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Trust Heineken to conduct a launch in style. In conjunction with the unveiling of their new bottle, the beer company will be hosting an exclusive invite-only party on July 11 at KL Live that will put internationally-renowned Dutch DJ maestro Ferry Corsten as the court jester of the evening. Down for a promotional visit, we sat down for a chat with the world's Top 10 DJ, and asked him about his new album, nicknames, and who parties harder: Malaysians or Singaporeans?
ESQUIRE: What inspired you to name your album WKND?
FERRY CORSTEN: WKND is the two days that we all live for, the weekend. Whether you’re working in the industry, like me, I live for the weekend. It’s a sign of letting go, stress-free, and we just want to have a smile and a good time. WKND is uplifting and upbeat. It’s fusion meets trance.
ESQ: So how did you find Ben Hague for a collaboration in 'Ain’t No Stoppin’'?
FC: YouTube. A friend of mine suggested him, and when I heard his voice, I was like, “Wow, this guy has a really strong presence”. We found him, and flew him to Holland.”
ESQ: One of your nicknames, Raya Shaku, is pretty unique. What does it mean?
FC: Raya Shaku is the name of a Japanese whistle. It is really thin and used in Japanese traditional music. I wanna come up with something native, hence, I used it as the main sound of the record (The Rising Sun). I created my music in different names so I could release my records with different labels.
ESQ: What has been the craziest place you’ve went for a show?
FC: Wadi Rum, Jordan. When I played there, it was in the middle of desert, everything is red, and it looks like Mars. At night, when the whole production lit up, it was beautiful. It’s one of the most interesting places to be at.
ESQ: How would you rate Malaysians as party-goers? One being tame, to 10 being crazy wild?
FC: I’ll definitely give Malaysians an 8. Everyone just losing it, especially when there’s fireworks. They just singing, go crazy, and had a really good time.
ESQ: So who parties harder? Malaysians or Singaporeans?
FC: Wow. We got a little competition, eh? It’s hard to say. When I’m in Singapore, there are Malaysians, and when I’m in Malaysia, there’ll be Singaporeans. It’s hard to say who is who.
ESQ: What do you think of today’s mainstream music?
FC: Pop is pop, dance is dance. What I do like is when pop people are injecting more and more dance music, which is great. Their music is heavily depending on dance music, and I think it’s a great development. We’ve been hoping for a bigger presence than just being an underground artist.
ESQ: Last question. What's the biggest luxury you’ve ever indulged in?
FC: A watch. It’s nice to buy something for myself when I’ve been worked hard.”
Interview by Shawal Ras.
[This article originally published on June 26, 2012, in Esquire Malaysia]
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