TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Canada - Toronto & Southern Ont.
-- Ferry Corsten interview on trance.nu
Ferry Corsten interview on trance.nu
I got the Ferry Corsten newsletter a little while ago and it sent a link to this interview. I thought it was pretty interesting...talking a bit about where he's going with his music.
My favorite part: "I can only say that the �Gouryella� project isn�t dead, so it isn�t that there will never be a release of a new �Gouryella� track. The only big question is when it will be, haha!"
| quote: |
| Dutchman Ferry Corsten (32) is producing music for more than 15 years now. He has worked on projects and collaborations such as �System F�, �Gouryella�, �Moonman�, �Albion�, �Veracocha� and of course the releases under his own name: Ferry Corsten. His most famous productions under his own name are hit records like �Punk�, �Fire�, �Sweet Sorrow� and of course the massive hit �Rock Your Body, Rock�. Ferry has done remixes of tracks from acts and artists such as U2, Moby, Faithless, Armand van Helden, Duran Duran, Rank 1 and William Orbit to name a few. Besides his studio work, Ferry Corsten is a well known name in the DJ scene. He�s currently ranked at number 5 on the famous DJ Mag Top 100. And his name has already been in the top 10 of this prestigious list for a few years. You can see Ferry behind the decks of all the big parties, the most popular festivals and in the best clubs all around the globe. His new artist album �L.E.F.� (Loud Electronic Ferocious) was released 2 weeks ago on his own label �Flashover Recordings�. Just before the release of the album Trance.nu had a detailed interview with Ferry in his studio in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We talked with him about his L.E.F. album, the Gouryella project, DJ-ing, Ibiza and much more ... Trance.nu: Ferry, your brand new artist album �L.E.F.� (Loud Electronic Ferocious) will see its release on Friday May 26. Your last album �Right Of Way� was an album with a lot of various styles of music on it. What can we expect of the �L.E.F.� album? Ferry: You must see the �L.E.F.� album as the follow up of the �Right Of Way� album. With the �Right Of Way� album I decided to make a step into a new direction. I continued with the same sound direction with the new album. But I have to say that the �L.E.F.� album is more, let�s say a �fine tuning� of the things that I started with the �Right Of Way� album. You have to think about tracks in a style like �Rock Your Body, Rock�, the more rougher sound, which is a mixture of the trance sound and a wink to electro and techno. That�s the �L.E.F.� album! Trance.nu: Which track on the new album is your personal favourite and why? Ferry: It�s very difficult to only pick one single track, because it�s a very diverse album. There�s really a big diversity of tracks, but if I have to choose one track, I will go for the title track, which is called �Loud Electronic Ferocious�. I have the feeling that this one will be a popular track with the audience. And secondly, I would go for a track which is a lot different when you compare it with �Loud Electronic Ferocious�. It�s a track called �Into The Dark�, which I did together with singer Howard Jones. That�s more a pop song, but I�m really satisfied with the total production of that one. Trance.nu: And which track will surprise the audience the most do you think? Ferry: I think that a lot of people would be slightly surprised when they hear a track that is called �Junk�. �Junk� is a sort of a rock / rap track, which I did together with Gangsta-rapper Guru. Basically, the track is based on my track �Punk�. The final result is a very surprising track for sure! Trance.nu: Is the album getting released in Europe only, or can we expect a world wide release as well? Ferry: �L.E.F.� is getting a world wide release. First it will see a release in the Benelux, followed by the rest of Europe and also Australia. After that it�s getting released pretty fast in Asia. In Japan and some other Asian countries. And in July the US follows with a release as well. Trance.nu: Can you tell us something more already about the tracks that are on the album? Ferry: There will be 16 tracks on the album, but each area will get a special bonus track. So there are 15 tracks that are the same for every release. The Benelux version is getting a bonus track. The other European releases will get another bonus track and the Asian release also has another bonus track and the US will also get another bonus track. So there will be 4 different releases of the album, each with its own special bonus track. So each area has an exclusive track on it. Trance.nu: For your track �Fire� you worked together with Duran Duran�s lead singer Simon LeBon. You just told us that you also worked together with Guru and Howard Jones. Are there more collaborations, which we can hear on the album? Ferry: I also collaborated with a few session singers. One of them is Denise Stahlie, who is actually from Bolivia. She used to live in Spain for years and also in New York, but now she�s living in The Netherlands. Usually she sings a lot of jazzy, salsa songs. She has a great voice. I also worked together with Deborah Andrew, who is an upcoming singer in the UK. And for the rest I�ve worked together with Oz, who�s also an upcoming UK singer. Trance.nu: We already know that �Fire� and �Galaxia� are 100% confirmed to be on the album. A lot of people would like to know if your track �I Love You� is also going to be on the �L.E.F.� album? Ferry: �I Love You� will be on the album, but it�s one of the bonus tracks. The Benelux version will have this one as an extra bonus track on it. When I made �I Love You�, I didn�t make it with the intention to release the track. It was only meant to be played in my own DJ sets, so I didn�t gave the track to anyone else as well. But since so many people asked me about this song and if it would be released ever, I decided to put it on the �L.E.F.� album as a bonus track for the Benelux version. Trance.nu: The new version of �Galaxia� was meant as well for your own sets, wasn�t it? Ferry: Yeah, �Galaxia� is a different story. It was meant indeed for my own sets as well, but the story goes way back. The funny thing is that �Galaxia� was the B-side of a track that I�ve made in 1996 under my old �Moonman� alias. For my wedding in 2002, I used the theme of �Galaxia� and I re-arranged the track into a classical, film score sounding track. This special version was played on the moment that my wife walked into the church. So the whole track has a very special sentimental feeling for me. On a certain moment I had the feeling I wanted to do something with the track again. I think that it was 1,5 years ago, when I started to work on a new, updated version of �Galaxia� in my studio for my own sets. This one was also requested a lot by some people, so for that reason I also decided to put it on the album now. Trance.nu: You recently remixed the theme song for the popular TV programme �Prison Break�. Did you know about the programme before you were asked to remix the theme song? Ferry: No, but I already heard some good stories about it when I was in the United States, but in fact I never saw an episode before. People told me that it was the number 1 series on Fox Network in the US at the moment. When I was asked to remix the theme song, I wanted to know first what it was all about, so they did send me part of the series on DVD (the first series is still on-going). The music and the parts were included as well. I must say that this series is very addicting! When I saw the first one, I wanted to see the whole series, haha! Trance.nu: And how are the reactions on your remix so far? Ferry: Very good to be honest! The original composer, Ramin Djawadi, is also very impressed by my remix, so that was nice to hear! Ramin was recently in a few TV and radio shows to talk about the series, the theme song and my remix, so it already got a lot of attention. He also sent me a message that he enjoyed the way I had remixed it so I was happy with his comment.. Trance.nu: Will this track also be on the album? Ferry: Yes, this one will be on the album as well, but also only as a bonus track. Since �Prison Break� is huge in the United States, we decided to put this track on the US edition as a bonus track. Trance.nu: Your new single is going to be titled �Watch Out�. Can you tell us something more about this track? Ferry: �Watch Out� will see a release at the end of May. It really goes well when I play it in my sets. The track reached number 1 on the DMC charts, and number 2 on the �Cool Cuts Charts�. This chart is a list with the most hyped tracks. Remixes are done by Lee Coombs, which is a more progressive breaks remix and �Dirty South� also did a remix. �Dirty South� is a more deep sounding electro remix. �Watch Out� is a track that you have to put in the list with tracks like �Punk� and �Rock Your Body, Rock�. It�s a nice and raw track with a vocoder voice performed by Ferry Corsten himself, haha! The track has a sort of a rock feeling, but it�s totally electronic. But the feeling is just rough! Trance.nu: You already made tracks with singers like Marc Almond (Soft Cell), Simon LeBon (Duran Duran) and on the L.E.F. album will be a track with vocals done by Howard Jones. Those people are all vocalists of the 80�s. Is there something special that you have with the 80�s? Ferry: The 80�s were a very important decade for me, because that was the time that I really got interested in music and that I started to understand it. I was only a little kid back then, but I already started to search for what kinds of music there was available, except of my father�s music, haha and the music that I�ve heard on the radio. It also came to �The Soulshow�, by Ferry Maat (Dutch radioshow that was broadcasted in the 80�s) as well. That whole period is a sort of a mystique for me. The music was a bit mysterious and it was the period that people started to use synthesizers for music. I always had a sort of love for the 80�s music. Nowadays you�ll see that more and more 80�s artists are making their comeback, like Duran Duran and Depeche Mode for example. The whole 80�s feeling is living again, so in my opinion it was a good idea to work with people who were successful during that time. Trance.nu: Are there artists of the 80�s that you would like to work with in the future? Ferry: Yeah, it� somebody who was popular in the 80�s, but nowadays he�s still very popular. I think one of my biggest dreams is to do a production together with It�s U2�s leadsinger Bono. His voice, his personality, just everything around him is very impressive. Doing a track with him would be great! Trance.nu: The summer season is on its way. On which festivals will you perform during summer? Ferry: I will perform at Dance Valley, Sensation White, Nature One in Germany, in the UK on Global Gathering, in the United States I will perform on a few festivals and in Belgium I'll perform on Tomorrowland. Trance.nu: You just told us that you will perform again on the Dance Valley festival in The Netherlands. But this year there will be a special �L.E.F.� stage. Can you tell us something more about this stage already? Ferry: Yes, I will playing a long set there myself. We also have Frost & Maron, the 2 guys who just released their first track �Mute Your Mind� on my Flashover Recordings label. And Judge Jules, Ronald van Gelderen and Agnelli & Nelson will play on the L.E.F. stage as well. The whole day partying, so that will be cool I think! Trance.nu: Are you going to perform on Ibiza again this year? Ferry: Yes. This year I will play for the first time at �Cream� in Amnesia this summer. I�ve done the �Judgement Sunday� for over 6 years now and I had a very good time there for 6 years long. But I think it was time for something else and �Cream� came with the chance for me to perform there and that is just awesome I must say. So I�m really looking forward to that! Trance.nu: Do you have some DJ�s that you really like a lot yourself? Ferry: I have to admit that lately I haven�t been listening to other DJ�s frequently, because I simply don�t have the time to see and listen to other people�s sets. But I have said it before and I will say it again that one of my favourite�s is Carl Cox. When you see him play, he has a lot of fun during his sets and he always plays with a sort of a �freedom� feeling. It�s cool to watch him, the big man, going like a train during his sets, haha! Trance.nu: And any favourite producers? Ferry: I think William Orbit� and not only because of his productions, but also they way he did the things in his career. It�s actually almost the same way how I want to do it. So something like that is part of my ambition for the future. William�s productions are always perfect! It�s really cool that he�s doing albums like the one�s for Madonna and productions for people like U2. But he�s also doing his own things, which have a sort of a link with the dance scene. This is also the direction that I foresee for myself in the future, when I make the decision to lower the amount of DJ gigs. Trance.nu: If you had to make a choice between DJ-ing and producing, which one would you choose and why? Ferry: That�s a very difficult question. It�s not that I can�t spin music without producing or the other way around, but it does help each other a lot. Because I�m producing I can play and promote my own tracks easily to a big audience. And of course I�m taking the inspirations that I�m getting with my DJ-gigs with me into the studio, so that works perfectly together. I have to say that I started of first as a producer and later on I started DJ-ing, so I think that I feel myself for 51% a producer and for 49% DJ. But if I had to make a choice, it would be producing I guess. Trance.nu: In the past you�ve already worked together with Ti�sto, Armin van Buuren, Vincent de Moor, Steve Helstrip to name a few. Can we expect some new collaborations with other producers in the future? Ferry: Not really for this moment. I�ve just finished the �L.E.F.� album, so first I�m going to concentrate myself on promoting the album, touring worldwide etc. And a lot of the tracks on the album will get a separate release, so some of the tracks I have to rework in new dance versions, so I think that I will be busy for a while in the studio. So I don�t even have the time to collaborate with other artists. Trance.nu: In the past you released a lot of tracks under aliases like �Moonman�, �Albion�, �Eon�, �Pulp Victim� and �System F�. In the last interview we had with you, you told us that you were going to focus only on projects like �System F�, �Gouryella� and your own Ferry Corsten tracks. Is it still like that, or is it possible that we can expect a new project done by you in the future? Ferry: On this moment the �Ferry Corsten� project is the project that gets the main focus indeed. And right behind that, the �Gouryella� project. A lot of people still hope and want to have a new �Gouryella� track. But I can only say that the �Gouryella� project isn�t dead, so it isn�t that there will never be a release of a new �Gouryella� track. The only big question is when it will be, haha! And �System F� is a sort of story that�s almost finished to be honest. The reason for that is that I�ve collected all styles of music under the �Ferry Corsten� project. In the past I really had a lot of aliases, but since I want to focus now on my own name, I decided to put all those styles together and release them under one name: Ferry Corsten. So you can expect a typical trance track, a more electro influenced track, a techno track or whatever! The name Ferry Corsten is not only one style, but a collection of all various styles. In the past I did the same actually, but then it was under all those different aliases. Trance.nu: What�s the story with the releases on both the �Tsunami� label and for your own �Flashover Recordings�? For example, your track �Fire� was released on �Flashover Recordings� and a bit later �Whatever� was released on �Tsunami�? Ferry: That is because I�d switched labels. I used to run the �Tsunami� label together with �Purple Eye Recordings�, but on a certain moment I stepped out of it and I started my own label, �Flashover Recordings�. �Tsunami� still had some material from the �Right Of Way� album and the old �System F� album that wasn�t released on vinyl yet. At the moment they are still releasing some stuff and we started with the �Flashover� label now. We have an agreement with �Tsunami� that they still can release those tracks and in the meantime we�re releasing all new stuff on �Flashover Recordings�. So that�s why you sometimes have a release as �Ferry Corsten� on �Tsunami� and sometimes on �Flashover Recordings�. Trance.nu: What releases can we expect on �Flashover Recordings� in the near future? Ferry: First of all the �L.E.F.� album and the tracks that are on that album of course. There will be a new track by �Frost & Maron�. I�ve just signed a 17 year old boy from the United States and we�re going to release his tracks under the name �Breakfast�. Those productions are really fantastic! And he�s only 17 years old! So I think we will hear a lot about him in the future! Trance.nu: In 2005 you released the first edition in the �Passport� series. Can we expect a new one soon? And if so, which country will it be? Ferry: Yes, we have plans to release another edition in the �Passport� series. For now, I don�t have a clue which country we�re going to pick for the new edition yet, but we have definitely plans to release one this year. Trance.nu: One of the tracks on the first �Passport� CD was your bootleg remix of the BT track �The Force Of Gravity�. Is there a chance that this remix will see a full release in the future? Ferry: I don�t think so. I think that the �Passport� CD the only release was that you will be able to find this remix on. We were busy for a long time to release the remix as on official release. Even BT himself phoned me about it and told me that he really loved the remix and asked if it was possible to release it. But it never happened� One of the reasons is some US managers think they own the whole world� Actually I made this remix to play in my own sets, so I never had the intention to release it. I think that a release on the �Passport� CD was enough to be honest. And because of that, it also stays a bit special. Trance.nu: Can we expect some new Ferry Corsten remixes in the near future? Ferry: I will do some new remixes, but that will be remixes or other versions of new Ferry Corsten releases. Maybe I will do a remix across as well, but then it will be someone big. Trance.nu: What kind of equipment in your studio is the most important for you? Ferry: That�s difficult. Every instrument is a chain in the whole production process. But the heart of it is my computer of course. I have some hardware as well in the studio and I love to work with it, but I also use a lot of software in my productions. I�m sure that I could do productions with software only, so if all hardware is quitting, I can still make productions. But without my computer� then we have a serious problem, haha! Trance.nu: For the �Right Of Way� album you produced the track �Kyoto� on your laptop when you were travelling. Do you still make tracks on your laptop, while you�re on the road? Ferry: Yes, I also did the �Flashover Remix� for my �Holding On� track on my laptop. When I�m on the road I finish tracks on my laptop, I always master them in the studio when I�m back of course. It�s almost impossible to do that with only a headphone on. It doesn�t feel right, so I always do that in the studio. Trance.nu: Where do you get your inspiration from when you�re busy with a track? Ferry: That can be a lot of things actually. �Kyoto� is a nice example maybe. I was in Japan in the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka. That was somewhere during winter time and when the bullet train was coming out of a tunnel, I saw the Mount Fuji full of snow� That was one of those moments that you�re thinking like : �I�m in a train now � in Japan ��. And of course it could have been different! I could have been working in a boring office and not feeling happy at all maybe. I try to translate those moments into music or creativity. So those are the things that I get my inspiration from. But also sometimes when I hear another great record that�s been played by a DJ before me or something like that. But most of the time it�s from a lot of different things that actually don�t have anything to do with music at all. Trance.nu: In your latest releases we can hear a lot of electro influences. On the various internet forums, I�ve read that a lot of people would like you to produce a track again with the trance sound that was popular in 1999. What do you think about that? Ferry: I think it would be great to make a �1999 feel� track again and I�m sure that I�m going to do another huge trance bomb in the future for sure. I have to admit that when I�m comparing the 1999 trance music, with the trance music that�s being released nowadays, that the 1999 tracks are a lot more spontaneous. The old tracks have been produced in probably 1 or 2 days, so they just took the moment and than the melody and the beats were put together. In my opinion, producers had more of a �Wow� feeling when they composed a cool melody. I have that feeling a lot more with the old productions. Nowadays people are way too busy with making a track just perfect. I mean that now they are focussing more on the production, how it�s sounding and if a certain hi-hat sound is good etc. Don�t get me wrong, that�s cool if you like it, but in my opinion it would be nice if people would return to the old way of producing and I would like to do it myself as well of course. More spontaneous. Trance.nu: If you compare your recent work, with the productions that you have done a few years ago, what do you think is the biggest difference? Ferry: Everything sounds more tight and way fatter! I have a lot more experience after all those years of producing, so everything is more on the right spot in the productions. I can hear my productions and studio grow both when I�m listening to my new tracks. The quality is much better: Better mixing, better compression, better� well, just everything! I can hear it very clearly myself. Trance.nu: Why did you decide to start producing more tracks with the electro sound? Ferry: I started with producing music in 1991. In that time I really produced a lot of different styles. I did some ambient tracks, drum �n bass, house, techno and even gabber! So you can say that my productions are very wide and in fact I�m also pretty open minded about my productions. I also like to find out what certain sounds do in music. I mean what a specific sound does in techno or in a house track. I learned a lot during the years and on a certain moment I started to produce more trance related music, because I liked that the most and it felt like that was really my thing. I produced trance music for 7 years and on a certain moment I felt the need again to try something else. I was very interested in doing something that I hadn�t done before and I think it was a good time to start something fresh, something new. So I made the decision to do that, haha! On the �Right Of Way� album it was already a small step into that direction and on �L.E.F.� you can hear it very clear. When I started with the �L.E.F.� album, I first listened again to my old albums and on some tracks I already did some electro influenced tracks. Like on the �System F� album �Out Of The Blue�. There is the track �Soul On Soul�, that I did together with Marc Almond. When you listen to that one you hear that it�s a sort of an 80�s track with kind of an electro feel in it. After the release of the track, it was picked up by DJ Hell, the legendary German techno hero. And he asked �The Hacker�, also a big name in the electro scene, to do a remix of it. So in that time I was already busy with other things. �Cry� is also not really a typical trance track, but more a mixture between a piano house track and a trance record. So I was always very wide with producing music, but for the �L.E.F.� album I really wanted to do my own thing and not only one or two styles of music. But I wanted to have a constant theme in the whole story, so I think that I�ve succeeded with that on the new album. Trance.nu: How do you think about the future of EDM and especially trance music? Ferry: I�m happy that music isn�t being compartmentalised anymore. At the end of the 80�s and the beginning of the 90�s we had house music and later on it was more and more specialized in other sub-genres. Trance.nu: How do you see yourself in 10 years? Ferry: I think that I�ll still be busy with producing music and I hope that it will be something like I just said, in a way like William Orbit is doing. So being the producer behind an artist or a band. I�m not sure if I�m still DJ-ing then. I mean, 10 years is a long time, so a lot of things can happen during that period of time. But I�m sure that I�m still active in the music industry, because music is my life! Trance.nu: I was just thinking� You started in 1991 with producing, so that means that you�re busy with producing music for 15 years now. Ferry: Yes, that�s right! In 1991 I started and released my first track under the �Spirit Of Adventure� alias with some friends. �Total Distortion� was the name of that track, so yeah, I�m busy for quit some time already, haha! Trance.nu: Thank you very much for your time and good luck in the future! Ferry: Thank you too and thanks for your time! Written by: Twan van Loon, aka dancemania |
Thanks for this hun! I appreciate it!
| quote: |
Trance.nu: Do you have some DJ�s that you really like a lot yourself? Ferry: I have to admit that lately I haven�t been listening to other DJ�s frequently, because I simply don�t have the time to see and listen to other people�s sets. But I have said it before and I will say it again that one of my favourite�s is Carl Cox. When you see him play, he has a lot of fun during his sets and he always plays with a sort of a �freedom� feeling. It�s cool to watch him, the big man, going like a train during his sets, haha! |
Re: Ferry Corsten interview on trance.nu
| quote: |
| Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~* I got the Ferry Corsten newsletter a little while ago and it sent a link to this interview. I thought it was pretty interesting...talking a bit about where he's going with his music. My favorite part: "I can only say that the �Gouryella� project isn�t dead, so it isn�t that there will never be a release of a new �Gouryella� track. The only big question is when it will be, haha!" SOURCE |
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.