FERRY CORSTEN

The Dutch trance master has turned down the strobes, ditched the kick drums and released an ambient album

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“If people see my name, they think of trance music,” admits Ferry Corsten. “That’s OK. I love trance and it’s a huge part of my life. But when I’m at home or driving in my car, I like to give my brain a holiday. I listen to a lot of drum&bass… I listen to a lot of experimental music. Downtempo music. Nothing to do with the dancefloor. And I think that’s where I got the idea for the new album.”

There’s no doubt that As Above So Below – the recently released album, credited to Ferr by Ferry Corsten – is going to raise a few eyebrows. It contains hardly any beats or basslines. No thrilling synth runs or vocal hooks. This is… ambient. Huge, reverb-soaked pads and delicately-sifting piano pieces. Half-remembered melodies with nothing but the faintest throb to help keep time. Sampled rain and soaring, cinematic strings.

“Life is crazy,” explains the Dutch producer and label boss. “And this year it’s been crazier than ever. Every day is full of stress and worry. And it seemed like this music was a way of just letting me zone out for a while. To get away from the madness.”

Corsten has been at the heart of the trance scene since the very earliest days, releasing hits under a serial of aliases – Moonman, Albion, System F, Gouryella etc. Indeed, System F’s Out of the Blue and