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Album Review: Ferry Corsten – WKND


Ferry Corsten delivers his fourth full-length studio album, WKND (Ultra Music/Flashover), on February 24th. We got the early scoop & review for you!
When it comes to Ferry Corsten, the music possibilities are endless. As a seasoned veteran, every album or compilation that he crafts not only opens our ears to familiar sounds, but also introduces us to even more artistic, unique ,and dynamic sound possibilities. This year, celebrating 20 years of radiance, Ferry will be introducing his next masterpiece artist album entitled, WKND, scheduled to be released this upcoming February. Get ready to open your mind and allow Corsten to rock your world with these 14 unstoppable tracks.

From HUGE bangers, to harmonious melodies, to some seriously funky beats we expect from Ferry…this album has got it all! I am confident that some of the female vocal tracks on WKND will, without a doubt, make your hair stand up. The album kicks off with a stunning mellow vibe to A Day Without Rain ft. Ellie Lawson…an outstanding progressive work of art, accompanied by gorgeous vocals. Speaking of god-like vocals…Not Coming Down ft. Betsie Larken has (hands down) got to be one of the most magical songs I’ve ever heard. From start to finish, this song embodies a variety of elements. A dark & grindy trance track, that breaks down to an absolutely angelic piano & vocal solo. Just when you’re wrapped up in the emotion of this song, you’re quickly knocked out with some serious pounding punches to get your feet going. A work of a musical genius indeed, showing us that a single track, meticulously put together, has the strength to move your emotions in ways you never imagined possible. I forbid this track be remixed, as it stands so beautiful exactly where it is. Just sayin…

Corsten has always been notorious for his signature style. Over the years, these styles have grown into distinct sounds that only he seems to so effortlessly bring to every production. WKND introduces us to much of the latter. Take Me is a perfect illustration of pure trance energy. This track boasts a soft mesmerizing synth, with a hard, unbreakable beat. Another room shaker…Don’t Be Afraid. This tune offers nothing but a clean progression that builds up with some deep, strong synths to get you going. Fans will be in for a real treat when hearing this one live!

WKND also offers a beautiful and a unique progressive lounge vibe with the track Walk on Air. Simply stunning and well constructed. And with regards the vocals!? Well let’s just say, whether male or female, Corsten has come correct. Female vocals such as Live Forever ft. Aruna, In Your Eyes ft. JES and Let You Go ft. Sarah Bettens are all cleanly constructed with gorgeous melodies blended with sharp rhythms that will for sure not only get your feet to move, but will most certainly force you to belt out a note or two.

In the last year, male vocals have been the new trend and Ferry has certainly proved that on this project. Ain’t No Stopping ft. Ben Hague has already made some waves on Dutch Radio 538 with its catchy rhythm and feel good aura. While it could be classified as a somewhat risky track for Ferry with its mainstream radio characteristics, Ferry adds a healthy dose of entertaining synths that will compel this song to grow on you faster than you can say…”meh”!! Love Will ft. Duane Harden also presents a clean, crunchy beat accompanied by some classic piano melodies & enjoyable catchy vocals.

If you’ve been to any live production in the last 6 months, you’ve probably already fallen in love with some WKND bangers!! Feel it, has certainly done some significant dance floor damage this past year. Also, without a doubt our knees got weak for Ferry’s collaboration with Armin van Buuren…Brute. Wow, what an anthem this became!! An earth shattering, spine tingling track that lifts you up and gets you jumping! WKND also brings us Check it Out, which for sure got your feet moving this past year. Who would’ve ever thought of fusing a vocal sample from The Return of Captain Rock to create this fun, groovy, funky, phenomenon of a track!!

There is never a dull music moment on WKND, and Ferry Corsten has proven, once again, that his artistic musical abilities go way beyond our imaginations! Not only does he donate earsplitting bangers… but groovy, harmonious tracks that you can listen to anywhere, anytime, any mood! Tracks made to rock the venues, as well as relax your mind. What amazes me most about Ferry Corsten is that after 20 years, he’s still got it…and got it with a vengeance! Fans will forever be loyal to his sound and style because he is one of the few artists always on his A-game both live, and also in the studio…always proving there are no boundaries to music.

Ferry Corsten’s WKND will be released 2/24/12. Get it, and see for yourself what all this hype is about. Check it out…. Reviewed by Deb Graynor

Tracklist for Ferry Corsten’s WKND (Ultra Music/Flashover):
1. Ferry Corsten ft Ellie Lawson, “A Day Without Rain” 2. Ferry Corsten, “Feel It” 3. Ferry Corsten ft Ben Hague, “Ain’t No Stoppin’” 4. Ferry Corsten, “Don’t Be Afraid” 5. Ferry Corsten ft Betsie Larkin, “Not Coming Down” 6. Ferry Corsten vs Armin van Buuren, “Brute” 7. Ferry Corsten ft Aruna, “Live Forever” 8. Ferry Corsten ft Sarah Bettens, “Let You Go” 9. Ferry Corsten, “Check It Out” 10. Ferry Corsten ft Duane Harden, “Love Will” 11. Ferry Corsten ft Jes, “In Your Eyes” 12. Ferry Corsten ft Pierre In The Air & Amba Sheperd, “Walk On Air” 13. Ferry Corsten, “Take Me” 14. Ferry Corsten, “WKND” 15. (Bonus Track) Ferry Corsten, “Sunday”
Reviewer Deb Graynor
Label: Ultra Music/Flashover
Release date: February 24th, 2012

2011 couldn’t have given Dash Berlin a better treatment. The Dutch producer/DJ climbed to number 8 in the critically acclaimed DJ Mag Top 100, released the successful singles ‘Better Half Of Me’, ‘Disarm Yourself’, ‘Earth Hour’ and compilation ‘United Destination 2011’ and rocked the globe with sets all across the globe.

Buy it here: 100 Minutes of 2011 (Selected and Mixed by Dash Berlin) – Dash Berlin

Dash Berlin now shows his personal year’s overview, with the biggest tracks of 2011 in one steady mix!

Tracklist:
Victor Dinaire & Bissen feat. Peter Finley – 2nite U R Perfect (Steve Brian Remix) (07:07)
Daniel Kandi & Phillip Alpha – Don’t Fix It (Original Mix) (07:46)
ATB with Dash Berlin – Apollo Road (Original Mix) (07:24)
First State feat. Sarah Howells – Reverie (Dash Berlin Remix) (08:53)
Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren – Another World [Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren] (Shogun Remix) (07:35)
Cosmic Gate feat. Jan Johnston – Raging (Alexander Popov Vocal Remix) (07:31)
John O’Callaghan & Timmy & Tommy – Talk To Me (Orjan Nilsen Trance Mix) (07:54)
Dash Berlin feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn – Better Half Of Me (Club Mix) (08:57)
Space RockerZ & Tania Zygar – Puzzle Piece (Original Mix) (08:00)
Faruk Sabanci – As Faces Fade (Alexander Popov Remix) (06:56)
Klauss Goulart – Deep Universe (Rave CHannel Remix) (07:31)
Filo & Peri feat. Audrey Gallagher – This Night (Dash Berlin Remix) (06:50)
Anhken presents Fyrsta – If Not Me [Anhken presents Fyrsta] (Norin & Rad Remix) (06:47)
Cosmic Gate & Emma Hewitt – Be Your Sound (Extended Mix) (08:01)
Orjan Nilsen – Shoutbox! (Cressida Remix) (08:07)
Shogun – Skyfire (Original Mix) (08:27)
Dash Berlin feat. Emma Hewitt – Disarm Yourself (Club Mix) (08:25)
Protoculture – Liquid Logic (Original Mix) (08:09)
Dash Berlin – Till The Sky Falls Down (Dash Berlin 4AM Mix) (05:52)
Lange pres. Firewall – Touched (Dash Berlin’s Sense Of Touch Remix) (06:24)
Dash Berlin – 100 Minutes Of 2011 (Full Continuous DJ Mix) (101:31)

2011 makes up for one of the highlight years in the career of American based DJ/producer Markus Schulz. He’s still rocking the DJ Mag Top 100 with a Top 10 position, moves ten-thousands of dance lovers each weekend, groves them with tracks and anthems and influences the sound of 2011.

100 Minutes of 2011: Markus Schulz is 100 minutes of essentials, mixed and handpicked by Schulz himself!

Buy it here: 100 Minutes of 2011 (Selected and Mixed by Markus Schulz) – Markus Schulz

Tracklist:
Mike Foyle presents Statica – Shades Of Blue [Mike Foyle presents Statica] (Original Mix) (09:07)
Basil O’Glue – Realm Of Mind (Original Mix) (06:38)
Max Freegrant – Olya (KhoMha Remix) (06:15)
Nash & Pepper present Ostrega – First Scream [Nash & Pepper present Ostrega] (Mike Foyle Edit) (03:45)
Danilo Ercole – Water That Birds Don’t Drink (Original Mix) (07:45)
3rd Planet – UFO Here (Original Mix) (06:10)
Kyau vs Albert – Kiksu [Kyau vs Albert] (2011 Rework) (06:57)
Basil O’Glue – Angular Momentum (Original Mix) (07:38)
Mario Hammer feat. Asheni – Life Before The Earthquake (Original Mix) (06:48)
Skytech – Sirens (Original Mix) (06:46)
Mike EFEX presents Emtech – Callisto (Pobsky Remix) (07:23)
Erick Strong – Heart Inside (Original Mix) (06:25)
Mark Otten – Libertine (Original Mix) (08:44)
Tucandeo – Macula (Original Mix) (06:47)
David Barnes – Noodler (Original Mix) (06:11)
Pobsky & Paul Atkinson – Locked Out (Original Mix) (07:04)
Grube & Hovsepian – Torque (Radio Edit) (03:04)
Boom Jinx feat. Justine Suissa – Phoenix From The Flames (Club Mix Edit) (04:00)
Jessus – Stereophonic (Original Mix) (06:51)
Markus Schulz – Digital Madness (Transmission 2011 Theme) (Original Mix) (08:35)
Beat Service – Charged (Original Mix) (07:00)
Grace – Not Over Yet (Max Graham vs Protoculture Remix) (08:28)
Aerofoil vs E&G – Oslo Anthem [Aerofoil vs E&G] (Original Mix Edit) (03:27)
Rex Mundi – Valley Of Dreams (Original Mix) (07:52)
Dennis Sheperd & Cold Blue feat. Ana Criado – Fallen Angel (Dennis Sheperd Club Mix) (07:52)
Markus Schulz – 100 Minutes Of 2011 (Full Continuous DJ Mix) (99:01.9999)

When asked to single out one artist who made an immense impact in the year 2011, it was no question for me. First name that popped to mind was the young & dynamic, Arty. While although Arty got the ball rolling in late 2009, he didn’t truly obtain his star power until Armin released one of his singles on his ASOT radio shows in 2010. Soon after, Arty was signed to the Anjunabeats label and has been on an express train to the top ever since!

Over the course of one year, Arty has made ridiculous waves among the trance/electro community. His fusion sound is certainly a hit on dance floors world-wide. I was first introduced to this Russian producer’s music when I heard his masterpiece rework of Ferry’s Punk. This may have single-handedly opened all doors for this young artist. His collaboration with Mat Zo on Rebound, also made its debut in April of 2011, and soon after, us EDM fanatics were blessed with Around the World. Most recently, his track Kate boasts a friendly, feel good disposition with clean beats & subtle progressions to get your feet moving.

Arty’s tracks have a distinct sound, combined with a quirky blend of music styles and he makes it apparent that he is not afraid to experiment with various techniques. As a live performer, Arty possesses energy behind the decks that can’t be surpassed. One of his first unveilings was when he rocked the main floor in Den Bosch during Armin’s ASOT 500 celebration. Aside from his amazing music, his animated faces and crowd interaction is a sure seller!

I must congratulate Arty for breaking into this scene like a bulldozer! From what we’ve already witnesses from this young lad, he definitely holds this title…and holds it strong! He mirrors a true artist experimenting with hearty sounds and effortlessly blending electro, trance, & house gracefully, proving how different genres can coexist.

Check out Arty’s full discology and give your ears a brilliant listen. This is only the beginning, as Arty has confirmed more collaborations to come with big-name artists. It’s safe to assume we can expect more original and edgy productions in 2012!

Written by Deb Graynor

Myon & Shane 54 are one of the brightest stars of the so-called new generation of dance music producer / DJs.

Coming from Hungary, the duo have achieved serious success in the international dance music scene; an achievement no artist had done before from their home country. In less than 2 years after they started making music together, the pair were voted into DJMag’s Top 100 DJs at #91. They’ve been producing for the biggest names in the trance scene, are a constant fixture in their record boxes, and the combined sales of everything they’ve done way exceeds the million mark.

USTM: Hello guys, how are you? You just celebrated 100 Episode’s of International Departures! Must have been a great achievement in your life/music career. Can you tell us how you celebrated?

S: The show started a few days after our big introduction at ASOT 400, which was our 2nd international gig together in 2009. We had a few ideas about how it’s gonna turn out, but we never imagined it will go this far. It’s still weird to think about all those people around the world listening to what we do week by week. We get a lot of feedback, and that’s what keeps us going really. It might sound cheesy, but the love of the fans makes everything worthwhile.

M: We were celebrating in Winnipeg, Canada while we had a few days off while touring there. We made a regular radio episode, and we thought it would be great to do a long mix consisting of all our stuff, just to show how far we’ve come since day one. But as the mix reached 4.5 hours length, we realized we might not be able to squeeze everything in there. So we kept half of those tracks and remixes for episode 200, where we pretty sure they will work with our future material. And it was a lot of fun listening back to all those old productions we’ve made like 3 years ago, and haven’t heard for a long time. We will also have an ID100 Celebration in Hawaii on New Years Eve. Now THAT is something we are looking forward to…

USTM: What are your opinions on the changing EDM scene and the effect that pop culture has had on EDM? Do you think its better? Worse? And would you be willing to change your style to fit the new and growing audience?

M:It’s just as true the other way around. Pop music has changed a lot due to dance music, and now every single big pop artist wants to work a dj or seen hanging out with big djs. Obviously those people don’t have any real idea what EDM is really about, but they have a great sense of pop of course. Underground djs can moan about this, but we don’t necessarily think that way. We think it’s a great thing, and it opened a lot of doors for people who might have never thought about 4/4 beats if it wasn’t for all those big cheesy hits.

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Today, Monday Dec 4th, is the last day of voting for the Lights – Siberia remix contest and our own djNth has a couple of tracks in the running. Voting ends at 5pm PST. Get your votes in now.

http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/lights-siberia-remix-contest/submissions/83315
“This one came together very quickly, I initially downloaded this vocal first becuase I liked this song the best out of all of the Lights tracks in the remix competition but I found it wasn’t working out with my clubby Trance track I was writing so I set it aside and did the Banner remix instead. Came back to this later and checked to see how it fit with the Breaks track I had originally intended to use in the Toes remix and I liked the feel of it. I think it turned out pretty good for getting pieced together last minute and keeping me up all night long trying to make the deadline.”

http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/lights-banner-remix-contest/submissions/82201
“This is my nu-school Cybertrance remix. Inspired by AVICII and the portamento synths of the Cybertrance sound of yesteryear. :) I feel like this song could finish in the top 20 just because it is pretty different from the rest of the remixes. Most people did faster Dubstep type remixes because the original track is around 75 or 150 BMP range, but check it out and send me a vote.”

Last night, during his radio show, Armin van Buuren revealed 5 extra events of the A State of Trance 550 celebration. Next to events in Belgrade, Moscow and Kiev, the 550th episode of the show will also be celebrated in Los Angeles and Miami. The grand finale will take place in Den Bosch on March 31st, 2012. Divided over 4 weeks and taking place on 2 different continents, ASOT 550 will be the biggest show the popular DJ has ever done.

A State of Trance 550 kicks off on March 3rd in Serbia’s Belgrade, to move to Russia’s capital Moscow only 4 days later on March 7th. Ukrainian dance lovers will be dancing in Kiev on March 10th. This time, Armin lands his ASOT show twice in the US. On March 17th, as part of the Beyond Wonderland festival in Los Angeles and in Miami on March 25th. On March 31st, the biggest and final edition of ASOT 550 takes place in the Brabanthallen of Den Bosch, The Netherlands. Armin announced the full line-up for the Dutch edition of A State of Trance 550 last night, which can now be found via www.astateoftrance.com.

Armin:“Like last year, I wanted to lay it on again, so that ASOT 550 turns into a real worldwide happening. I’m very much looking forward to share this milestone with all listeners, visitors and DJ’s!”

Next to these 6 events, Armin and his team are also looking into the possibilities of an exclusive pre-party on the first of March 2012. The full line-up of all events, as well as the winner of the wildcard for the A State of Trance 550 Theme contest will be announced next week, on December 8th. After that, the voting poll for the contest opens and people are able to vote for their favourite track to be the official anthem of ASOT 550.

TOURDATES ASOT 550, March 2012: 3rd March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Belgrade, Serbia 7th March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Moscow, Russia 10th March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Kiev, Ukraine 17th March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Los Angeles, USA (as part of Beyond Wonderland) 25th March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Miami, USA 31st March A STATE OF TRANCE 550 – Den Bosch, The Netherlands For more info and tickets, as well as the full line-up of the Dutch ASOT 550 show, check www.astateoftrance.com.

Also all producers send in your original tracks by December 8th for a chance to be the ASOT 550 Anthem. http://www.astateoftrance.com/anthemcontest/

Ferry Corsten has released the first App-only album ever to celebrate his 20 years as a producer.

The 20 year App contains a one hour long special mix created by the man himself, filled with 34 of his biggest hits up to date and a lot of unique pictures of Ferry’s face morphing through the years and his musical life. A must have for every fan of Ferry Corsten and dance music in general.

Key features in this App: - Unique 20 Years mix made by Ferry Corsten - Beautiful pictures of Ferry’s face morphing through the years, his musical life and dance events - An overview of his albums over the past 20 years, including track lists Check out the App on ferrycorsten.com

Ferry Corsten has become an icon in the trance and dance scene. He has released 6 artist albums since his rise to the top and a myriad of compilations. With his own record label, Flashover Recordings he releases his own music and the music of other great electronic DJ’s and producers.

His interactive radio show Corstens Countdown is currently broadcasted in more than 50 countries worldwide and annually nominated as one of the best dance radio shows in the world.

With Full on Ferry he treats his fans to a great night filled with back to back sets with himself and various artists. The show has it’s residency in Ibiza, Spain.