Tritonal took the stage at the Tulare County Fairgrounds
in an intimate and uplifting performance.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

When it was announced Tritonal would be coming to the Valley (Tulare, of all places), my initial reaction was excitement, followed closely by worry and confusion.

The up-and-coming trance/progressive duo has played for crowds of thousands in much larger venues around the world. Why would they be coming to the Central Valley?

Yes, big name DJs have come to the valley before. Paul Oakenfold played at The Island Waterpark for the Wet Electric festival. Tiesto, one of the biggest DJs in the world, played in Fresno during his College Invasion Tour. But this is not what concerned me.

The EDM scene has recently seen a large rise in popularity, largely attributed to the heavy bass and party-pumping beats of the dubstep and electro genres. However, Tritonal is known for being trance producers, a genre which has seen a decline in mainstream popularity from its former glory.

Tritonal played on a massive stage at Electric Daisy Carnival
for a crowd of thousands of fans.
Photo by Dalton Runberg

Not to mention Tritonal is not a huge name to begin with, being relatively new to the game. The duo consists of Chad Cisneros and Dave Reed, reigning from Austin, Texas, who began to work together under the name Tritonal in 2007. However, in just a few short years since their collaboration began, they already scored the #83 spot on DJ Mag’s Top 100 and played at massive music festivals like Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival (June 2011) and Escape from Wonderland (October 2011). While being so successful in such a short amount of time is nothing to scoff at, it’s obvious they wouldn’t draw a huge crowd by name alone like Tiesto can.

How would they fare in the Valley, with its already small, dubstep-dominated EDM scene?

I have been a fan of Tritonal for almost a year and had the honor of seeing them once before at Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas, so I jumped on the opportunity to see them again closer to home.

The event, One Love (aptly named for its date, 11/11/11), took place at the Tulare County Fairgrounds. Also featured were a handful of local DJs and co-headliner LA Riots, an established techno/house producer.

Local favorite DJ/producer John Espinoza, known by his
music moniker Emerge, shows off his “trance arms.” \o/
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Before I even arrived at the venue, I already had my doubts. The hour-long drive from Fresno was plagued by cold weather and rain. However, upon arrival, I was pleased to see this did not even faze some people. While the majority of the crowd was inside at the main stage, others danced outside in the rain at the secondary stage. Armed with my camera equipment, I opted to stay dry.

Inside the arena, local favorite DJ/producer Emerge was warming up the crowd with his set of classic trance hits, underground tracks, and his own original material. Fellow producer Mike EFEX followed him, leading up to co-headliner LA Riots.

I had heard a couple of LA Riots’ songs before but had never really looked too much into his music. I knew he had played at EDC this summer, though I didn’t see him perform. After seeing him play live at One Love, I don’t think I missed anything. His “performance” (or lack there-of) was entirely self-centered and boring. I don’t think he acknowledged the crowd even once during his whole hour and a half-long set. I was immediately turned off by his impersonal demeanor that I simply didn’t care what songs he was playing. Instead, I counted down the minutes until Tritonal would take the stage.

Chad Cisneros and Dave Reed of Tritonal immediately got the
crowd going crazy simply by stepping on stage.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

Finally, at 1:00 a.m., Dave and Chad took the stage to massive applause and cheering before they even dropped the first beat of their set. Fans held up signs declaring their love, photographers (myself included) swarmed the stage with cameras flashing like lightning, and Tritonal greeted the audience with bright smiles and cheers of their own. LA Riots, take notice; that is how you put on a show.

Their hands navigated the decks and mixers in such harmony. You might mistake Dave and Chad for twin brothers with the way they play so perfectly synchronized with each other. Twisting knobs, tapping buttons, and swapping CDs in such a way that makes the music flow so perfectly together, the audience could barely tell when the songs transitioned between one another.

Fans (called Tritonians) held up signs to show their love for
Chad and Dave.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

They both pumped up the crowd throughout the entire performance, jumping, dancing, and tapping the notes to their songs in the air. At one point, Chad started throwing CDs into the crowd like t-shirts at a football game. Dave grabbed his own camcorder, walked out in front of the DJ booth and started filming the crowd.

Dave and Chad have amazing chemistry on-stage together as well, playing off of each other in both their music and personalities. Without even talking to them, you can just tell that they are incredibly fun, humble and overall nice guys.

They played a lot of their own tracks, including debuting new material, as well as crowd-pleaser songs like Above & Beyond’s “Sun and Moon” toward the end of their set. Fans sang along and some even cried. That’s when I realized why Tritonal had come to the valley.

With probably no more than 500 people in attendance, this must have been a more intimate show for Dave and Chad. They didn’t care about the number of people who showed up, because that’s not what the music is about.

Trance music is much more emotional and deep than its dubstep and electro counterparts. Those genres are great for house parties and sold-out arenas, where the crowd expects to dance and go crazy.

Trance music, especially at the caliber that Tritonal makes it, is even a spiritual experience to some. You don’t have to dance. Just hold your hands to the sky, close your eyes, and feel the music.

Even though One Love didn’t draw a huge crowd of thousands like Tiesto did at the Selland Arena, it didn’t matter. Those who were there had the time of their lives, and those who weren’t missed out.

The Tritonal performance showed me that as long as there are a handful of dedicated fans, trance will stay alive in the Valley.

Completing my amazing experience, I got my photo taken with the guys of Tritonal.
Photo by Matt Clausen / The Fresno Electro Movement

View more photos on Facebook:

One Love (Set One) – Emerge, Mike EFEX, LA Riots by Visible Noise Photography (Dalton Runberg)

One Love (Set Two) – Tritonal by Visible Noise Photography (Dalton Runberg)

One Love! 11/11/11 by The Fresno Electro Movement (Matt Clausen)