Thursday 22nd, May 2008
Above & Beyond Interview Special, Tour Dates
Artists: Interview with the always humorous Tony, Anjunabeats 100 review, North American tour dates announced, and your chance to win tickets to a live show of your choice -all inside!
Anjunabeats review, followed by interview with Tony, tour dates, and contest below.
When your kids look at you in 20 years from now and say, “what did you listen to when you were my age”, rather than try to explain what trance is, simple play-on whatever format will exist in the future- Anjunabeats 100 CD’s, it will serve you better than any words ever can. This has been called a “best of”,or a compilation, I believe it’s can be better referred to as a retrospective, the truest form of the euphoric trance sound that has come to define this movement since the 1990’s. Although Above & Beyond seem to lag behind the big three of trance (Tiesto, PVD, Armin) in popularity, it is not for a lack of quality, for many, including myself, they maybe the most underrated artists we have in EDM today. There sounds have transcended trance from the dance floors of the UK, to clubs in America, and the beaches of Brazil and India. Their signature sound can be found on the celebration of their label’s 100th release, Anjunabeats 100+From Goa to Rio. What has consistently set them apart from their peers is their unique ability to create vocal tracks that easily become anthems, highlighted by their work with Justine Suissa on OceanLab projects, with many tracks featured on 100, including , Beautiful Together, Satellite, and the Armin Van Buuren mix of Sky Falls Down. A&B’s other side project, Tranquility Base, makes their presence felt on this release, with the wonderful sounds of Surrender, and the more hard hitting Razorfish. One of my favorites from A&B, that can be found here, is Andy Moor’s mix of Air for Life, truly a show stopper at any live event, this exemplifies the pure but simple vocal tracks that the boys excel at making. With the recent break-up of the Gabriel and Dresden, their mix of No One on Earth, which gives some kick to the otherwise ambient track, helps us to remember G&D at their best. Another recently disbanded group makes an appearance, Luminary, with the Smith & Pledger remix of Amsterdam. Ashley Tomberlin’s voice can be felt piercing through the speakers, and we are glad she is still lending her talented voice to the scene. This is truly a special CD, each and every track reminds you of how much the Anjunabeats label has meant to the trance, and the entire EDM scene since their first release.
Interview with Tony McGuiness from Above & Beyond
Trance.nu: How has Anjunabeats evolved from the first release until this 100th release?
Tony: It started out as a way to release our own music if and (increasingly) when the major labels of the time didn't hear the potential in our productions. We'd signed OceanLab to Warners off the bat and Dirt Devils went to Nu Life and the majors were pretty focused on dance when we started. As things turned out more of our friends wanted in and also the whole world changed for the major labels so Anjunabeats grew up pretty quick. It now represents the major opportunity for our own music - we think we do a better job than anyone except maybe for the more pop orientated stuff we might sign or make, for which the majors may come into play. In 2008 Anjunabeats is as good a label as anything out there in EDM and we ike to think we're still one of the only labels that does proper A&R on its releases, still releases on vinyl, has pioneered the release of bespoke CD singles and has a little bit of style and wit to what we do. As we said in our recent UK press ad "100 releases - no shit."
T.nu: When listening to submissions to your label what characteristics are you looking for in an artist/track?
Tony: Originality in style, composition and presentation and something that excites all three of us in Above & Beyond and our manager James. We'd rather sign artists than records, so an ability to be continually great is important - we always ask to hear a range of material from anyone who's made a track we like to make sure it isn't a one off and thus far we seem to have picked up some fantastic artists
T.nu: What has been the biggest change in the industry since you began with Anjunabeats?
Tony: The rampant growth in illegal downloads has had a truly devastating effect on the business model of artists and record labels. Recorded music has gone from being the major source of revenue for musicians to something they simply cannot rely on any longer. Its no surprise that Madonna's latest multi album deal is not actually with a record company, but with her touring company. That's now the most predictable and robust revenue stream.
T.nu: What is the future for the label?
Tony: The future is unpredictable: all you can hope to be is prepared for change when it comes. We think we have a really talented team that can stay one step ahead of the changes.
T.nu: Which of your label mates should we be on the lookout for?
Tony: Super8 & Tab, Oliver Smith and Jaytech are all working on albums at the moment, Jaytech's is almost ready to go. Nitrous Oxide could asily do an album he's so prolific. But all our artists are dear to us.
T.nu: So you just closed the Sahara Dance Tent at Coachella festival. Also you were going against Prince who played at the Main Stage. How was that experience?
Tony: It was an amazing experience altogether. Luckily I've seen Prince a few times so I didn't feel I was missing out too much this time: he's the greatest live performer in pop at the moment by far. I did manage to catch some of Portishead and Kraftwerk and they were amazing.
Luckily for us California is a really great state for us to play as we have a lot of really loyal fans there who didn't mind missing Prince either, and made for a really intense atmosphere in the dance tent during our set. They were shouting "One More HOUR!" at the end, which was really nice to hear!
T.nu: What is the significance of the places, Goa and Rio for Above and Beyond?
Tony: Anjuna beach is in Goa, so it is the label's spiritual home, the place where trance music really came into being as we understand it now. Rio has always been a fairly significant party location, but our recent gig there to 1 million people certainly represents a very real demonstration of how things have chanbed for us in the last eight years.
T.nu: How did you guys decide which tracks would appear on this compilation?
Tony: They are basically the most popular tracks we've put out in terms of sales and/or love.
T.nu: What was the process for deciding which track will appear where on this release, CD1 or CD 2, 1st, 2nd etc?
Tony: A process much like panning for gold. You put them together and mix it around a bit and then see what sticks together best.
T.nu: Any favorite track on this, or anyone that really stands out for you?
Tony: It changes every day! Today "Black Is The Colour" comes to mind. It took us nearly two years to sign it as Cara Dillon (the Irish folk vocalist) was really unsure about its worth, but in the end she agreed and the record was played by such a wide variety of people that our gamble paid off.
T.nu: The DVD that accompanies the release is a very well done documentary with tracks playing in the background. When can we expect a full length DVD, in the vane of a “Tiesto in Concert?”
Tony: We are not fans of repeating someone else's formula, cookie-cutter style, so don't hold your breath!
T.nu: When will there be the next Above and Beyond artist album?
Tony: Just as soon as the OceanLab album is finished we're going to start. We have ordered a new computer to make it on and have four songs already half written so we're gagging to get going on it.
T.nu: The trance scene is increasingly moving towards electro and tech sounds, yet A&B seems to sticking with the ambient, vocal tracks you have become famous for, will your sound continue to embody the “trance” sound we have come to expect?
Tony: I was talking with Jono about this: a few years ago 75% of the tracks we'd be sent each week for Trance Around the World were 138 BPM, now fewer than 20% are like that. The walls between trance and house have completely fallen down but, I would say, this has actually been to trance's benefit. I think trance has eaten those new sounds sounds for breakfast, but maintained its vocal and musical heart. And clearly this is the bit that is important to us: the songs and the melodies. Our tastes have always been really catholic, and so in some ways the very real changes in the sound of trance have played into our laps as DJ's.
Our DJ sets have always been about threading a common feeling through different sub genres of trance and now there are definitely more records to choose from with trance elements in. Production wise
we try not to be too worried about genre but just give the best wrapping possible for the song.
T.nu: Why have you been so successful in writing and producing great vocal tracks?
Tony: I think because we work like a band, we write songs about our lives and people seem to relate to them.
T.nu: How do you choose which vocalists you will work with?
Tony: We work with people who fit in, emotionally, lyrically and musically.
T.nu: Are there any vocalists you have not worked with yet that you would like to.
Tony: Oh yes, Michael Stipe or Thom Yorke. Both have been a huge influence, so it would be great to make that a direct thing.
T.nu: Will there be more Oceanlab releases?
Tony: Certainly, yes, a whole album of OceanLab songs is being finished as we speak and the best of them will be made into club monsters as well.
T.nu: You have played in front of millions at the beach in Brazil, and hundreds in smaller clubs, how do you adjust your sets for different venues and crowds.
Tony: Every crowd you play has a different mix of die-hard Above & Beyond fans and what you might call the general public. If there are a lot of the former you can be a bit more experimental and upfront, when the crowd has more casual fans you have to play it more safe, so generally festival sets have more well known stuff in there. Everyone likes to sing!
T.nu: There is some debate whether star DJ’s should play their hits at every set or should they change track listings and not necessarily include their own music, how do you feel about this.
Tony: It is a very live and pertinent debate. As DJ's you want to play the very latest tunes that are rocking your boat but as artists you have a duty to play the music that people have paid to come and listen to. If I went to see Radiohead and they played all new stuff I'd be pissed off. I want to hear Nude and Creep and so on. It is all about
balance.
T.nu: The future for above and Beyond is……..what?
Tony: Unpredictable. But fun.
Anjunabeats 100 currently available at Amazon.com and CDJshop.com
anjunabeats.com
The boys will be taking a special bus tour up and downthe west coast of USA and Canada.
Above & Beyond Tour Dates
June 12 – Empire Club – Edmonton, AB // Canada
June 13 – Warehouse – Calgary, AB // Canada
June 14 – Electric Daisy Carnival – Denver, CO
June 19 – Celebrities – Vancouver, BC // Canada
June 20 – Showbox Theater – Seattle, WA
June 21 – Ruby Skye – San Francisco, CA
June 25 – Barcode – Sacramento, CA
June 26 – Tentation – Newport Beach, CA
June 27 – On Broadway – San Diego, CA
June 28 – Vanguard – Los Angeles, CA
July 2 – Body English – Las Vegas, CA
Trance.nu, Anjunabeats, Above & Beyond, UltraRecords, and PlexiPR, give one lucky reader the chance to win 2 cpmplimentary passes to any of the above named events. In the email state which event/location you are applying for
contest @ trance.nu
Subject: A&B West Coast
User name
real name
Cell phone
Email
Location of event
By Mike Schirtzer
Written by:
mikeschirtzer
Artists: Interview with the always humorous Tony, Anjunabeats 100 review, North American tour dates announced, and your chance to win tickets to a live show of your choice -all inside!
Anjunabeats review, followed by interview with Tony, tour dates, and contest below.
When your kids look at you in 20 years from now and say, “what did you listen to when you were my age”, rather than try to explain what trance is, simple play-on whatever format will exist in the future- Anjunabeats 100 CD’s, it will serve you better than any words ever can. This has been called a “best of”,or a compilation, I believe it’s can be better referred to as a retrospective, the truest form of the euphoric trance sound that has come to define this movement since the 1990’s. Although Above & Beyond seem to lag behind the big three of trance (Tiesto, PVD, Armin) in popularity, it is not for a lack of quality, for many, including myself, they maybe the most underrated artists we have in EDM today. There sounds have transcended trance from the dance floors of the UK, to clubs in America, and the beaches of Brazil and India. Their signature sound can be found on the celebration of their label’s 100th release, Anjunabeats 100+From Goa to Rio. What has consistently set them apart from their peers is their unique ability to create vocal tracks that easily become anthems, highlighted by their work with Justine Suissa on OceanLab projects, with many tracks featured on 100, including , Beautiful Together, Satellite, and the Armin Van Buuren mix of Sky Falls Down. A&B’s other side project, Tranquility Base, makes their presence felt on this release, with the wonderful sounds of Surrender, and the more hard hitting Razorfish. One of my favorites from A&B, that can be found here, is Andy Moor’s mix of Air for Life, truly a show stopper at any live event, this exemplifies the pure but simple vocal tracks that the boys excel at making. With the recent break-up of the Gabriel and Dresden, their mix of No One on Earth, which gives some kick to the otherwise ambient track, helps us to remember G&D at their best. Another recently disbanded group makes an appearance, Luminary, with the Smith & Pledger remix of Amsterdam. Ashley Tomberlin’s voice can be felt piercing through the speakers, and we are glad she is still lending her talented voice to the scene. This is truly a special CD, each and every track reminds you of how much the Anjunabeats label has meant to the trance, and the entire EDM scene since their first release.
Interview with Tony McGuiness from Above & Beyond
Trance.nu: How has Anjunabeats evolved from the first release until this 100th release?
Tony: It started out as a way to release our own music if and (increasingly) when the major labels of the time didn't hear the potential in our productions. We'd signed OceanLab to Warners off the bat and Dirt Devils went to Nu Life and the majors were pretty focused on dance when we started. As things turned out more of our friends wanted in and also the whole world changed for the major labels so Anjunabeats grew up pretty quick. It now represents the major opportunity for our own music - we think we do a better job than anyone except maybe for the more pop orientated stuff we might sign or make, for which the majors may come into play. In 2008 Anjunabeats is as good a label as anything out there in EDM and we ike to think we're still one of the only labels that does proper A&R on its releases, still releases on vinyl, has pioneered the release of bespoke CD singles and has a little bit of style and wit to what we do. As we said in our recent UK press ad "100 releases - no shit."
T.nu: When listening to submissions to your label what characteristics are you looking for in an artist/track?
Tony: Originality in style, composition and presentation and something that excites all three of us in Above & Beyond and our manager James. We'd rather sign artists than records, so an ability to be continually great is important - we always ask to hear a range of material from anyone who's made a track we like to make sure it isn't a one off and thus far we seem to have picked up some fantastic artists
T.nu: What has been the biggest change in the industry since you began with Anjunabeats?
Tony: The rampant growth in illegal downloads has had a truly devastating effect on the business model of artists and record labels. Recorded music has gone from being the major source of revenue for musicians to something they simply cannot rely on any longer. Its no surprise that Madonna's latest multi album deal is not actually with a record company, but with her touring company. That's now the most predictable and robust revenue stream.
T.nu: What is the future for the label?
Tony: The future is unpredictable: all you can hope to be is prepared for change when it comes. We think we have a really talented team that can stay one step ahead of the changes.
T.nu: Which of your label mates should we be on the lookout for?
Tony: Super8 & Tab, Oliver Smith and Jaytech are all working on albums at the moment, Jaytech's is almost ready to go. Nitrous Oxide could asily do an album he's so prolific. But all our artists are dear to us.
T.nu: So you just closed the Sahara Dance Tent at Coachella festival. Also you were going against Prince who played at the Main Stage. How was that experience?
Tony: It was an amazing experience altogether. Luckily I've seen Prince a few times so I didn't feel I was missing out too much this time: he's the greatest live performer in pop at the moment by far. I did manage to catch some of Portishead and Kraftwerk and they were amazing.
Luckily for us California is a really great state for us to play as we have a lot of really loyal fans there who didn't mind missing Prince either, and made for a really intense atmosphere in the dance tent during our set. They were shouting "One More HOUR!" at the end, which was really nice to hear!
T.nu: What is the significance of the places, Goa and Rio for Above and Beyond?
Tony: Anjuna beach is in Goa, so it is the label's spiritual home, the place where trance music really came into being as we understand it now. Rio has always been a fairly significant party location, but our recent gig there to 1 million people certainly represents a very real demonstration of how things have chanbed for us in the last eight years.
T.nu: How did you guys decide which tracks would appear on this compilation?
Tony: They are basically the most popular tracks we've put out in terms of sales and/or love.
T.nu: What was the process for deciding which track will appear where on this release, CD1 or CD 2, 1st, 2nd etc?
Tony: A process much like panning for gold. You put them together and mix it around a bit and then see what sticks together best.
T.nu: Any favorite track on this, or anyone that really stands out for you?
Tony: It changes every day! Today "Black Is The Colour" comes to mind. It took us nearly two years to sign it as Cara Dillon (the Irish folk vocalist) was really unsure about its worth, but in the end she agreed and the record was played by such a wide variety of people that our gamble paid off.
T.nu: The DVD that accompanies the release is a very well done documentary with tracks playing in the background. When can we expect a full length DVD, in the vane of a “Tiesto in Concert?”
Tony: We are not fans of repeating someone else's formula, cookie-cutter style, so don't hold your breath!
T.nu: When will there be the next Above and Beyond artist album?
Tony: Just as soon as the OceanLab album is finished we're going to start. We have ordered a new computer to make it on and have four songs already half written so we're gagging to get going on it.
T.nu: The trance scene is increasingly moving towards electro and tech sounds, yet A&B seems to sticking with the ambient, vocal tracks you have become famous for, will your sound continue to embody the “trance” sound we have come to expect?
Tony: I was talking with Jono about this: a few years ago 75% of the tracks we'd be sent each week for Trance Around the World were 138 BPM, now fewer than 20% are like that. The walls between trance and house have completely fallen down but, I would say, this has actually been to trance's benefit. I think trance has eaten those new sounds sounds for breakfast, but maintained its vocal and musical heart. And clearly this is the bit that is important to us: the songs and the melodies. Our tastes have always been really catholic, and so in some ways the very real changes in the sound of trance have played into our laps as DJ's.
Our DJ sets have always been about threading a common feeling through different sub genres of trance and now there are definitely more records to choose from with trance elements in. Production wise
we try not to be too worried about genre but just give the best wrapping possible for the song.
T.nu: Why have you been so successful in writing and producing great vocal tracks?
Tony: I think because we work like a band, we write songs about our lives and people seem to relate to them.
T.nu: How do you choose which vocalists you will work with?
Tony: We work with people who fit in, emotionally, lyrically and musically.
T.nu: Are there any vocalists you have not worked with yet that you would like to.
Tony: Oh yes, Michael Stipe or Thom Yorke. Both have been a huge influence, so it would be great to make that a direct thing.
T.nu: Will there be more Oceanlab releases?
Tony: Certainly, yes, a whole album of OceanLab songs is being finished as we speak and the best of them will be made into club monsters as well.
T.nu: You have played in front of millions at the beach in Brazil, and hundreds in smaller clubs, how do you adjust your sets for different venues and crowds.
Tony: Every crowd you play has a different mix of die-hard Above & Beyond fans and what you might call the general public. If there are a lot of the former you can be a bit more experimental and upfront, when the crowd has more casual fans you have to play it more safe, so generally festival sets have more well known stuff in there. Everyone likes to sing!
T.nu: There is some debate whether star DJ’s should play their hits at every set or should they change track listings and not necessarily include their own music, how do you feel about this.
Tony: It is a very live and pertinent debate. As DJ's you want to play the very latest tunes that are rocking your boat but as artists you have a duty to play the music that people have paid to come and listen to. If I went to see Radiohead and they played all new stuff I'd be pissed off. I want to hear Nude and Creep and so on. It is all about
balance.
T.nu: The future for above and Beyond is……..what?
Tony: Unpredictable. But fun.
Anjunabeats 100 currently available at Amazon.com and CDJshop.com
anjunabeats.com
The boys will be taking a special bus tour up and downthe west coast of USA and Canada.
Above & Beyond Tour Dates
June 12 – Empire Club – Edmonton, AB // Canada
June 13 – Warehouse – Calgary, AB // Canada
June 14 – Electric Daisy Carnival – Denver, CO
June 19 – Celebrities – Vancouver, BC // Canada
June 20 – Showbox Theater – Seattle, WA
June 21 – Ruby Skye – San Francisco, CA
June 25 – Barcode – Sacramento, CA
June 26 – Tentation – Newport Beach, CA
June 27 – On Broadway – San Diego, CA
June 28 – Vanguard – Los Angeles, CA
July 2 – Body English – Las Vegas, CA
Trance.nu, Anjunabeats, Above & Beyond, UltraRecords, and PlexiPR, give one lucky reader the chance to win 2 cpmplimentary passes to any of the above named events. In the email state which event/location you are applying for
contest @ trance.nu
Subject: A&B West Coast
User name
real name
Cell phone
Location of event
By Mike Schirtzer
Written by:
mikeschirtzer
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