Ferry Corsten

Ferry Corsten OON (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfɛri ˈkɔrstə(n)]; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moonman, Pulp Victim and Gouryella. In recent years, he has shifted to a broader electronic music style, playing everything from progressive house to uplifting trance; and hosts his own weekly radio show, Resonation Radio. Corsten routinely plays at events and festivals all over the world including Electric Daisy Carnival, Tomorrowland, and many others, and has been consistently ranked among DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs poll, having placed at rank 5 in 2004 and 2005, 6 in 2006 and 2008; and most recently at 80 for 2024.

Ferry Corsten was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. As a child, he would listen to a Dutch radio show called "The Soulshow", which played different selections of electronic music, including disco and soul music. Whenever he heard a track that he liked, he would go to the record store and purchase it. His first experience DJing came at age 15, when he played at his school parties. As a teenager he saved money to buy his first keyboard by washing cars, and selling mix tapes to kids in his neighborhood. He was inspired by Ferry Maat and Ben Liebrand for his mixes. He eventually released a record with a couple of friends when he was just sixteen years old and later began releasing self-made productions while he grew up in Rotterdam in the 1990s, producing underground hardcore gabber tracks, later expanding into club-house and trance music. During these years, Corsten also studied to become an electrical engineer. In 1995, under the name Hole In One and aged just 21 years old, he won the prestigious De Grote Prijs van Nederland award, which recognized his contribution to The Netherlands' electronic dance music scene.

In 1996, while still living in his parents' home, Corsten made his debut at the United Kingdom Singles Chart with his single "Don't be Afraid" under the pseudonym Moonman which ranked at No. 46. This was his first major European achievement as a solo dance artist, producer and composer. 1997 saw the release of "Interspace" (a collaboration between Corsten and Peter Nijborn as Discodroids), and his first singles under the Pulp Victim alias: "I'm Losing Control", which was a limited vinyl-only release, and "Dreams Last For Long". The latter two were followed a year later by "The World", a track that contained vocals by Maire Brennan and got re-released in 1999 with some brand new remixes, including his remix under the Moonman alias. Also in 1997, Corsten and his partner Robert Smit established a dance label named Tsunami with the Dutch-based dance company Purple Eye Entertainment b.v., this junction made the creation of another label possible; Polar State.

Under the guise of Albion, Corsten produced a track titled "Air". Signed and released by Platipus Records in April 1998, the song became a top seller for the label and was championed by John Digweed and Paul Oakenfold who licensed it for their Global Underground compilations. Due to its continued popularity, it was re-released two years later, with new remixes by Oliver Lieb, Hybrid and The Swimmer. The same year Corsten finished his track "Out of the Blue" which, after being in promo for over 6 months, was released in February 1999 on the Tsunami imprint under the name System F. The track became a worldwide hit, achieving a top twenty position in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "Cry", a collaboration between Corsten and Robert Smit, also reached the UK Top 20.

A trance hit, "Out of The Blue" formed spear tip of Corsten's trance sound – one that was quickly galvanized by co-productions like Gouryella's "Gouryella" (with Tiësto) and Veracocha's "Carte Blanche" (with Vincent de Moor). The track "Gouryella" was released in May 1999 and became a huge hit scoring various chart positions around the world, including a top fifteen position in the UK Singles Chart. The next single, entitled "Walhalla", also made it on the charts worldwide, peaking at No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart. Released through the Tsunami imprint, both singles went on to be certified Gold on record sales. Corsten's club and chart success as an artist and producer led him to become an in-demand remixer for both underground and high-profile artists. Summer 1999 saw the release of Gatecrasher Wet, the third compilation album by Sheffield-based club Gatecrasher, which included his remixes of Cygnus X's "The Orange Theme", Matt Darey's "Liberation" and The Generator's "Where Are You Now?". In addition to his massively successful remix of Art of Trance's "Madagascar", Corsten was asked to remix several singles, including William Orbit's arrangement of "Adagio for Strings", Push's "Universal Nation", Faithless's "Why Go?", and Moby's "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" as well as "New Year's Day" for U2. His remix of Barber's "Adagio For Strings", released in late 1999, was awarded at the 2000 Dancestar Awards for best remix of the year of 1999.

Also in 1999, Corsten was elected "Producer of the Year" by Muzik Magazine at the Ericsson Muzik Awards in London and, in his home country, received the Zilveren Harp music award for his numerous contributions made to Dutch dance music. Corsten made his debut on DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs Poll in the same year at the No. 77 position. Aside from producing, he began compiling and mixing the Trance Nation series for Ministry of Sound. His first installment (which went Platinum) became a commercial success, selling over 400,000 copies and charting for three weeks at number one in the UK Compilation Chart. Furthermore, Corsten made a mix compilation album together with Robert Smit called Tsunami One. In September 2000 the third Gouryella single entitled "Tenshi" was released.

On 9 March 2001, Tsunami released "Soul On Soul", a collaboration between System F and Marc Almond, the singer of Soft Cell. "Soul On Soul" is taken from the System F album Out Of The Blue and it got released including remixes by Barthezz, Kay Cee, Elektrochemie LK and The Hacker. The same year Corsten produced the official theme song for the legendary Dutch dance festival Dance Valley and collaborated with Armin van Buuren for "Exhale". Released via Tsunami, both tracks reached Gold status. Also in 2001, he made remixes for "Clear Blue Water" by Oceanlab, "Catch" by Kosheen and "Arms of Loren" by E'voke. In 2002, Corsten contributed to remix projects of tracks by Japanese superstar Ayumi Hamasaki. He went on to compose and arrange her heavily trance-based song "Connected", which was released in 2003, along with remixes, as a single in Germany, selling 4 million copies.

In 2003, he launched his first album under his own name, Right of Way, in Heineken Musical Hall with 4,500 clubbers at his eight-hour set. The first single off of Right of Way, "Rock Your Body, Rock" was nominated for Best Video at the 2004 TMF Dutch MTV Awards. The album spawned three singles, "Punk" (UK No. 29), "Rock Your Body, Rock" (UK No. 11), and "It's Time" (UK No. 51). "Rock Your Body, Rock" was voted biggest hit by BG Magazine in the Netherlands and reached the top 10 in the UK.