The Thrillseekers

The Thrillseekers is the electronic and trance project of English DJ and producer Steve Helstrip, from the United Kingdom. Helstrip begins making electronic music while working for the computer games developer Manic Media, and he later teaches himself to DJ while living in Chipping Norton on the Oxfordshire border. His work focuses on melodic, emotive trance and related electronic styles.

Breakthrough releases

Helstrip’s breakthrough track is Synaesthesia, first built in a basic home studio in Chipping Norton and released on Neo Records in 1999. It sells more than 12,000 copies on its initial UK release and later gains wider recognition after Paul van Dyk champions it, remixes it, and signs it to Vandit. A vocal version with Sheryl Dean reaches the UK Top 20 in February 2001. Other major Thrillseekers tracks include Dreaming of You and By Your Side, the latter featuring Gina Dootson and showing a more reflective, house-leaning direction in his production.

Labels and releases

After Synaesthesia, Helstrip releases Dreaming of You on Ministry of Sound’s Data label, where it appears on 14 compilations in the UK alone. He later launches his own label, Adjusted Music. Its first release is NewLife, which is subsequently compiled on 15 releases worldwide. The label also reissues Synaesthesia and Affinity; Affinity originally appears under his Hydra alias. Helstrip also signs other artists to Adjusted Music, including Evolve’s Safe to Dream and Deep Voices’ Alone Again.

Aliases and collaborations

Helstrip records under several names beyond The Thrillseekers. As En-Motion, he releases Truth in 2000 and Getting Away with It in 2002. With Andy “Pulser” Perring, he forms Insigma, releasing Insigma, Open Our Eyes and Avalon. With Tim Stark, he works as Rapid Eye, releasing Never Going Back, Circa-Forever, Stealing Beauty, Santa Cruz and Absolut. He also works with Ferry Corsten in the Netherlands on Sublime, the opening track on Corsten’s Grammy-nominated Right Of Way album.

Remixes and DJ work

Helstrip’s remix work begins around the time Synaesthesia is promoted, and he goes on to rework more than thirty tracks by other artists. His remix credits include Tiësto, Timo Maas, Sonique, Chicane and Cequenza, among others. He becomes known for a melodic, euphoric approach and for playing live and DJ sets at clubs including The Ministry, Gallery, Gatecrasher and Godskitchen. He also appears in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs chart for the first time in 2004 and reaches number 45 in October 2006.