Gouryella

Gouryella is a Dutch trance project created in 1999 by Ferry Corsten and Tijs Verwest, better known as Tiësto. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning “paradise”.

The first single, Gouryella (1999), received widespread praise and included remixes by DJ Gigilo and Armin Van Buuren. The project’s first four tracks saw twenty distinct CD releases across nine different labels, demonstrating their significance in the trance scene at the time.

The second single, Walhalla (1999), also featured remixes by Armin Van Buuren and Hybrid. In total, Gouryella released six tracks: Gouryella, Gorella, Walhalla, In Walhalla, Tenshi and Ligaya. The B-sides Gorella and In Walhalla were never commercially released in the UK but appear on the respective German and Dutch import CDs.

The release of Tenshi (2000) marked a slight stylistic shift: less euphoric synth lines in favor of a sharper electronic sound, which some fans attribute to Tiësto’s growing influence. A notable remix by Transa helped make it a club classic.

At the end of 2000 Tiësto left the project to focus on his solo career. Ferry Corsten wrote and produced Ligaya (2001) alone; it featured female vocals and remixes by Paul Van Dyk, Green Court and Airbase.

Under the name Gouryella they also remixed in 1999 Messages by Solange and 1999 by Binary Finary. Corsten and Tiësto also released two tracks under the alias Vimana: We Came (1999) with B-side Dreamtime; these tracks were then judged not suitable for the Gouryella name, which was reserved for hardcore and euphoric tracks, hence the additional alias.

There are currently no plans for a new Gouryella release, and even if there were one, it is almost certain that Tiësto would not be involved.