Preview, Trance | Ferry Corsten – Kudawudashuda [Preview]
Posted by Spice on January 10, 2013
Ferry Corsten returns to his roots in his latest track — a play on “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” — which premiered to much fanfare on the New Year’s edition of Corsten’s Countdown. This is solid gold non-vocal trance that features a mesmerizing hook, heavy kicks, and incredible builds; aside from the retrofits of older tracks he’s been working up with Markus Schulz, “Kudawudashuda” is easily one of the best things I’ve heard from Ferry lately. It’s the kind of track that gets dropped at 4:30 a.m. when the club is still packed but things are starting to get weird and you’re moving without thinking and are utterly in the zone.
On a more general note, Ferry is one of the heaviest hitters in the game and a true master of the genre, and I am hopeful that this is an indication of the kind of trance we can expect to see in 2013 (I’m likewise encouraged by Armin’s “Who’s Afraid of 138?” campaign). No word yet on an official release date yet but look it for it to drop soon on Flashover Recordings.
Progressive House, Trance | Armin van Buuren’s 2012 Yearmix
Posted by Spice on January 7, 2013
For some reason I’m only just getting to the magnificent feat of editing and mixing that is Armin van Buuren’s 2012 Yearmix. Armin spent close to a month chopping and refashioning 101 of the year’s top trance tunes into one blissful, continuous two hour mix that aired on A State of Trance at the end of December. Diehards will have already heard this in its entirety, but I’m calling your attention to it now in the event that it got lost in the holiday shuffle because it’s not something to miss. Not only does it provide an excellent and diverse cross section of the year in trance, but Armin’s unparalleled technical mastery is on display to the fullest extent (I cannot stress enough how agile, seamless, and creative his transitions are — if you have any sort of familiarity with these tracks, he’ll have you in total awe in about three minutes). Check it out below and be sure to take a look at the full track list after the jump.
Events | Ultra Music Festival Phase 1 Trailer
Posted by Middy on January 5, 2013
Ready for Miami yet? Well here is the trailer for the complete first lineup announcement after Avicii leaked the original about a week ago. This announcement comes with a few new additions in Rudimental, Disclosure, Major Lazer and Modestep, rounding out what should be an excellent balance of all genres and live performances. The trailer uses “Everyday” so that means that they have to get the melodic master, right…. right? Also something I failed to inlcude last time was that ASOT leaked its ridiculous lineup of Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, ATB, Cosmic Gate, Dash Berlin, Ferry Corsten, Markus Schulz, Norin & Rad, Paul van Dyk, Tritonal, W&W, which makes you wonder, when do you ever leave that tent? Hit the jump for the full lineup.
Trance | Ferry Corsten – Silfra
Posted by Spice on December 3, 2012
I’m not sure how this managed to fly below the radar. Inspired by a summer trip to Iceland and as a “thank you” to his fans, Ferry Corsten brings us “Silfra,” a melodic, progressive track that speaks to his roots as a producer. Trance fans will no doubt be pleased by the somewhat nostalgic vibe here — and the fact that it’s a free download. And if the album artwork is any indication, I think it’s safe to say that he’s captured the essence of the place. Check it out below.
Trance | Ferry Corsten feat. Betsie Larkin – Not Coming Down (Dash Berlin 4AM Remix)
Posted by Spice on September 17, 2012
The sixth single from Ferry Corsten’s album WKND drops today, and it’s one that should fall squarely in familiar territory for anyone who’s attended a music festival during the past six months. Ferry has made the dreamlike “Not Coming Down” a centerpiece of many of his livesets since the beginning of the 2012 season, but now the slow and melodic mainstay gets a slick new treatment courtesy of Dash Berlin. The 4AM remix maintains the luminous quality of the original while adding to the drama and intensity with bright, catchy synths and an enormous build that surges through the chorus. It’s out now on Beatport and is set to drop on iTunes and other portals on October 1st.
Beatport: Ferry Corsten feat. Betsie Larkin – Not Coming Down (Dash Berlin 4AM Remix)
Events, Review, Trance | Ferry Corsten Brings Full On To The US
Posted by Middy on September 8, 2012
The inaugural Full On on this side of the Atlantic capped the first night of the 4th edition of Electric Zoo with a resounding bang. Full On was first started in 2007 back in Ferry Corsten’s home country of the Netherlands and has turned into one of the biggest trance events in the world. The night was full of back-to-back sets and great individual performances.
Roseland Ballroom set the perfect scene for the night, as tired festival goers began streaming in between 11:30 and midnight to catch the tail-end of rising American trance asset Audien, who has been tagged by super trio Above & Beyond as a name to watch. Full On started at 11pm with Audien, which was definitely a small thing I would have changed since Electric Zoo did not end until 11 pm and the inevitable backup of getting tens of thousands of people off of an island caused many people to be very late for Audien’s set. Next year I would advise Made Event to start the afterparties at 11:30, with doors at 11, to give people at Electric Zoo enough time to get down to the afterparty they paid a decent amount of money for.
Once Audien was done getting the crowd going, British DJ/trance-turned-progressive-house producer Michael Woods hit the decks. His style was not totally out of place in the night, though it was different from the overall tenor of the trance theme. His high energy progressive tracks excited the crowd, and he launched salvo after salvo of hard hitting songs from his expansive discography that has seen many stellar additions recently. Michael Woods was joined by Polina who sang the track “Goodbye,” which became a theme of the evening — live vocalists. He was then joined by Ferry Corsten, the man of the evening, for some intriguing back-to-back that combined some of the more progressive tracks in Ferry’s arsenal. With this as a starting point, there was a clear progression in Ferry Corsten’s sound during the night. Continue on to see how the rest of the night went.
DJ-Set, Events, House, Trance | Electric Zoo Sets: Day 1
Posted by Middy on September 4, 2012
Electric Zoo is sadly behind us, but it was truly an experience that will stay with me for a long time, though I am still trying to wrap my head around what I was a part of there. Here are the sets from Friday to help you guys who were there relive some of these unforgettable moments. The sets are in time order of when they played. Not all sets have tracklists and not all were recorded. Click the jump to get right to it.