Aug 15, 2010
Above & Beyond are producers Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Sijamäki. Collectively they have produced and remixed some of the world’s biggest club tracks over the last few years and now rank among the most respected trance producers globally sitting in royalty position on the DJ MAG Top DJ List. Above & Beyond is a trance music group formed in 2000. The group is famous for remixes and their own productions. The groups tracks are regularly played by well-known DJs, such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Paul van Dyk. They are also known under other aliases, like Tranquility Base, OceanLab, Dirt Devils and Rollerball.
Your most recent compilation Anjunabeats Volume 8 presents a different myriad of track selections. What would you say is the most defining feature of this compilation and why? How does this recent anthology differ from those in the past? There’s recently been a switch to a progressive, melodic sound….
A&B: I think you’re right the sound has definitely got more progressive. HOW DO YOU THINK IT’S DIFFERENT? Yeah, I think you are right; the sound is definitely more progressive; it tends to be very uplifting in the middle of it, yet still has that groove to it. I think that this compilation makes Trance more accessible to a wider range of people; perhaps because it has that house influence. I suppose house music is probably the most dominant form of dance music in the world, even though Trance music draws a bigger crowd at events. If you added up the numbers of people that have heard house records, you’ll find that most people listen to house purely because of radio; that’s partly why maybe it has gone in that direction because people have found that when they are producing tracks that they work better if they have a new groove to them rather than the groove of old school trance. There are elements of the old school trance sound found in this latest compilation. For example, 7 Skies and Dan Stone with their tracks present this kind of sound. Other producers that have incorporated this proggy sound would include Andrew Bayer and Oliver Smith; their latest productions are quite mellow and proggy so I can see where you’re coming from there.
Having collaborated with Kyau & Albert for your latest single Anphonic, what would you say were the most challenging and rewarding aspects of producing the track?
A&B: Yeah I think the key in working in teams is to step back and shut up (Laughs); The hardest discipline when making music is controlling what you don’t put in rather what you do put in; something less is more and that is the real challenge with working with more than one person; There’s a temptation to put the kitchen sink in; [I don’t know if you have that saying in America, but that’s one of our saying to throw the kitchen sink at it, laughing] I think one of the things about a track today [is that] some of them tend be full of stuff and then it works as well; for a little bit then thin out to minimal stuff dynamics; it’s all about dynamics and hopefully we kept the dynamics in that song wide ranging, it’s really important you know for a success.
What are some challenges that you’ve faced with performing in the US demographic where Trance music isn’t widely commercialized? How have you capitalized on this?
A&B: Well, that’s an interesting question actually because in reality I think actually you have a really good scene out there because of satellite subscription radio stations. Because our radio shows broadcast on there we amassed a massive underground following which helps when playing the US because people know most of material that we play. In the UK, we don’t have the massive market for satellite radio that you do. It’s interesting, people perceive us differently when we come to America. We feel like we have a really good scene there.
Where do you see the Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep labels going within the US Demographic and how do you plan to expand your brands in the US?
A&B: That’s an interesting question as well. I think in terms of the direction musically, it depends on what people provide us with. To some extent, we try not to push off artists in the corner with what they produce, yet on the other hand we sort of try to set our sights high in terms of the quality of stuff. Some people will send something to us and we may say to tweak this or fix this; we may politely ask them if they want to do something because it sounds better this way, but if they want to leave their work as is that’s fine and we respect that. We may sign the track or we may not. As for our label in America, we would love to establish a US lead operation running our label in there because we are running it from the UK and we work with Ultra Records which is good for the big stuff, but we need a general backbone for releasing merchandise in the states because people don’t like ordering from different countries. It would be great in the future to expand for something like that, but I don’t know when it will happen or when it would be the best time.
Which producer/DJ has made a profound impact for the Anjunabeats label, besides Above & Beyond? Anjunadeep?
A&B: Well, I think when answering this question you’d look not just at the Anjunabeats label. One producer I feel has made a massive impact this year is Arty from Russia; his sound sits between that of traditional trance from 1998 to 2001 and Deadmau5 – he’s right in the middle not taking from either. Other producers that have come out with very good stuff are Andrew Bayer and Dan Stone’s recent work is superb and he will be coming out with more excellent stuff this year. Dan Stone has also come through this year and his productions are getting better and better.
Who is/are a DJ/Producer you’ve never produced with that you would like to in the near future and why?
A&B: That’s a good question. I can’t think off hand as there are other loads of good producers like Axwell. We’d also love to be able to get into the studio with David Garden from Depeche Mode.
What advice would you give the US Trance Movement moving forwards towards spreading the love of Trance to the rest of the US demographic?
A&B: First of all, introduce trance to all sorts of people because I think, one of the things about trance is sometimes the name is what throws people off. They associate it with a form of trance that maybe doesn’t exist anymore. Trance music can be some of the most emotional and touching music out there and it’s really important that you share with those that are into rock music and stuff, because you would be surprised on how many people who like rock music think that they don’t like trance music then you play them something and they say “What sort of music is this?” [Laughing] “This is trance music” “Ohhhh… I thought I hated trance music, but I like that!!!” [Laughs] They think that trance is the pop trance that has put out many successful hits which in many ways has become the standard to the average person. So it’s important to share the underground stuff with everyone, get them tuned into the radio stations, you got Sirus XM Radio, you have Armin’s show, our show, Kyau & Albert have a radio show, Paul Van Dyk and they all play some really good music, so I think get them to get satellite radio. There you go, get people to get satellite radio [Laughing].
Electric Zoo is one of America’s premiere Electronica music festivals in the U.S. What do trance fans have to look forward to?
A&B: Well, I mean, I don’t know quite yet about the track selection right now[Laughs]. We always play something new at every gig especially the big ones. This week we are playing at Global Gathering in the UK. We are working on special stuff for that and what we don’t finish will find its way to our performance at Electric Zoo. We will have some exclusive chops and edits and stuff from our new artist album. We are currently working on our next artist album so hopefully we will have some more stuff from the artist album and play it at Electric Zoo.
Interview Done By Spiro Caro & Rocky Law from Partners of Sound on behalf of United States Trance Movement
