With a hot streak as fiery as the one Ferry Corsten has been on over the past year, there’s no denying that everything is going Full On Ferry.
2014 featured a countless number of big moments for Corsten, including his Full On Ferry brand’s Ibiza residency at Space Ibiza throughout the summer and a repeat appearance as a stage at TomorrowWorld in Atlanta, GA. The year also saw the Dutch DJ/producer further build New World Punx, his collaborative project with Markus Schulz. The duo played numerous gigs around the world, including show-stopping appearances at festivals like Ultra, Electric Daisy Carnival New York, and the Djakarta Warehouse Project and packed shows at Washington D.C.’s Echostage, Las Vegas’ LiFE, and New York City’s Governors Island.
With 2014 in the books, Corsten has wasted no time in kicking it into high gear for 2015 with the launch of his ambitious three-part Hello World EP series on his Flashover Recordings label. The first installment—out now—is a seven-track jaunt through an eclectic mix of big room, electro, progressive, and tech-influenced cuts, all based around an anthemic trance heartbeat that’s all Corsten’s own.
Corsten connected with DJ Times ahead of the EP’s release to talk about the forthcoming installments, New World Punx, and more.
DJ Times: Why did you decide to do a series of EPs instead of a more traditional album?
Ferry Corsten: I’ve done quite a number of albums and I’ve always felt that if there are potential singles on the album—real singles—it will have a bit of a longer life. If not, you just release the album and that’s it. You make a lot of noise once and it’s done. Plus, it’s also going to be like 10-12 tracks. I wanted to switch things up a little, so instead of releasing an album all at once, I just chop it up and make it a piece. The life span of that is going to be throughout the year, and the anticipation is going to be a lot stronger and a lot longer as well. Instead of each EP having three or four tracks, it will instead have six or seven tracks by coming with some extra remixes. They’re also going to be very current. Part One is out now, but I’m still working on Part Two. Instead of releasing tracks I did a year ago like I would on an album, these tracks are very current.
DJ Times: “Hyperlove” was the first track you released from the EP and saw you incorporating breakbeats. What sort of other sonic textures are you playing with on the new EPs?
Corsten: I’m almost playing with everything really. I’m just a music lover in general, but I think the big common thing is always a little bit of a trance element because that’s really the key sound that I’m part of. But I borrowed influences from house, techno, trance (obviously), and even some big room here and there. Just elements, though, not full on. It’s going to be pretty diverse. With this series I’m really focusing on a lot of the vocal stuff that I’ve been doing lately and really enjoying.
DJ Times: Are there plans to compile the EPs together?
Corsten: Yeah. at the end of the year when all three of these are done, we’re going to re-bundle the whole thing again with some extra unreleased stuff.
DJ Times: You included Flashover remixes of two tracks on the EP, both of which channel a more trance-oriented sound. What was the reasoning behind including them?
Corsten: I noticed that it’s hard for me to play some of my more radio oriented tracks in my own sets because usually my sets are slightly deeper or more club-oriented. I know exactly how I want that original track to sound so I can play it into my sets, so I decided to come up with the Flashover remixes. They basically provide a different version of that track for my more pure trance fans in a way, but also to give the whole package a bit more of a richer flow.
DJ Times: What do you have planned for your Full On Ferry brand this year?
Corsten: It looks like TomorrowWorld will probably be happening again this year. We’re doing Space Ibiza again. Last year we did 14 dates and this year it might be 18, so it’s going to to be the whole season. Pretty good! Full On Australia is going to be happening again, and we’re definitely working on some dates in the States.
DJ Times: You and Markus Schulz are each one half of New World Punx, which is slated to play Coachella in April. Was it an intentional decision to play as New World Punx at the event instead of performing separate solo sets?
Corsten: No, not really. New World Punx just came about really organically, and everything that’s happening with New World Punks is because of that. We only started doing it because we worked on a few tracks together at first. We were like, “Let’s do something,” and “Let’s play back to back and see what happens.” The interest was there straight away, and it’s became this project really on its own now. It’s a side project for both of us, but at the same time we really take it seriously now. When we play individually, we play a little bit trancey, which may not be initially the sound that crossover festivals like. When we play as New World Punx, our sound is definitely a little more aggressive, way more energetic, and very driving, so I think it touches that other part of the market that is big enough for Coachella to book us.
DJ Times: You describe it as very organic, but are there any firm plans for New World Punx throughout the year, both in releases and touring?
Corsten: It’s still organic, but we definitely feel as New World Punx that we have to come up with music as well. There’s a new single coming out around March I think. We’re working on single two and three already as well, so that’s in the works for this year. I can’t say that we’re already going to do one big New World Punx tour. For now, we want to focus on some good festivals and maybe a couple of one-off concerts to keep the demand. Basically, not doing too many shows.
Hello World EP1 is out now. Purchase the EP on Beatport here.
