The Thrillseekers Escape Album Tour @ Cielo || Event Review

The Thrillseekers Escape Album Tour… a trance journey that allows you to escape your daily routine.

Steve Helstrip, better known by his trance alias The Thrillseekers, has been part of the trance movement since 1998. In the summer of that year, he produced his first song entitled “Synaesthesia“. No one could predict what happened next! “Synaesthesia” was amongst the first tracks in a new genre, called Dutch Trance. These tracks were euphoric, melodic, bombastic. A complete opposite of what the majority of trance productions were like at the time.

“Synaesthesia” quickly became the anthem that every DJ wanted to have in their vinyl record box. The track took Steve from a new producer to superstar level at lightspeed. The legend that is today The Thrillseekers was born. Over the years, between various aliases and groups, Steve created some of the most memorable melodies. His original works and remixes are played out even to this day at large festivals and small venues. Most importantly, fans of the genre see him as a cornerstone of integrity that remained true to his passion — creation music that puts you in a trance.

It might come as great surprise to learn that 18 years after breaking through on the scene, Steve finally released his first studio album! Long overdue and ten years in the making, The Thrillseekers pres. Escape is Steve’s interpretation of what an album is all about. However, this is not your run-of-the-mill album. You find trance of course. There’s also a fair bit of chillout. Melodically speaking, the difference between the two genres is small: one has a beat, the other does not. However, both types of music revolve around atmospheres and melodies. They play with your emotions — melancholy, sadness, happiness, sorrow. Trance music, at its heart, is not about making you dance on the dancefloor. Instead, it’s about connecting with you at a deeper level, and this connection is evident is the music that The Thrillseekers has given us over the years.

The Escape Tour‘s purpose is to promote the new album. Some of these shows are open to close. In the case of the NYC event, however, there’s one small difference. For the first time in 10 years, The Thrillseekers played vinyl. Check out my review of the event below.

Cielo: A bastion of hope for electronic music

Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography

Cielo resides in Greenwich Village, smack in the heart of New York City. By today’s standards, the club is nothing special. The dance floor is small. Drinks tables are expensive. The audience is not your usual lounge going people. The design is rather retro. If you’re someone who wanders around town and wants to sit down and have a drink while music is playing, then is it not the place for you. While these critiques are warranted, I believe most people do not understand what this institution represents. Above all, Cielo prides itself on offering a unique musical experience. That is the main reason why people who love it attend shows there. This objective drives every club design choice.

The Funktion-One sound system surrounds the dance floor. The lounge area is on the outskirts, and there are no speakers directed towards it. This setting allows for two different sensations. If you wish to relax and have a chat, you can do so without much fuss. The volume is low enough to allow easy conversation. However, if you want to live a one of a kind auditory experience, there are only a handful of places that do it better than Cielo.

The club achieves this by invoking multiple senses. First and foremost, you hear the brilliant sound system. From any spot on the dance floor, the music inundates you. The volume is spot on, high enough to hear all the various frequencies, but low enough to not burst your ears. Where the setup shines, however, is in its balance. Cielo has the best-calibrated system I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. The bass is strong, but not overpowering. The reverb is non-existent, and I can’t underestimate how much this means. Without reverb, everything sounds crisp. Without the interference, there’s nothing that can ruin the harmonics. The treble is punchy, and it generates a lovely groove. Lastly, the highs are clean and non-piercing, making the vocals distinguishable and easy on the ear.

The dark nature of the venue enhances the sensory experience, all thanks to genetics. By depriving one of our senses, our bodies become acute. The hearing sensitivity is dialed up to 11 when we stay in a dark room. The body does this to absorb as much information about our surroundings as possible. With a sound crafted so perfectly, you can understand why the club is trying to promote it’s number one attraction.

Lastly, the dance floor is small, and the DJ booth is within hand’s reach. Here again, the design enforces basic needs that we as humans have come to appreciate. Clubbers dance in an intimate setting where they have no other choice but to connect to one another. In doing so, they become one with the music as well. When you see people smiling or lost in their thoughts as songs are playing, human emotions take over. You start to have the same experience as them. It’s in these moments that you realize how powerful this effect is. Precisely due to this well-designed layout, Cielo is unmatched.

Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography

A Trance Escapade

Open to Close sets tend to fall into two categories. You have those that use multiple genres to build the energy through the night. At the other end of the spectrum, you have those that intertwine classics with new material to achieve diversity in sound design. Luckily, The Thrillseekers elected to combine both styles in his set. You add in a 90-minute vinyl segment to close the show, and on paper, this looks amazing…and amazing it was!

The reason I enjoy extended and open to close sets is that the tension builds continually. Partly through progression, but also by not knowing what song comes next. For such events, DJs are free to play what they wish. In contrast, at festivals, the crowd expects to hear the latest and greatest productions, leading to similar sets. Steve is well aware of this pitfall, and the show never came close to replicating these mistakes.

The night began with a mix of tech-house and progressive. I don’t particularly enjoy this music for home listening, but if mixed correctly, it’s effective in a club. It allows people to loosen up, get in the groove, meet up with their friends, and settle in for the adventure. The ensuing three and a half hours were a different animal! If you want an expert class on how to be a successful trance DJ, look no further. This set had it all: progressive trance, vocal, tech-trance, and uplifting. We were exposed to fresh new music from the album, but also timeless jewels that few DJs play. There was melody driven music and also energy-driven music. Without a surprise, the set also featured plenty of older material from The Thrillseekers.

Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography

The big surprise came from how effortlessly this mix came together. With so many variables at play, the chances of breaking the flow are ever-present. Instead, that 15-year-old classic fits perfectly between two modern productions. Transitioning from rolling bassline driven psytrance song into an uplifting vocal feels organic and natural. Playing three unknown tracks in a row doesn’t annoy you. Instead, it builds anticipation for that song you’ve been waiting for and that you know is coming. The ebbs and flows were executed with the precision of a Swiss watch. One moment, you felt uplifted by a vast synth melody. The next, you were haunted by a melancholic piano riff or a deep vocal. Fifteen minutes later, you were dancing your pants off to a tech-trance rolling bassline. The constant back and forth continued for the majority of the set and gave rise to an emotional rollercoaster.

There’s nothing wrong with listening to four hours of uplifting or progressive music. Such a set could provide an unexpected journey. However, I’ve always maintained that a full musical experience needs to invoke more than one type of emotion. DJs use melancholic music to make you reminisce. That’s usually linked to sadness and sorrow. Combine that with uplifting music, and you go from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. This transition is stronger than if you only listen to one style of music. It is also the reason why being emotionally drained is more tiring, and in the case of a journey, more fulfilling, than being physically exhausted. A good DJ can achieve the latter. Only a great DJ can guide you through the former. The Thrillseekers managed to do so brilliantly even before he got to the best part of the night!

Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography

Vinyl: A long lost friend

Today’s music industry focuses on fast build-ups, quick mixing, and many edits of tracks and other such techniques to keep the energy of a show high. In such an environment, the vinyl gets pushed aside. However, even today, vinyl can offer something unique. Unlike many of today’s trance followers, I grew up in the late 90’s listening to live recordings from UK’s biggest events. The likes of Paul Oakenfold and Paul Van Dyk used to dominate the Gatecrasher scene. Their vinyl sets from this period remain some of the best of all time. These shows usually took place in dark warehouses with not much else apart from a massive sound system and going all night long. By that description, you probably guessed that the word rave is an accurate description. Most of the trance songs from that era incorporated the raving mentality in their productions too.

From the first kick of Mirco de Govia – “Epic Monolith”, I was transported back to one of these parties. Big supersaw leads, piano riffs, rich lyrics, industrial and punchy kicks; these 90 minutes amply featured all those throwback elements. The occasional vinyl crackle and pop reminded everyone that this music is old. Heck, there were even a couple of vinyl skips! In its infancy, perfection was never an element trance artists wanted to achieve. The production quality leaves much to be desired in many cases when compared to recent songs. Tracks from that period have fluctuating BPMs; some elements sound muddy. What you can’t brush aside, however, is the soul and emotion behind the songs. Also, each vinyl imprint sounds slightly different from the next one. When you combine all these moments, you end up with a one of a kind experience.

The cherry on top was the sublime mixing. Vinyl sets require preparation to some extent due to the nature of the medium. Quick mixing and rearranging tracks are not possible on turntables. While this limits some of the techniques a DJ has at his disposal, it also allows him to build a story. Each song has a predefined place in the mix. They’re allowed to breathe and tell their individual stories. Contrary to today, where virtually every song follows the same intro, breakdown, drop, outro formula, tracks from the late 90’s didn’t follow this template necessarily. You can have a driving track that goes for eight minutes without a breakdown, or you might find a vocal track with three breakdowns. Recognizing the purpose of each record is important as that defines how and when you play it.

Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography

Steve mentioned in countless interviews his admiration for Ferry Corsten. Alongside Chicane, Ferry is the biggest inspiration in his career. It should come as no surprise then that the majority of vinyl tracks played were either his productions or songs made by Ferry. Hearing the anthems that defined a generation was an excellent experience. However, the biggest surprise came from a track that was unexpected, E’voke – “Arms Of Loren” (Ferry Corsten remix). Ferry created this remix in 2001, and it never got a released. It was never digitized nor given away for free. The only way to hear it is to get your hands on one of the few vinyl pressings sent as promos at the time. Luckily, one such pressing found its way into Steve’s bag!

For many people on the dance floor, this song didn’t mean much. My experience was opposite. Many of the songs that I discovered early are lost today. Some don’t get played out because the production is outdated and it’s difficult to fit them in sets. Some only saw a vinyl release. Sure, you can buy the vinyl and rip it to have a digital file, but what DJ does that nowadays? Others never saw the light of day and stayed in the artist’s record box. Moments like these are what continually push me to attend events…and I don’t see myself stopping soon.

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Featured Photo Credit: Chris Chin & C-Squared Photography