Ferry Corsten: The British crowd never let me down

Photograph: Ferry Corsten

Ferry Corsten is a name synonymous with the trance movement. Since 1997, he has been responsible for putting out some of the strongest trance releases ever, and his stay at the forefront of the constantly evolving trance scene has showed no signs of changing. We caught up with the busy Dutchman ahead of a jam packed festival season to talk about his upcoming 8 hour radio show ‘Corsten’s Countdown’, his forthcoming appearance at a number of British festivals, and what it takes to make it in the trance scene.

Growing up who or what got you interested in producing music?

 I’ve always been interested in music since I can remember. I always wondered what it was like to create my own music and I always wanted to know how producing worked.

 How do you think the sound of trance has changed since you first entered the scene?

 Trance has evolved a lot over the years. I think the main thing that has happened is that Trance has been influenced by sounds of other genres and the other way around. You hear so many house elements in a trance track these days and the other way around. It has really become a melting pot of genres.

Watch: Ferry Corsten and Betsie Larkin - Not Coming Down

You are playing an 8 hour set as part of your Live Corsten’s Countdown Radio Show in Dublin, June 2nd. Can you tell us some more about the nature of the event, and how do you go about preparing yourself for a set that long!?

 We have celebrated Corsten’s Countdown 250 last year with an 8 hour interactive live show. The show really felt good so we did another one at the end of 2012, celebrating the new year. This time we want to celebrate the summer (hence the name Corsten’s Countdown Summer Special). It is basically up to the listeners to what I play. Everybody can send in his or her favourite summer tune via www.corstenscountdown.com or by using the #CCsummer on twitter. This can be before the show but also during the show. During the show I will try playing most of the requested tracks, have interviews with artists, tell fans summer stories etc. Playing 8 hours is quite long but the time really flies once the show has started because it’s so much fun to do.

 How will this one differ from your last 8 hour session in New York at the end of last year?

 We are currently working out all the details for the show but the main difference to last special is that this time we will have a live video stream for the last 2 hours of the show.

You are playing a number of festivals this year including Global Gathering and Creamfields. How do you rate the British dance music festivals?

They are great. The crowd, the atmosphere and the production of British festivals have never let me down.

Are there any artists at the moment that you are impressed by, or that have caught your attention?

I really like what Jacob van Hage is doing at the moment.

You began your producing career at just 17, is there any advice you would give to up and coming artists trying to make it in the world dance music?

Be creative and don’t give up. Success really comes with hard work.

What does the future hold for Ferry Corsten? Do you have any more releases in the pipeline?

I have been working on new music indeed. I can’t really tell you much about it yet but I might play new music in my upcoming live sets or during the Corsten’s Countdown Summer special so keep those ears open. ;)

And finally, If you weren’t a DJ/producer, what would you be?

I studied to become a technical engineer so I would probably ended up in that field of work.

Check out Ferry Corsten's website www.ferrycorsten.com for more info.

Click here to find out where Ferry Corsten is performing this year

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