As one of the pioneers behind the trance genre, Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten has made himself known to the world since early 90s with a distinguished career spanning almost three decades, and even until today, he is not backing down.
With plenty of up and coming artistes popping up in the EDM world, one might thought that maintaining a long, esteemed reputation won't be an easy task, but Corsten proved otherwise with each of the inspiring album he created, proving that he has always been ahead-of-his time, and his evolution as a DJ and music producer throughout the years is clear, continuous, and consistent.
Which is why, changing the game and delivering productions that go above and beyond is something that many fans have always been expected from the 43-year-old DJ, especially when he unveiled his latest creation, "Blueprint".
Unlike anything Corsten has ever done before, "Blueprint" was spawned from an idea to unite the music with a storyline that stretches beyond a nebulous lyrical theme.
The concept album consists of 16 tracks that transcends any referential genre, featuring the vocals of Eric Lumiere, Haliene and Clairity.
In the album, Corsten worked with "House of Cards" screenwriter David H Miller on storyboarding a narrative to accompany the album’s conceptual direction.
Narrated by Campbell Scott known from "The Amazing Spider-Man", the storyline of the album centres around two protagonists, Lukas and the extra-terrestrial being Vee.
Check out our interview with the mastermind himself!
Can you tell us the concept behind this album, and how is it different from your previous work?
Blueprint is a hybrid between a music album and an audio book. In other words, a fully narrative story that carries the listener throughout the entire album creating a full listening experience. The difference between this album and my previous work…My previous works were just “music albums” where there was no central theme. The music in my previous albums were made to flow together but not as cohesive as blueprint due to the story.
The album is basically a story, where did you get the inspiration behind it?
I find inspiration in a lot of things. With this album, it was inspired by my romanticism in sci fi and trance music. It allowed me to breathe life into a story concept with the melodic music which I find works best with trance.
Why did you decide to choose Campbell Scott to narrate the storyline of the album?
We were juggling with the type of voice to go for. Female, Male, Street, English gentlemen, and then I stumbled across Campbell’s voice which has a very believable calmness in his voice. I instantly felt that this was the one.
For this album, you have also worked with screenwriter David H Miller to write music for the story board, how is it working with him, and how is the process different from writing a normal album?
I got to meet David (the screenwriter) from my manager who was a friend of his. We hit it off very well and working together was easy and fun. David and I both enjoy sci-fi so creatively it was fun to get our juices flowing and come up with the plot. With his know how in scriptwriting, he was able to translate and put pen to paper the story. Together we fine tuned it to make it work with the vision I had in mind for the concept, and the music for the album. After I was done writing the song lyrics of various tracks of the album. I went back to David to re-write the story around the song lyrics to make everything gel together.
This album is perhaps your most ambitious and unique undertaking to date, so how are you going to surpass this achievement on your next project?
Out of all the artist albums I’ve produced, I’m the most proud of this. The entire process of making it and the journey itself has been a real challenge yet a passion for me. I had never done anything like this before. I’m so happy that my fans are loving it and the press have reacted positively. I made the album to make it. It was a dream of mine for some time now so I’m really just enjoying the fruits of my hard labor and haven’t really thought of what I will do next.
The album has a sci-fi theme and gives nods to several sci-fi authors, does this mean that you're a huge fan of sci-fi films and books? What are some of the sci-fi films and books you like?
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been a big sci-fi fan. The interest in the unknown and what lies beyond has always grabbed me. For this project I had a chance to work with both my favourite interests, scifi and music. So this was actually a no brainer.
Will you be trying different kind of story themes for your next album then? Any plans on what’s coming up next?
I’m not sure. Although I’ve been working on this project for over a year and a half now it has just been released and I’m still going to be promoting it, releasing singles, and remixing tracks of the album of course. I’m currently working on the Blueprint tour and other shows so I’m going to be busy with the concept for a bit.
You've been to Shanghai recently, any plans on coming to other Asian countries to promote the album?
I love Asia and definitely hope that I will be able to go back soon. I know I’m in South Korea at the end of July for the Tomorrowland Unite and in Pacha Macau in August… Check out my website www.ferrycorsten.com or my socials to see my upcoming shows.
How have you incorporated the album’s themes and aesthetic into the tour?
The artwork I have for the album was made to allow listeners at home to get an idea of the concept of the story and help inspire their thoughts while listening to it. We have animated various artwork into visuals for the live show. I have been thinking about using the narrative in the live show but I’m still considered to be a DJ that brings energy to a dancefloor, focusing on the narrative in it’s entirety would take away that energy. I therefore decided to use small parts of the narrative only, and focus on the visuals and the music.
Anything you wish to say to your Asian fans?
Thanks so much for taking the time to listen to my album Blueprint. I hope you enjoyed it. See you at my next show!