Above & Beyond (band)

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For other uses, see A&B (disambiguation).
Above & Beyond
Paavo Siljamäki (left) and Tony McGuinness (right) performing at the Pacha club in New York City, June 2007
Paavo Siljamäki (left) and Tony McGuinness (right) performing at the Pacha club in New York City, June 2007
Background information
Origin Flag of the United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
Genre(s) German trance
Vocal trance
Years active 2000 - present
Label(s) Anjunabeats, Ultra Records
Associated acts Oceanlab, Tranquility Base, Dirt Devils
Website www.aboveandbeyond.nu/
Members
Jonathan "Jono" Grant
Tony McGuinness
Paavo Siljamäki

Above & Beyond is a trance music group formed in 2000 by Jonathan "Jono" Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki. The group is famous for remixes and progressive trance productions. The group's tracks are regularly played by well-known DJs, such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten and Paul van Dyk.

Contents

[edit] Formation

Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki met at the University of Westminster, and they set up the Anjunabeats label in the summer of 1999 with the release of the 'Anjunabeats Volume 1'. Anjunabeats Volume 1 was the very first track recorded by Jono and Paavo. This "Original Mix" packaged with their Tease Dub Mix received immediate attention in various dance clubs, and quickly gained support from Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold and Paul van Dyk. Above & Beyond came together in 2000 when producer Tony McGuinness called in Grant and Siljamäki to help him complete a remix of Chakra's "Home" track while at the Warner Music Group.[citation needed]

The inspiration for the name Above & Beyond came from a web page belonging to an American motivational trainer coincidentally named Jono Grant. Jono had the poster stuck to his wall. The slogan used by the motivational trainer was "Above & Beyond", and when the group was searching for a name to use for their Chakra remix, the slogan stuck out from the poster. 1. Although the group was relatively unknown at the time, their remix of Chakra's Home was picked over remixes by Rob Searle and Tilt to be the A side mix, and after plays on Pete Tong reached number one in the UK club charts.

[edit] Industry interest

 Music sample:

Soon many well-known labels became interested in Above & Beyond and new remixes were requested: the trio remixed Aurora's "Ordinary World", Fragma's "Everytime You Need Me", Perpetuous Dreamer's "The Sound of Goodbye" and Adamski's "In the City". These tracks served as the foundation for Above & Beyond's reputation as one of the UK's leading vocal trance remixers.

Above & Beyond's most famous remix was for Madonna's single "What It Feels Like for a Girl". Madonna was so impressed by the remix that the music video for her song was shot to the Above & Beyond remix instead of the album version. The video, directed by Guy Ritchie, Madonna's husband, would go on to gain its own notoriety. Most recently, Above & Beyond has made remixes for Delerium, Three Drives and J-pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki.

Above & Beyond eventually began collaborating with other artists, giving birth to several production projects such as: Oceanlab (Above & Beyond with Justine Suissa), Tranquility Base, Tongue of God (Above & Beyond and Jeff Buckley), Rollerball (Above & Beyond in disguise) and other side projects like Aalto, Free State, Nitromethane, and P.O.S.[citation needed]

After many remixes for other artists, the first Above & Beyond self-composed single, "Far from in Love", was released in 2002 to widespread critical acclaim. Featuring the vocals of trance singer Kate Cameron, "Far from in Love" successfully fused Cameron's vocals with Above & Beyond's distinct progressive sound to become a dance anthem.

[edit] DJ career

Paavo Siljamäki and Jono Grant during a performance in Miami, 2007.
Paavo Siljamäki and Jono Grant during a performance in Miami, 2007.

In 2002 the team began their DJ career in Tokyo in front of 8,000 clubbers, on a bill featuring Ferry Corsten and DJ Tiësto. Recently, Above & Beyond has made appearances at clubs like Passion, Turnmills, Ministry of Sound, Room at the Top, Inside Out and Velfarre in Japan. Above & Beyond has also scheduled dates for Gatecrasher in the UK and abroad, appearances at Godskitchen and tours around the world. In July 2006 (and then again in July 2007), Above & Beyond played at the huge dance festival, Global Gathering.

Late in 2003 they remixed club classics such as Tomcraft's "Loneliness", Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes", as well as being asked back by Madonna to remix "Nobody Knows Me". Other remixes included Britney Spears's single "Everytime", Dido's summer classic "Sand In My Shoes" and Delerium's club classic "Silence".

Above & Beyond made their live debut as performers at Passion in 2004. They also broadcast a hugely successful radio show on Anjunabeats Radio and many other stations including Ministry of Sound Radio called Trance Around the World.

Above & Beyond's single "No One On Earth", featuring the vocals of Faithless member Zoe Johnston, followed. It was the first track ever to be made Tune of the Week for two weeks in a row on Armin van Buuren's trance radio show A State of Trance.[citation needed] It was also voted Tune of the year for 2004 in Armin's show.

Additionally, in 2004, the band was voted Mix of the Year by listeners of Radio One's Essential Mix.

Early in 2006 the band released their debut artist album, "Tri-State" to critical acclaim. UK Dance magazine DJ Mag, normally quite hostile to trance acts, gave the album a rare 5 Star review, saying "A blend of sleek electronic rhythms, lush filmic textures and old-fashioned song writing. 'Tri-State' is the fulfillment of any dance act's ultimate album aspiration: a padding-free, skilled, diverse long-player. In a word, 'Brilliant'."

Singles from the album include "Air For Life" (with Andy Moor) which won "Best Underground Dance Track" at the 2006 Miami Winter Music Conference and was Tune of the Year for 2005, as voted by the listeners Armin Van Buurens radio show A State of Trance. Alone Tonight (featuring Richard Bedford) was nominated for best progressive house/trance track at the 22nd International Dance Music Awards held at the 2007 Miami WMC, reaching number 4 in the Finland National Singles chart and number 5 in the UK Dance Chart. Above & Beyond performed Alone Tonight at Global Gathering 2005 broadcast live on Radio One in the UK. Their single "Can't Sleep" was included on A State of Trance in episode 280, which featured the best 20 tracks of 2006 according to the fans that voted in its polls. Above & Beyond "Good For Me" (featuring Zoe Johnstone) was voted Tune of the Year on Armin Van Buurens A State of Trance Radio show. In 2008, Above & Beyond won Best Underground Dance Track at IDMA Awards at the Winter Music Conference with their single 'Home'.

Above & Beyond are currently ranked #6 in the DJ Mag top 100 poll.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Album

Above & Beyond's first artist album Tri-State was released in March '06, along with the single "Alone Tonight". The album features collaborations with the likes of Zoe Johnston, Richard Bedford and Andy Moor, known for his work with Tilt and as half of Leama & Moor. The first single from the album, "Air for Life" (featuring Andy Moor), was released in July '05.


[edit] Singles

  • 2003 "Far from in Love" (featuring Kate Cameron)
  • 2004 "No One on Earth" (featuring Zoë Johnston)
  • 2005 "Air for Life" (Above & Beyond featuring Andy Moor)
  • 2006 "Alone Tonight" (featuring Richard Bedford)
  • 2006 "Can't Sleep" (featuring Ashley Tomberlin)
  • 2007 "Good For Me" (featuring Zoë Johnston)
  • 2007 "Home" (featuring Hannah Thomas)

[edit] Remixes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Above & Beyond
Jonathan Grant · Tony McGuinness · Paavo Siljamäki
Studio albums
Tri-State (2006)
Singles
"Far from in Love" · "No One on Earth" · "Air for Life" · "Alone Tonight" · "Can't Sleep" · "Good For Me" · "Home"
Related articles
Trance Around the World · Anjunabeats · Anjunadeep · OceanLab · Tranquility Base