Ferry Corsten: Full On Ferry

By Aliff Ashari  •  in Interview
Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

20 years into the scene, you must have experienced the evolution of trance party’s. How would you describe the craziness of trance parties now and then?
Back in the days it was really all about the music because there was nothing else at the party. There was a DJ, the music and a few lights that go on and off. Nowadays, it’s all about the setup of the stage, the LED’s, the visuals that are being played and everything that comes around. It is way more of a show than it was back then. It definitely has come out of the underground.

You mentioned that you had to reschedule your entire tour to meet deadlines for one of your last tracks on WKND, ‘Walk on Air’. How hard is it to balance between producing an album and touring?
I have to work on my laptop sometimes but when it comes to the final mixing, I want to do it in my own studio because I know the sound there pretty well. In the case of ‘Walk on Air’, it was a final demo that just came back in from Amanda in Australia. We kinda closed the deadline by then but the song was just so good that we worked on it as soon as we can and still included it in the album. The process is always a little slower on the road.

We have to say that ‘Let You Go’ is one of our favourite tracks off WKND. Vocalist Sarah Bettens is the lead singer of a famous Belgian rock band, K’s Choice. How was it like collaborating with someone from a different musical background?
That’s the beauty of it! A lot of the people from the album come from a different musical background. Working with people from a different genre, they write their songs and lyrics in a very different way from someone who’s just writing for dance music. That brings a lot of depth to the song.

You’ve teamed up with Armin van Buuren on ‘Brute’ ,which we’ve heard dropped several times during your sets as well. Tell us a bit about this collaboration and what made the track so massive.
Armin and I have been friends for years and we’ve been doing tracks for each other’s albums. So for ‘Brute’, Armin came over to the studio and it’s always followed by us turning into complete geeks talking about plug-ins, effect units and other production stuff. We hit the melody quickly and thought of using triplets for the whole track which gives it the heavy militant feel. If you play that out to 20,000 people, everybody would feel like they’ve been fired up because it’s such a marching rhythm. The energy that comes out of that is just amazing.

If you were an ice cream, what flavour would you be and what flavour would Armin and Tiesto be?
I’ll definitely be the coffee ice cream because out of the three I could be the spiciest one! I’m not sure about the rest. You have to ask them!

You’ve managed to collect tonnes of awards from IDMA, how important are these awards in your career and should upcoming artists really target these awards to gain success?
It’s a sign of recognition. You’ve done something that caught the attention of a lot of people therefore you are awarded and it’s a great honour but as an upcoming artist you shouldn’t aim for the awards. You should do the best that you can do and create the most amazing music out there. The awards will come eventually.

Every artist has their own way to be inspired to produce music. Where does this inspiration come from for you and what inspires you to constantly produce amazing music?
I have a philosophy in life which is ‘look at every day with a smile’. My inspiration comes from everyday things. It could be the way my daughter wakes up in the morning, something that I eat, something I hear or see on the TV and radio and simple stuff like the place that i am. I remember being on a bullet train in Japan during the winter and was fascinated by the Japanese landscape. I was working on my laptop and created a track there too. It really helps you to open your mind.

You’ve played in Malaysia for a few times now, how would you rank the Malaysian gigs in South East Asia?
There’s an amazing scene in Malaysia. They’re aware of the music. I’ve been to other countries in Asia where the people listen to trance or house but they don’t necessarily know every word to a particular song but in Malaysia you get people singing along which is really cool.

Always thought we were cool. Thanks for the validation!

Ferry Corsten spun at The New Heineken Bottle Launch at KL Live on Wednesday 11 July. Log on to www.ferrycorsten.com for more on the trance god.