Known for his unique musical style, Ferry Corsten is regularly on the lips of top DJs and trance lovers all over. I really think Ferry is back on his game from his electro-trance excursion that began in 2005 (L.E.F./Fire) and now has a great balance of euphoria we have always loved and his own edgy electronic sound.
So, I was eagerly awaiting this latest mix compilation – no doubt a pick of the very vibe we know and love Ferry for.
A two disc affair, ‘Once Upon a Night’ is split in the common warm up and club scenario we have seen Armin overuse in his recent ASOT mix albums. In all fairness, it works. However, where Armin uses this format to highlight the so-called ‘latest and greatest in trance’ (don’t get me wrong before 2008 I was his biggest fan) Ferry really uses this mix to tell you a story. No, it’s not a story about love, contrary to the lyrics of Fred Baker’s ‘Saona’ that fires up the first half of CD 1. Or a story of anything you can thing of for that matter.
So what am I getting at? For me, despite the fact that we’ve a lot of these tracks throughout 2010, this mix album is telling you a story that isn't told that often – a mix of sound we just don’t see in such quality that often.
The beginning of CD 1 uses the piano from Yuri Kane’s ‘Right Back’ to introduce the mood for the rest of this CD. It’s not until the electrifying vocals and pumping bass line of ‘Hello Love’ that the energy really picks up. The penultimate and final track ‘Ain’t She Pretty’ and ‘Meteor’ provide a retrospective look back on the warm up CD and will only leave you clambering for the second.
Picking up with Mark Sixma’s ‘Forsaken’ Ferry really wants to pick up the pace, although it feels a little rushed having such an energetic track so early on here. However, Black Hole’s fantastic release of Tempo Guisto’s ‘Metropolitan’ really takes things down into the darkness with some powerful synths and stomping percussion. Highlights from the album include ‘Hartseer’ and ‘If Only’, two fantastic trance anthems from two well-respected individuals. And once you’ve been there, what better way to end the mix with an expressive vocal number from BT remixed by Breakfast.
Overall, an absolute must buy for any trance lover who wants that excitement injected back into their music library we rarely see.
