Celebrating an impressive 20 years as a world-famous and respected DJ/producer, Ferry Corsten releases his fourth full-length artist album, WKND (Ultra Music/Flashover Recordings), on February 24. Taking the biggest, baddest dancefloor annihilators and combining them with some of the catchiest, nearly "pop" vocal tunes we’ve heard in a while, Corsten delivers a very strong studio album worth the purchase. Carving a bit of time out of his relentless travel and work schedule to speak with Earmilk, Ferry Corsten offers our readers some insight into the daily grind of being a globally recognized EDM artist. Read on!
EARMILK: Your new album, WKND, is dropping February 24. What's exciting and new for you about this album?
Ferry Corsten: I have been working a lot on this album, and, like every album, it is very exciting to see how it is going to be picked up by the fans. I can’t wait for it to be released!
Ferry Corsten - Feel It (Radio Edit)
Stream: Ferry Corsten – Feel It (Radio Edit)
EM: What's the process like working with vocalists on tracks of your own creation?
FC: I sometimes had such a busy schedule that it was almost impossible for me to work with the vocalists, but they all adjusted really well. For that, I still thank them! We had a lot of contact by phone or email, and the result of all the tracks is great, if you ask me. I’m really proud of the job we did together.
EM: Where do you find music to play in your sets? You must have tons of music sent to you.
FC: I do receive a lot of promos and demos, which I try to listen to as much as I can. Whenever I hear a track that has that sound or gives me a good feeling, I will play it or try to sign it to my own label, Flashover Recordings. Of course, my own productions are very important, too, and I play about 80% of my own songs during a live set.
EM: What's the difference between a live and a radio set for you?
FC: Radio sets are usually pre-recorded, so if you mess up, you can just start over or edit it after you are done. When you are mixing live, you can’t mess up or else the crowd will notice! I’d much rather play live, though, as the feeling you get from a crowd can be so amazing. You can see them react to the music you play, and it gives me goosebumps every time I hear a fully-packed club sing along with a track of my own.
EM: What trance producers do you think are most revolutionary or influential on the scene right now?
FC: I am really into the sound of Arty right now. He’s such a talented kid! Also, Flashover’s own Rafael Frost keeps amazing me with his sound. Both producers really know how to adapt to the current sound in a great way.
EM: You use social media pretty actively to interact with your fans. How has the Internet changed the way the EDM scene works?
FC: Social media really has become the platform for artists to interact with their fans and to get to know what they like and dislike about you. For me, it is a way to communicate not only what I am doing at the moment, but also talk about future events which are important to me. Besides social media, the Internet has played a very big role in the way music is distributed these days. It has become so easy for everybody to go online and buy an online album, download it and have it on your computer in less than 10 minutes.
Ferry Corsten - Check It Out (Radio Edit)
Stream: Ferry Corsten – Check It Out (Radio Edit)
EM: What kind of tracks do you find the most enjoyable to remix? What's your remixing process like?
FC: It really depends on what kind of track I am remixing. If I like the original, I instantly hear what I want to do in the remix. I never really know what kind of track I will be making: a progressive, melodic, trance track, or a hard-hitting club banger. I just start working on the remix and see where it goes from there.
EM: If someone had never heard your music before, what would you give to them as an introduction?
FC: My music is a mix of trance, electro, house and progressive, with melodies as the main focus. I want all of my tracks to be memorable, and I want to achieve this by creating melodies which are very catchy!
