia Messenger)
03. We Belong (feat. Maria Nayler)
04. Gabriella’s Sky
05. Made Of Love (feat. Betsie Larkin)
06. Radio Crash
07. Twice In A Blue Moon
08. Feel You (feat. Betsie Larkin)
09. Life (feat. Ben Cullum)
10. Brain Box
11. Shanti
12. Visions Of Blue

And check out the official video for the mighty Radio Crash...