365Mag Interview: Ferry Corsten

[Cupe]

Dutch Sensation Ferry Corsten is about to kick off his Once Upon a Night World Tour at the Winter Music Conference next week. We are quite excited to see what he has in store for us. The Trance superstar will also be releasing a compilation album featuring some great artists. Ferry talked to us about the detail that is involved with the set up of his upcoming event, as well as the joys of being a father, and more…

You'll be launching the kick-off to the 'Once Upon A Night' world tour at Winter Music Conference (March 27 @ Karu & Y). What are some of the enhancements to the event that the crowd can expect?

The show Once Upon A Night is based on the launch of my brand new compilation series. The idea of the album is to take my listeners with me on a night out and give them an idea of what a kind of night they would have. The show will be an interactive one and the production is going to be based on an album cover that comes to life. For every show I have a number of guest DJs planned, e.g. WMC Solarstone, Cosmic Gate, Sied van Riel… I'm really excited to present and tour with the concept this year.

How many hours of work is involved for the staging of your shows for example Full on Ferry, and Once Upon A Night?

It is a long process and takes definitely hundreds if not thousands of work. Not only for me but also for so many others that help make the show possible. There's the brainstorming of ideas, the actual production build up from sketches, footage, etc. There's the constant number of meetings throughout the months to make sure that everyone is on the same page. I guess I work with very passionate people who love what they do so it's great to have the intense amount of enthusiasm … but it does take a while.

What is the longest set you have ever performed and when and where was it?

Wow. I remember I had an album concert for my artist album “ Right of Way” where I played from about 10:30pm to 6:30am BUT since it was daylight saving that morning, I played an extra hour… so 9 hours!

You recently performed at the Nokia Theatre for Made Event in New York for the first time. What did you think of the venue and the lighting design?

The venue was beautiful and the concept was great! I saw it recently on youtube and it looked amazing.

You mentioned that some of the locations you've performed in have influenced your latest compilation Once Upon A Night. Can you be more specific as to what type of influence each of the countries you were referring to in this comment provided to the overall vibe?

Well first of all the cover of the CD is from my hometown Rotterdam, which has largely influenced my music over the years. It's also my home base and my place of refuge. Other than that, I wanted to take people on an imaginary journey through my CD and take them to some of the places that I've played in the last year. From the tropical beach of Bali (I played the Salttank Leaving Town there for the first time) to my “holy” snow boarding vacation in Austria where I would listen to various tracks of the album while snowboarding.

Can we expect future follow-ups to the 'Once Upon A Night' series approximately once a year, or more or less frequently?

We do have plans to release a second one later in the year.

Can you tell us some of the procedures you go through behind the scenes in order to keep yourself organized?

Good question! I'm a bit of a control freak with regard to my music so I'm pretty much on the ball with things like radio show, preparing for shows, producing in the studio… But for all the other stuff... I'm glad I have a good team around me to help.

How old is your daughter now?

She's about a year and a half and everything they say about Fatherhood is true. I adore her.

Are you enjoying watching her through her first steps of growing up?

Do I! My daughter is bilingual and it's amazing to see her speak both Dutch and English. The other week before she went to sleep she said in Dutch “Bye Bye Papa” and then said “ Bye Bye” after in English. I thought my heart melted.

Please describe a recent experience in which you felt enlightened by learning something valuable or interesting.

I'm a Discovery Channel freak and love watching this after a long day in the studio. It helps me empty my brain and fill it with other interesting news or facts…

Do you notice any trends when it comes to quality releases, for example certain months may be hotter than others?

You do notice that a lot of producers are saving their best releases for the Miami Winter Music Conference dates or the Ibiza season. Usually, it is a bit slower between the holidays and the end of January. I guess everyone has to go on vacation at some point

Do you have any exciting news in regards to Flashover Recordings any of your sub-labels such as Moody Moon?

We've just started a new label called Premier, which is a joint venture between Flashover and Blackhole Recordings.