Ferry Meets World

You’ll hear phrases like “career-spanning,” “prolific” and “time-tested” when it comes to Ferry Corsten and his music, and it’s because they’re all true. He’s a veteran in every sense of the world, both in terms of his production chops and his awareness of where he wants his music and career to go.

Easygoing and funny, he’s a breeze to talk to on the phone (even apologizing for the loud background noise at his New York hotel). He’s been busy releasing a track a week on his radio show, Corsten’s Countdown, and today, he released the part one (of three) of his Hello World EP on his own Flashover Recordings.

So, what exactly is a three-part EP? Basically, it’s an album spread out over an entire year. With three parts, Corsten’s able to make more music and constantly release new tunes (he began working on part two of the EP before part one had even been released), rather than have to promote year-old songs released on one album. The entire project will see him producing over 20 originals and remixes (as opposed to the traditional 10–12 tracks you would find on a regular album). Fans will find Corsten’s latest work more vocally driven than previous efforts, covering everything from electro house to big room to deep house.

It’s Corsten’s first time trying this three-part method, which has also inspired the name of his EP. “I decided to give it the name Hello World because ‘Hello World’ is a phrase that a lot of computer programmers use as the first phrase when they write a computer program,” he explains. “It’s a bit nerdy, but it’s funny at the same time.”

It’s no secret that many fans lament Corsten’s sharp divergence from trance, the genre that brought him to the forefront. Simply put, he got tired of producing it—no surprise coming from someone with a career as long as his. “That’s why I ventured out to all the electro stuff,” he says, “like ‘Punk’ and ‘Rock Your Body, Rock’”—both of which were released in 2003. Still known by and large as a trance DJ at the time, Corsten went into the studio with the single mission of producing whatever he wanted to, coming out with the genre-bending “Rock Your Body, Rock.” Listeners might not know it, but that’s actually Corsten’s own voice saying the title lyric in the track. “I needed to keep myself on my toes in the studio, and I really grew bored of doing the same thing,” he says. Now, you could say he’s undergoing another experimental phase with Hello World.

That’s not to say he’s completely abandoned trance, however. Just how current big room producers are picking up on ‘90s-style deep house, Corsten sees trance returning to that same time period’s sound as well. “I think trance will borrow from the ‘90s again, and a lot of the old-school, real trance vibes we know as trance will come back again,” he says. In the meantime, Corsten’s Flashover remixes of “Back to Paradise” and “Make It Ours” on Hello World Part 1 will have fans reliving that euphoric sound.

Speaking of reliving, many Insomniac fans will remember Corsten’s live, three-hour set at Nocturnal Wonderland 2009. Of the thousands of shows he’s done before and since then, that night still stands out in his memory. “I always look back at that, because that was the launch set of my album Twice in a Blue Moon,” he recalls. “I had a three-hour set—which, at a festival like that, was almost unheard of—and the whole show was built around my album that was coming out. So, I really enjoyed that night. It was just an amazing vibe.”

Now, Corsten’s busy creating different but equally incredible vibes with New World Punx, his collaboration with Markus Schulz. The duo has a new track coming out in the beginning of March—just in time for their Coachella performance (one of Corsten’s most anticipated of the year for himself)—and are also working on single number two.

From “Rock Your Body, Rock” to Hello World to New World Punx, it may be hard to remember that Corsten does have a life outside of dance music. He and his wife welcomed a baby boy into their family six months ago, a younger brother to their six-year-old daughter (who’s a big fan of Disclosure). Whereas Corsten may have once stayed out for two weeks at a time, he now makes the effort to fly back as often as he can, using plenty of FaceTime and Skype in between.

Just like family time, Corsten also cherishes fan gifts, appreciating everything from the detailed pen drawings to the jerseys with his name on the back. He’s also still astounded by fans who get tattoos of his name. “I’m still amazed how people can put my name in a tattoo,” he says. “If you take a phrase out of one of my songs, that’s one thing. But someone’s name on your body is a whole different beast. It’s flattering, but at the same time, it’s just, ‘wow.’”

Now, Corsten’s on the path of wowing fans with his Hello World EP. Get your copy of the first part (released today), and be sure to keep tabs on Corsten for parts two and three, coming out later this year.

Hello World EP Part 1 is available on:

Beatport
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer

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