Otherwise known as System F, Ferry Corsten rose to prominence in the
late '90s as one of Europe's top trance DJs, highlighted by an
anthem-filled appearance on Ministry of Sound's first Trance Nation
album. Before attaining such recognition, Corsten began his DJing at
the early age of 15, when he would spin at school parties. By his late
teens, he was studying to be an electrical engineer, an ambition that
was soon eclipsed by his growing interest in electronic dance music.
Soon he was acquiring sound gear to produce his own tracks and started
releasing his music under monikers such as Moonman, Pulp Victim, Vera
Cocha, Gouryella (with DJ Tiesto), and System F, highlighted by the
success of his single "Out of the Blue," which entered the U.K.'s Top
20. Yet his most successful work is undoubtably his track "Air," under
the guise of Albion, a track that has been championed by many of the
world's top DJs (including Paul Oakenfold and John Digweed on their
Global Underground albums) and has since been re-released in 2000 as
Air 2000 on Platipus with additional remixes by artists such as Oliver
Lieb and Hybrid. Meanwhile, Corsten also won plenty of attention for
his high-profile remix of Art of Trance's classic "Madagascar." And
even though his appearance as the guest DJ on Ministry of Sound's
anthem-filled Trance Nation debut wasn't the sort of well-composed set
one would expect from an experienced DJ such as Corsten, it did help
propel his name further into his audience's consciousness.
