Ferry Corsten - Trance Pioneer
Representing: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Style: Trance, Electro House, Techno
Best Known For:
Ferry Corsten came to world relatively early in the line of über-famous Dutch trance DJs, which is why the words “trance pioneer” get tossed around as soon as people start mentioning his name. A legend in his own right, Ferry hails from the hottest trance base in the world: the Netherlands (What’s in their water??).
His DJing career began at age 16, when he released his first record, and like most DJs, started off with gigs at small clubs in his home country, until he got the attention of promoters who took his previously underground career to the next level. He had more aliases than he could probably remember, but the most well-known is without a doubt System F. The approach of the millennium saw Ferry Corsten’s career really take off. He released Out of the Blue on his self-established Tsunami Records, and saw it reach Top 20 in the UK. The story behind this sensation involves Ferry sending out his tapes with blank, white labels with no artist or song name, and just a cell phone number as a contact. The fresh marketing campaign worked, and everyone was fighting through the phone lines to get a piece of the song. The next System F single, Cry, also reached Top 20, and paved the way for Ferry Corsten’s most famous collaboration to date.
Together with Tiësto, they dynamic trance duo was known as Gouryella, which translates into “heaven,” which is a fitting name when you listen to their productions (the two widely-held classics they are most known for are Gouryella and Walhalla). Ferry Corsten has also worked with Robert Smit (aka. Starparty); and Vincent de Moor (aka. Veracocha – you probably recognize this name for “Carte Blanche,” another trance masterpiece). Playing nice with others has done nothing but good for Ferry; he is a prolific remixer. The remix he did for William Orbit’s Adagio for Strings was a smash, both in the clubs and in the charts, just in case you needed added confirmation.
For a DJ of his stature, Ferry Corsten has earned his fair share of awards. He was named Best Trance DJ in Ibiza in 2005 and 2007, and he may not have released as many long-players as his collaborator Tiësto, but his albums have been generally well-received, especially his latest offering, L.E.F (Loud Electronic Ferocious). This album marked his leave from more conventional trance to a mix with techno and electro, and debuted at number one on the iTunes charts. Ferry is also the only EDM artist in history to achieve 10 gold singles in the UK (what happened to Tiësto and Armin?), and having been ranked eighth in 2007 by DJMag’s voters, it is almost certain that he will make the countdown this year. That’s going to be ten years straight in the countdown – good luck, Ferry.
