Gouryella

Brought together by a mutual love of melodic electronic music, Ferry Corsten and Tiësto first met in the mid-1990s while hanging out in record shops in Rotterdam, and became friends as they developed from struggling DJs to become successful producers. Corsten first found success under different names, including Moonman, Ferr and, most famously, System F; while Tiësto built his reputation in local clubs and started his own label Black Hole Recordings. When they began working together in 1998, it was a track that they called 'Gouryella' (an aboriginal word meaning 'Heaven') that stood out and became both their group name and debut single release. An early champion was Paul Oakenfold who received a huge crowd reaction when he started playing the track at the legendary UK nightclub Cream and, by 1999, the single had crossed over into mainstream culture and reached number 15 in the UK Charts. Follow-up tracks 'Walhalla' and 'Tenshi' also fared well, and they became the toast of Ibiza as their euphoric peaks, throbbing, hypnotic rhythms and instantly memorable melodies came to epitomise the trance craze of the time. Tiësto left to pursue solo stardom in 2001, but their tracks were put together on several compilation albums and Corsten continued with the uplifting club anthem 'Ligaya'. Though dance music trends changed and Corsten went on to establish himself as an acclaimed international DJ/producer, he returned to his trance roots in 2015 and re-booted the Gouryella name with the shimmering retro banger 'Anahera' in 2015. It also led to the album 'From the Heavens' and Corsten gave a nostalgic re-imagining of 1990s dance culture with the pounding sun-bursting swell of the singles 'Neba' and 'Venera (Vee's Theme)'.

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