When two of the most renown artists of the electronic music industry, Ferry Corsten and Markus Schulz decided to combine their powers of moving the world with their music, they gave rise to New World Punx, an act that continued to stir mayhem ever since its conception last year. The two were brought together by their common love for classic trance and together, they started out curating music that reflected a melange of their individual styles. As the duo prepares to spin at the much awaited Enchanted Valley Carnival just days from now, Bangin Beats got a chance to catch up with the two and get inside scoop on what New World Punx is all about!
TBB: What triggered the urge to come together as New World Punx?
New World Punx: The whole concept blossomed through the development of our personal friendship. It was never a business decision or necessity.
We had been friendly throughout the years and would always exchange hellos at the various festivals, but outside of a remix swap deal (Markus doing Ferry’s Brain Box, Ferry doing Markus’ Do You Dream), there wasn’t a connection musically. In the summer of 2011 however we found ourselves travelling together a lot, doing the same festival route, so we got to know each other better throughout the long hours on planes.
For the closing of the Ibiza season, our families decided to rent a villa together for a week. Through the various conversations, we discovered that we had a lot in common, had the same passions and loves of our scene, and were both at a point in our career where we needed a fresh injection – something fun and something to counter the rigours of life on the road. The toughest challenge of a DJ life by far is the travel, and when you are doing it on your own, it’s doubly difficult.
So when Amsterdam Dance Event came up, Markus came in a few days earlier and travelled to Ferry’s studio in Rotterdam. There was no pressure involved, and indeed no intention of actually producing something, but in a spur of the moment, we had a go at doing the remake of the old Jens track Loops & Tings. It became a huge track in both of our individual sets.
Around six months afterwards we were booked together for a show at Godskitchen in Birmingham, billed as a “versus” night. Originally they had opening DJs and a four hour window for us to play individually and together, but the promoters allowed us to take control for the entire evening, spanning nine hours. The original concept was Markus to play 90 minutes, Ferry to play 90 minutes, go back to back for two hours, and close the night by playing two hours each. But once we got into the back to back section, we stayed that way for the rest of the night. There was an electric chemistry in the club that made the gig so memorable.
After that gig, a lot of promoters caught wind of the idea, and started booking us specifically to play back to back. We did a show at TAO Beach in Las Vegas during EDC week, where a two hour set turned into over six, and the epiphany moment came at Echostage in Washington DC in November of that year.
We knew at that point that we were on to something special, but because of the demand for us to play together, we had to brand the concept to give it an identity. Hence New World Punx was born.
TBB: Are there any plans for an artist album?
New World Punx: Not at the moment. When New World Punx was coming together, the most important aspects for both of us was that it would always be fun, and it would not be at the expense of our solo careers. When we are producing together, they are all stress free situations, and what comes out of it is as a result of fun. If you started doing that in an album process, it could get incredibly stressful, especially when each of us would want to be the driver in the studio. So it’s fun to just take the production work on a track-by-track basis.
Tracks like Torque, our current single which marked the debut of the NWP label; we like to think of the tracks a throwback to the days of the innocent raves, where nothing was taken seriously.
TBB: How would you best describe your collaborative style?
New World Punx: Even though we are both associated with trance, our respective palettes are generally stretched to opposite ends – Ferry likes to dabble in his electro influences, whereas Markus is more bassline and techno-grooves driven.
We knew that if our b2b sets were to work as a concept, we would need to understand everything that we would want to feature in a set that would showcase both our sounds. So NWP essentially acts as a hybrid of our individual sounds and influences. Ultimately, what we are trying to create is the feeling of innocence and fun; much like back in the day where raves in abandoned warehouses were the biggest buzz in a city.
TBB: Who would you say is the better producer from the two of you, since the both of you are legends?
New World Punx: That’s very nice of you to say. Probably not really a question for either of us to answer, and for the fans to decide themselves. What we will say however is that since producing collectively, we have both learned new things from each other, which has made the project even more gratifying.
TBB: What’s the story behind the entire cartoon / manga styled logo?
New World Punx: It was an idea we came up with after seeing some comics in an office, and it reminded us of the old Gorillaz music videos. So it was cool to present something that hadn’t really been done to death in dance music circles, and they are a little fun story to follow before we go through a high profile stretch of shows. There will be another strip coming before the end of the year. Without giving away too much, it involves snowboarding and scuba diving.
TBB: Would we ever be lucky enough to see an extended 12 hour New World Punx set?
New World Punx: Never say never! We would both be up for it for sure. It’s not always easy to plan however, because you need the right setting and circumstances, and fans well educated enough to understand and embrace the journey.
The longest sets we have done together have been the 7 hour open to close nights at Echostage in Washington DC (which at the time of writing, we are currently preparing for on Thanksgiving Eve). Markus has gained the reputation for being trance’s energiser bunny thanks to his marathon solo sets. Everyone still talks about the 12 hours he played open to close at Tomorrowland!
TBB: What is the ultimate New World Punx party destination?
New World Punx: An island where we can house all of the fans together, play all through the night and celebrate with a beautiful sunrise in the morning. Maybe Goa?
TBB: Do you have any particular pre-performance rituals?
New World Punx: Because NWP is a collaborative effort, it’s important for us to go through the biggest tracks in our respective individual sets before going out to play together. So we move everything into one folder and begin to generate ideas on how to build the night musically. Very little of the set is pre-planned, especially in the clubs when we have longer to play, but it’s good for us to get to grips with each other’s picks.
TBB: The best reaction you got after announcing New World Punx?
New World Punx: That was actually a really nervous week for us, because we planned the debut of the concept around three huge events.
Between January and March of 2013, all the hints and teases on social media were doing the rounds, and after the concept was revealed to the world, the first point of interest for the fans was where the first batch of gig would take place. And we had a huge run where three major events fell within the space of one week.
The debut night was at Mansion in Miami, which was the closing party for Winter Music Conference that year. The second was the massive A State of Trance 600 celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which was a dream to perform. And the third was the next night / morning in Montreal, at the amazing annual Bal en Blanc.
Coming out of all those shows, it was a mixture of elation and relief. We knew that we had presented something that the fans could emotionally invest themselves in, and the reactions of those shows gravitated towards promoters becoming more interested in the concept for their own events. So ultimately, even for our own individual careers too, it’s the voice of the fans that is the most important.
Rapid Fire Round
TBB: Punx or Unicorns?
Punx!
TBB: Dakota or Eon?
Ohh this is a toughie. It’s maybe not fair to contrast just one of Ferry’s aliases, because he produced under so many with such distinction. Maybe we could say, Ferry wins over the multiple aliases, Markus wins because his Dakota alias has yielded two full albums.
TBB: Miami or Ibiza?
Miami in the winter, Ibiza in the summer.
TBB: 12 hour marathon sets or 2 hour festival sets?
We love both what each respectively represents, but in terms of unplanned chaos, the marathon sets would shade it.
TBB: Remixing Bieber or Remixing Swift?
Remixing Lana Del Rey.
TBB: Trap or Dubstep?
Melodic dubstep.
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