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OFF THE RAILS – Review – 4th April
The Thrillseekers
Jon O’Bir
Genix
Art of Noise
Arriving at OFF THE RAILS, it’s a welcome sight to see a packed dance-floor and friendly crowd with an electric atmosphere. Jon O’Bir was warming things up with an infectious set bursting with energy and drive. The ethereal notes from ‘Cressida – 6AM (Kyau vs Albert)’ cascade from the speakers, drenching the early crowd with some heartfelt emotion. Setting the tone for the night, O’Bir looks to be loving every moment as he expertly weaves his way from melodic progressive to more peak time material from the likes of Paul Miller and Tom Colontonio. The lighting was impressive, with green lasers and spotlights flashing across the buoyant crowd. A large visual screen projects vibrant images as O’Bir drops recent Vandit release – ‘Greg Downey – Stadium’ which gets a great reception.
An intimate yet well laid out club, the focus is all on the dance-floor and its hard not get caught up in the searing atmosphere. Ambient blue UV-lighting casts its glow amongst the descending fog created by the smoke machine. Smiles a plenty, the crowd is a friendly mix of clued up clubbers, students and locals. Willing you to dance, O’Bir keeps it thriving with Paul Van Dyk’s new single, ‘Let Go’ featuring Rea Garvey’. Having recently been signed to Van Dyk’s record label- Vandit, Jon O’Bir is making a name for himself on the production front alongside his undoubted DJ ability. With forthcoming tracks, ‘I Need You’ and ‘Ways and Means’ and a host of worldwide gigs the future looks very promising for Jon O’Bir. After his set Jon had this to say about the night:
'I really enjoyed the off the rails gig. It was great to see a packed UK dance floor, loving the trance! Another new night in Yorkshire proving to be a success already! I was really pleased to see the reactions on forthcoming conspiracy track 'Derelict - Voice of hope', my new Vandit release ‘Ways and Means' and the stunning 'Remember' by Activa!’
Following Jon O’Bir was Steve Helstrip from the Thrillseekers who is responsible for some of the scenes biggest releases of all time, including the all time classic, ‘Synaesthesia’. Kicking the club into a groove he drops the latest Dave 202 remix of Aethna 'Enigma' – a powerful cut that has the hefty sound system reverberating with seismic bass. His opening period delivered some truly euphoric moments interspersed with a constant unrelenting rhythm. The female vocal from Oceanlab – Sirens of the Sea makes waves in all the right places, drifting into the mix with consummate ease. With seamless mixing throughout, Steve Helstrip knows exactly which tracks will do the damage on the dance-floor. Taking things in a techier direction he brings in Bryan Kearney’s remix of ‘John O’Callaghan - Rotterdam' – a rambunctious bass driven track that rasps from the speaker like an industrial machine. Teasing the crowd with trance infused cuts he builds the tempo, whilst jumping around the DJ booth with unquenched enthusiasm. Steve commented after the gig:
‘What a rare treat to play such a friendly, intimate club! Had a blast. Some of the biggest tunes of the night were Embrace 'Embrace', Simon Patterson 'Smack' and Cartel ‘Buenos Aires’. Hope to do it all again some day!’
Up next were the residents, the Art of Noise (Alex Oldale & Greg Morris). Opening with the orchestral ‘Requiem’ the intro climbs to a crescendo, signalling a change in musical direction. Raising their arms along with the crowd they conduct the symphonic break before the beat drills back in and the dance-floor ignites. Punchy percussion and a bouncy electro-tinged bass-line keep things rocking as they drop Rank 1’s ‘And Then’. The tech laced beats continue with the rumbling production, ‘Kracken’ from David Forbes. Before the familiar melody from ‘Plastic Boy - Silver Bath (Ben Gold)’ arrives to a great reception.
With succinct mixing throughout the Art of Noise bridge the gap between trance and techno, producing energetic and emotive elements in equal measure. The classic, ‘Tic Toc’ by ‘Klea’, revived with a rework from Indecent Noise thumps from the speakers with intent. The anthemic hook rising to prominence before an updated mid section comes to the fore, complimented by a crisp, galloping beat. As the ascending riff from ‘Mike Shiver – Fallen Apocalypse’ soars from the sound system, the crowd- arms aloft, cheer in appreciation. Soon after a driving techy low end with abrasive stabs is introduced, the resonating bass line jacking you up before throwing your body round as if caught in an all consuming tidal wave. Alex and Greg adopt a knowing look before the break from their debut track, ‘Defcon pres. Art of Noise – Malfunction’ erupts from the speakers. An impressive track, it uses a spine tingling melodic interlude whilst reaching a climatic peak before the filth ridden bass surges forth like an untamed beast. Closing their set in style the Art of Noise have delivered another fine session of beat therapy.
Final set duties were given to Passion resident, Genix. Having built a strong following at the super-club over a number of years, he has recently played a number of high profile gigs across the country. Breaking into the mainstream with his rework of ‘Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s -Waiting For’, his productions have been thrashed by all the major DJ’s. He is also the Guinness World Record holder for the longest DJ set in history – a mammoth 84hr set! The still busy main room proceeded to lap up his frenetic, techy style. Blending in tried and tested cuts through to his own remixes Genix works the crowd into a frenzy. His recent rework of ‘A & N Project - Just When I Think There's An Answer’ kicks with brute force, maintaining a filthy but crisp path.
Allowing for close crowd interaction, Genix, smiles at clubbers from the DJ booth, beckoning them to dance with each slamming track. After dropping the classic break from ‘Café Del Mar’, he unleashes further tech splintered tracks to great adulation. His electro blazed remix of ‘Vadim Soloviev - Stay With Me’, goes down a treat, as does his beefy interpretation of ‘Sander Van Doorn – Dozer’. The crowd go suitably ballistic by the time ‘4 Strings - Take Me Away (Re-Ward Dub)’ drops. Keeping the tempo fierce and unforgiving, Genix played an emphatic closing set and had this to say afterwards:
'My first experience at OFF THE RAILS was great! Better than I expected to be honest... Nice venue and a nice crowd! I got the chance to play a few of my own new tracks including 'Piranha', also some other big tracks were the Cosmic Gate mix of Oceanlab – Sirens of the Sea and a new track from Fabio Stein. Definitely a recommended night out in Sheffield to all you trance mad clubbers out there!
Feeding off the still simmering atmosphere, Genix brought an exhilarating OFF THE RAILS to a fitting conclusion. With Matt Hardwick, John Askew and Sean Tyas up next in May, OFF THE RAILS is quickly establishing itself as one of the best club nights in the UK.
Words: Liam Postlethwaite
NEXT EVENT!!!!!!
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