Chicane discography

The discography of British electronic dance music act Chicane consists of five studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play and nineteen singles. His debut single, "Offshore" reached number fourteen in the United Kingdom and number five on dance chart in the United States in 1996. The subsequent debut album, Far from the Maddening Crowds, peaked at number forty-nine in the UK.

Chicane had his commercial breakthrough with the album Behind the Sun, released on 27 March 2000. It sold over 100,000 copies and was certified gold in the UK, and spawned the hit singles "Saltwater" and "Don't Give Up". "Saltwater" sampled "Theme from Harry's Game" by Irish group Clannad and became a popular track in nightclubs across Europe; it reached number six in the UK and charted in countries such as Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. "Don't Give Up" was a collaboration with Canadian singer Bryan Adams. It became a number one hit in the UK and a top 20 hit in the United States, Australia, Finland and Belgium.

The Thrillseekers

The Thrillseekers (born Steve Helstrip) is the name of an English trance DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been at the forefront of the trance genre since the release in 1999 of his critically acclaimed track, "Synaesthesia". He has also worked under the guises of En Motion, Insigma, Rapid Eye, and Hydra. He is also prominent for his work in remixing, having remixed work by Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, Timo Maas, Sonique, Chicane, Blank & Jones, and Seb Fontaine. He owns his own record label, 'Adjusted Music'.

Career

Helstrip has worked with Trevor Horn, shared co-production credits with Chicane, and co-wrote on Ferry Corsten's Grammy Award nominated, Right of Way album. He has remixed Tiësto and Armin, and reworked Sonique's "It Feels So Good" into a worldwide #1 record.

Helstrip is also a DJ, who has performed at The Ministry, Gallery, PaSSion and Gatecrasher. Just twelve months after he first put needle to vinyl, he found himself invited to play at Paul van Dyk's birthday party. 2004 saw The Thrillseekers crack DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs chart for the first time. In 2006 and 2007, Thrillseekers landed at positions 45 and 52 respectively.

Chicane

A chicane is an artificial feature creating extra turns in a road, used in motor racing and on streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is a short, shallow S-shaped turn, requiring the driver to turn slightly left and then right again to stay on the road, which slows them down. Chicane comes from the French verb chicaner, which means "to quibble" or "to prevent justice".

Motor racing

On modern racing circuits, chicanes are usually located after long straights, making them a prime location for overtaking. They can be placed tactically by circuit designers to prevent vehicles from reaching speeds deemed to be unsafe. A prime example of this is the Tamburello chicane at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, which was placed after Ayrton Senna's death at the original corner. At Circuit de la Sarthe, chicanes were placed alongside the 6‑km Mulsanne Straight in order to slow down Le Mans Prototypes, which with Group C Prototypes went to speeds as high as 400 km/h.

Some tracks, such as the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, feature optional chicanes. Faster cars will take the chicane, but slower cars (such as amateur club racers) may avoid the chicane because they are not capable of reaching equally high speeds on the straights. Such chicanes are used at Watkins Glen International and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where there are separate chicanes for cars and motorcycles.

Uplifting trance

Uplifting trance (often synonymous with epic trance, anthem trance, emotional trance, or euphoric trance) is a large subgenre of trance music. The name, which emerged in the wake of progressive trance in 1996, is derived from the feeling which listeners claim to get (often described as a "rush"). The genre, which originated in Germany, is massively popular in the trance scene, and is one of the dominant forms of dance music worldwide. Historically it is related to the emergence of psychedelic trance and the two styles influenced each other. Classical music strongly influenced the development of uplifting trance both in the 1990s and at present, with film music also considered influential.

Characteristics

In general, uplifting trance is a style much lighter in tone than other trance genres (such as Goa). Instead of the darker tone of Goa, uplifting trance uses similar chord progressions as progressive trance, but tracks' chord progressions usually rest on a major chord, and the balance between major and minor chords in a progression will determine how "happy" or "sad" the progression sounds. The genre features longer major chord progressions in all elements (lead synth, bass, and treble). It also contains extended breakdowns, and relegation of arpeggiation (the melodic part of the song, usually consisting of "Saw Synths/Square Lead" type sounds) to the background while bringing wash effects to the fore (the harmonic element of the music, or "background fill", usually consisting of synth choir/voice/string chord progressions). There is a close relation between uplifting trance and uplifting house. As a rule of thumb, trance beats in the range of 136–142 BPM. Uplifting trance very commonly employs side-chain compression, a modern production technique. It is commonly referred to as "ducking the kick", where the background strings/synths have their volume automated, creating a pulsing effect on the off-beat.

Autumn

Autumn, interchangeably known as fall in North America, is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere), when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier and the temperature cools considerably. One of its main features is the shedding of leaves from deciduous trees.

Some cultures regard the autumnal equinox as "mid-autumn", while others with a longer temperature lag treat it as the start of autumn. Meteorologists (and most of the temperate countries in the southern hemisphere) use a definition based on months, with autumn being September, October and November in the northern hemisphere, and March, April and May in the southern hemisphere.

In North America, autumn is usually considered to start with the September equinox and end with the winter solstice (21 or 22 December). Popular culture in North America associates Labor Day, the first Monday in September, as the end of summer and the start of autumn; certain summer traditions, such as wearing white, are discouraged after that date. In North America, the wave of color starts in Canada. It then moves into the United States and across the Great Lakes, and continues down into the mountains of the South. Warm days followed by chilly nights provide the catalyst. In traditional East Asian solar term, autumn starts on or around 8 August and ends on or about 7 November. In Ireland, the autumn months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann, are September, October and November. However, according to the Irish Calendar, which is based on ancient Gaelic traditions, autumn lasts throughout the months of August, September and October, or possibly a few days later, depending on tradition. In Australia and New Zealand, autumn officially begins on 1 March and ends on 31 May.