Last week I had the honor of catching up with world renowned trance DJ, remixer and producer Ferry Corsten to ask him a few questions about his plans for the year and Winter Music Conference 2010.

Ferry was particularly excited about the debut of his new tour, “Once Upon A Night: The Experience,” which is taking off on March 27th at this years Winter Music Conference. And although I only had a few minutes with him, it was clear just how passionate Ferry is about his music, how energized he is for Winter Music Conference, and everything to come after his much anticipated tour debut date.

The “Once Upon a Night: The Experience” concept is super innovative. Explain how you were inspired to break up your set into times of day with sunset, night, and sunrise. Nowadays trance music, the style of music that I’m known for, is so varied with so many possibilities, so many influences of different genres within that particular genre; house, techno, breakbeat, etc.  It’s really cool to, as a DJ, get a little freedom right now! It’s really cool to do your own warm up, closing set… This was the whole idea with the release of the compilation mix, especially with all of the tracks being unreleased and especially produced for the album. It gives it a bit of an exclusive touch as well.

Can you tell us what we can expect from your tour concept and the debut party which is set for the 27^th at Miami hotspot Karu and Y? Yea, this is the first time we are doing the show! The whole visual thing alongside of the other DJs (Note: Ferry will be playing with trance DJs Cosmic Gate and SolarStone)is exciting.  I will be playing multiple tracks from “Once a Upon a Night” with tailor made visuals and interactive text, stuff like that! It’s going to be an all visual, six hour trip!

Thoughts on Karu & Y?: It’s just a big, square box. It’s perfect for your own production. It’s not a massive venue, so it still has a nice intimacy, and it is suitable for some extra stuff around your show. That is what I love about it.

What cultures and places around the world have inspired your new double disc set (your self proclaimed “musical journey”)? You sometimes find yourself in one of those places…. like last year in Bali for example, with the hot, tropical air, the breeze, thousands of people in front of you on a tropical island. Its things like that… and the next day, you’re at the airport, and you hear some of the local music. It doesn’t do much at the time, but when you think back, and you hear that sort of local stuff, you think, wow, that night was just amazing! It just reminds you of some of the beautiful trips you’ve made. The things that I’ve picked up along the way I was able to look for when talking to producers for the tracks; this kind of warm, lush, sort of sound… and they were able to deliver for sure!

If you had to pick one, what is your favorite track on your new album? I could never pick one! It’s a toss up between three. But if I REALLY had to pick one (laughs),”Hartseer” by Bart Claessen. It is South African for a broken heart I think!

You’ve been nominated for two International Dance Music Awards. This is quite an honor.  Of the two, which means more to you? I’m pretty excited about both really. Being nominated for Best European DJ, this is cool. But, it’s more the radio show “Corsten’s Countdown.” I’ve been doing this for about two years now. You start doing something, and don’t know where it will go, and all of a sudden (especially in the last year) it takes flight!  It started with Sirius/XM and then all of a sudden we were on 25 stations around the world. It really took off. It’s really cool to see that people sit down, and get excited saying “Oh, it’s Corsten’s Countdown tonight, I can’t wait!” So that I’ve been nominated for that is great.

You are a Miami veteran. What is your favorite part about Winter Music Conference? There is plenty to chose from (laughs heartily)! Whatever you wanna see, whatever you wanna do, it’s all there. My night usually starts at one of the lovely restaurants.

Ah, so what is your restaurant choice? I love comfortable places, and there’s this one little restaurant called Nemo. It has a nice little garden and it’s just a nice little place where we always go, every year.

What is your favorite club to spin at?  And, do you like to hit up the clubs in your free time, or do you avoid the scene when you’re not working? Wow! That is really, really difficult. But if I had to pick a club…. I would probably say Ageha in Tokyo; I love playing in that place! And, with your second question, I do avoid the club scene! It’s a job/fun, but I’m in that environment so many days a week that is a rare moment when I can actually enjoy being home.

Do you prefer a more intimate setting, or do you like the big festival scenes like Ultra Music Festival or Trance Energy? There are really two sides to that. At the end of the summer, after all of the festivals, it’s really nice to be back in a bit more intimate setting. But then you know, after awhile you want to go back out and play for the big crowds, especially when you’re touring with a new show!

Now that you are a revered DJ, who were your own musical inspirations growing up? I grew up listening and starting to understand music in the 80s. So, yea, the 80s era would definitely be my influence.  The early electronic hip-hop, a style of dance that was huge here in the 80s and very cheesy (laughs again).

What is one thing your fans might NOT know about you? I am pretty much the open book! I have had this question before, and I never know what to say. But, for those fans that think they notice everything about you and have an eye for detail, here it is! Whenever I play, I actually wear my headphones the other way around, left is right, right is left. It’s not a big shocker but it just fits better.  I have a funny head I guess? (We laugh)

Ferry also says that although this is his first visual concept tour to debut during Winter Music Conference he is confident that it will be a great place to do this, empathically stating, “WMC is the place to do this! People are there in the right frame of mind, the right mood.”

With the passion and energy of WMC attendees, I have to agree!

Pre-order your copy “Once Upon a Night,” out at the end of March. You can also catch a preview of the new album on March 17^th during Ferry’s radio show, Corsten’s Countdown (broadcasted live on Sirius/XM Satellite radio).

Check out the trailer for “Once Upon a Night: The Experience”