Ferry Corsten - L.E.F.

Genre dance Publisher Ultra Records External Links Official Ferry Corsten Website Official Ultra Records Website

The digitally wired "Intro/Are You Ready" opens this album by Ferry Corsten and if you love electronic music you know you are are in for a good time. L.E.F. is another album that proves the distance from the bedroom to the discothèque is diminishing. Another superstar has just joined the likes of Moby, Daft Punk, Mylo, Madonna, and LCD Soundsystem in bringing dance music to the masses.

"Fire" featuring Simon Le Bon is stunning, and Loud Electronic Ferocious "L.E.F." is just that, an absolute anthem; complete with robo effects, not dissimilar to "Electronic" by The Royal Visionaries. The pace slows down for "Into the Dark" sung by the very eighties Howard Jones and is a true synthpop classic. The trance track "Galaxia" is like Jean Michel Jarre with added wattage and great for circling the universe in your spacemobile. The tracks "Beautiful", "Possession" and "On My Mind" are familiar Ferry Corsten trance territory. The disco sounding "Down on Love" features vocals by Oz, and stylistically she is not dissimilar to the great Debbie Harry. The next track "Forever", featuring the voice of Debra Andrew is jazzy electrified Garage/House/R&B/Soul! It is completely unlike the previous tracks and being ultra radio friendly should strengthen Ferry's fanbase. "Watch Out", with pounding bass beats is a cousin to "L.E.F." and very good, a major dance electropop vibe. "Junk" featuring Guru is like The Prodigy, complete with rap, breakbeats, and funk. "Freefalling", with superb syncopation, bass and drums; is for want of a better word, beautiful, as much of this album is.

L.E.F. comes with a lyric sheet which is an added bonus and with the exception of the more aggressive "Junk" and "Watch Out" the song poems are all quite esoteric. The range of styles on this album is breathtaking with trance, electro, pop, techno and other influences; Ferry obviously loves music and is not afraid of experimenting. The different sounds merge into a cohesive unit and as well as having killer stand alone dance cuts, L.E.F. is a complete work.

If you don't know your Intelligent Dance Music from your Electronic Body Music or your dance from your err....trance, don't let that dissuade you. This is not a purist album, it is just good music, simple as that. I am wary of yesterday's people claiming to like Duran Duran, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Donna Summer, "our music" etc and then making sweeping statements about the state of dance music and how much they despise it. In people like Ferry Corsten's hands modern dance is innovative, progressive and very much alive. There are thousands of bedroom and nightclub deejays - emerging and established, making brilliant and accessible music. All the listener has to do is give them a chance, listen, and bring them into the mainstream. The formula-one racer, Ferry Corsten, emerging from his wrecked vehicle on the cover, is already there; having gained major accolades, production and deejay experience for more than a decade, prior to the production of L.E.F. Don't play catch-up with this racer, get his album and let his retro/modern melodies under your skin. It won't take long, this is one of the best albums of 2006.