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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! |
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Full On Ferry: Reviewed
Reported by Doris
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Submitted 20-11-07 00:36
There’s always a good selection of prizes on offer in the competition section of HarderFaster but when we offered one lucky user the chance to fly out to Rotterdam with a friend and experience Full On Ferry for free entries flooded in. The answer to the comp, of course, was Hip Hop Huis and Doris was first out of the hat with the right answer. We packed them off for a whirlwind weekend of fun and she was kind enough to write this report for you!
Now, I’m no dance music anorak. In fact, I’m about as far away from it as you can get. I know what I like; I know what I don’t like; but I can’t name you any DJs, let alone the tracks they play. In short, I didn’t deserve to win the HarderFaster prize to Rotterdam to see Ferry Corsten. I know this. But I’m bloody glad I did!
We got up at stupid o’clock to travel from my mums in Uxbridge. We actually live in Exeter, so getting to London Stansted was always going to be a small mission! The flight with Transavia was fine – there was a problem with our tickets (our names weren’t on the flight), but it was dealt with really quickly. It’s basically the Dutch version of EasyJet, but with seat allocation to take away the stress of the hustle to board!
After only half an hour in the air we landed and outside the airport a limousine was waiting to whisk us away. The driver appeared to think we were unworthy – we were clearly not the calibre of passenger he was used to. I got my own on him by fiddling with every button I could play with in his car.
We arrived at the Hilton ever so slightly knackered but straight away we were upgraded to an executive room. The Hilton is a lovely hotel; I go travelling a fair amount with work and this is well up there with the better hotels I've stayed in. It was very reasonable, too – we met some people staying there who’d paid £100 for 3 nights.
We got to the venue and made our way through the guest entrance (no queuing with the riff raff for us) and straight away I was dancing. There were two sets of two female DJs – two in black, two in white playing on the stage at the front. Not for the last time that evening, I tugged Nige’s (my partner for the trip) arm and said “Huh? How does that work?” Most of you will already know this, but for my equivalents out there: apparently they were playing according to a track listing, that as they were getting their tunes lined up they had cue lights which told the sound engineers when to switch over.
I’ve never seen this sort of DJing before, and I was very, very impressed. The switchovers were quick & seamless. I know that it's only to be expected at an event like this, but still, I was in awe. For the first couple of hours the female DJs played some good, heavy tunes. As we walked across the arena, everyone was dancing and everyone was grinning back at me – it was a really good atmosphere.
Several minutes of confusion commenced when we decided to get a drink. We kept trying to give barmaids money, but they kept saying we needed coins, we could change our money at the Kasse.
Nige approaches the window of the Kasse:
“Can I have some change please?”
“No, sorry, I don’t give change.”
“Oh. I was told you did.”
“No. No change. Sorry.”
“Well how do I get a drink then?”
“You need tokens. You buy your beers with them – one beer equals one token.”
“Oh. So where do I get the tokens?”
“From me!”
When he eventually returned and explained the system (20Euros for 9 tokens), I asked him how much a beer equated to in real money. The look he gave me told me he actually couldn’t care less, all he wanted was a beer!
The next DJ on was Erick E. It was a very different set compared to the female DJs; his tunes were much lighter, much more bouncy. Every time I felt like slowing down he’d put on something else with a great bass line and off I’d go again. I don’t know what separates a good DJ from a really good one, but if the way I felt was anything to go by he knew his stuff. I frequently got lost in the tunes, looking up after a while to find I was surrounded by new people.
Next came Ferry Corsten’s dramatic entrance. The lights went down and then in the middle of the arena, spotlights focussed on a platform right in front of where we were. The spotlights threw lights up, the giant sparklers were lit and the music started building.
Now, I confessed up front that I’m new to dance music. I’m slowly being educated and I’m loving exploring the entire music genre, but seeing the way Ferry was being adored by the fans and the way he was playing up to the adoration was just odd. It was a bit like when you see girls in Latvia fainting at the sight of a bearded, bandana wearing, goth metal rock icon that you’ve never ever heard of – it just doesn’t compute. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to say this at the time, so I just decided to settle in and see what all the fuss was about.
Now as you may have gathered I like a nice bass line with my music, but I also like trance. So I would have expected that I’d enjoy this event, but I was amazed at how into the music I actually got – there wasn’t any point in the evening where I wasn’t into the music. I danced rather than walked everywhere. There was such a varied mix of tunes, and every so often a piece of a track even I’d heard of came on - a snippet of Born Slippy was very well received!
Anyway, after a few minutes of Ferry playing decks on all sides of a raised square platform, and whipping up the crowd into a frenzy, the whole platform was suspended over the crowd and then floated to the front. It was a real show – there were lots of pyrotechnics: giant sparklers, spotlights, flames – the works!
The venue could take up to 10,000, and on the night I’d estimate there were around 8,000, which was just right – there was plenty of room to dance as wildly as you like (and many were), or you could push through to the middle and get really into it.
It basically stayed that way until we left at 5.30. I was totally sober, and yet I was on my feet from the minute we arrived until we left. Given my previous nightclub experiences, this is unparalleled and this is, in my humble view, a testament to the skill of these guys; even someone as uninitiated as me found his music incredibly accessible.
The venue was a great size for the show, and had good facilities. I’m fussy about loos, but their loos were a delight, frankly! Even though they were portaloo’s they weren’t rank (although I think putting them in a dimly lit area was an inspired move). Eight thousand people and no queue in the ladies - now that’s organisation!
There were quite a few festival type stalls at the back of the arena, selling everything: ice cream, airspray tattoo’s, or 5 minutes in an eyemask and goggles on the “Brain Machine” stall for example. There were also a good few food stalls as well, also operating on a token system.
The security presence was visible, but not in the least bit intimidating – in fact they were friendly and helpful whenever I needed directions! The whole atmosphere was one of people having a good time with the right amount of security to make sure it stayed fun.
My only complaint about the venue was the floor. It got incredibly wet, as does any dance floor when people drink on it, but as it was a smooth surface by 4am it was more like walking on an ice rink. Add to that piles of dropped plastic bottles and that’s a recipe for a broken ankle.
We eventually left at about 5.30 – the transport links are clearly good in Holland, and we caught a night bus without trouble. The next day was spent trying to cram in as much sleep as we could before checkout time.
There was nothing about the whole trip that I didn’t enjoy, and if I get the opportunity to go back to Holland, its Rotterdam I’d rather go to than Amsterdam. It really was that lovely, I felt safe the whole time we were there, even lost at 6 in the morning, typical London mugger targets with our map out! Thanks HF.
Doris travelled to Rotterdam courtesy of HarderFaster and HollandClubbing.com. She flew on Transavia.com and stayed in the Rotterdam Hilton. For more info about Dutch getaways please visit HollandClubbing.com.
Photos courtesy of the HarderFaster archive. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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![[HarderFaster] - Work Hard, Play Harder!](/images/mainbanner_top1-xmas.gif)
Well done and it is brilliant you had such a fab time. 
