Ferry Corsten

Corsten made and released his first official record in 1989, when he was 16 years old. One year later he turned professional and began making a living out of it, and by 1995 he’d won his home country’s prestigious De Grote Prijs van Nederland.

He began his career making underground Gabber tracks and diversified into club-house and trance soon afterwards. His first charting single was also one of his first self-penned tracks, called “Don’t Be Afraid”, with the success of that single he set up a label called Tsunami with producing partner Robert Smit and released his first album as System F “Out Of The Blue”, two years later.

This release made him a big name in dance scenes all over the world, and properly broke him in the United Kingdom, as well as. Two of the singles, the title track and its follow up “Cry” went into the top 20 singles chart and he was given the award for Producer of the Year at the Ericsson Muzik Award in London.

The man had successfully popularised Trance music, solidified by a compilation album that Ministry Of Sound released of the genre going platinum with ease. He hasn’t quite established himself with the commercial clout that some of his peers today have, but names like Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Corsten’s old apprentice Tiësto play his tracks to clubs the world over.

However, his newer group New World Punx sold out Madison Square Garden in one hour for their VERY FIRST SHOW. So clearly Corsten’s name is as respected and revered as it ever was. This is an artist at the top of his game, and if you can get a ticket, he should be seen as soon as possible.

The duo is comprised of Aly Amr Fathalah and Fadi Wassef Naguib. Both were born in 1981 and have been friends since kindergarten. They shared similar taste in music growing up, citing European electronic acts such as Berlin techno artist Paul Van Dyk and English trance house producer Chicane as main influences. Before long they decided that music was the right career path for them and in 1999 built a studio of their own and worked at various clubs as DJs.

Their music started spreading like wildfire through Egypt and by 2002 they decided it was time to take on an international market. They signed with the German base record label Euphonic Records and released their debut single “Eye of Horus” in 2003. The track exploded in the European market and was championed by Netherlands based DJs such as Armin Van Buuren and DJ Tiesto. The single subsequently shot to no. 4 on the Dutch Dance charts and was also cycled through a variety of well received compilations (ex. Viva Club Rotation, Energy 03 etc...)

A year later the duo switched over to Offshore Music and through this label released the single “Spirit of Ka”. This track also proved to be a hit for the group and was featured on multiple playlist at the time. Their next big single “Ankh-Breath Of Life” did not appear until 2007. It was also released through the label Offshore Music, but this time under the alias, A&F Project. Their collaborative effort “A Dream of Peace” with Amadeus followed that year as did their single “Thebes”. The latter track received remixes from Mark Eteson, Vadim Zhukov, and Simon Pitt.

The duo’s musical vision started moving towards a more progressive and tech-house oriented path with their 2008 release of “Lost Language”. “How Long” and “Key of Life/ Dynasty” also saw release that year. 2008 was also the year in which the duo were voted one of the top 100 DJs by the publication “DJ Mag”.

In 2009 Aly & Fila founded the independent record label “Future Sound of Egypt” and signed rising DJs like Sean Tyas, Neptune Project, Sean Tyas, Philipee el Sisi, Mohamed Ragab, and Brave. The duo kept busy releasing singles throughout 2010 some of which included “Listening”, “My Mind Is With You” and “I Can Hear You”. They also issued their studio debut album “Rising Sun” this year, which featured an array of talented vocalists such as Sue McLaren, Joise, Tiff Lacey etc...

The “Rising Sun” remix album was out by 2011 and in 2013 they released their 2nd studio album “Quiet Storm”. It was followed with a remix album and a six city supporting tour. Their 3rd studio album “The Other Shore” came out in 2014 and it processor “The Chill Out” hit the market a year later.

It’s obvious even to a newcomer or trance enthusiast that John O’Callaghan’s talents far exceed that of just an uplifting producer or Trance remix master. He is an artist, producer, DJ and an internationally respected name in the world of Electronic music. He is known for pushing the boundaries of musical genres in ways that have earned him a stellar reputation across the dance music industry. John O’Callaghan always showcases true diversity in his sound, and has emerged as a leader of the trance movement – a path which all of his fans have loyally followed. Being one of the few that helped shape the genre into all it is now, no one can doubt the influence of a man this versatile.