You’ve gotta love artists that know so well where they’re headed, they proudly stamp it on their material.
Above & Beyond is an English trance music group formed in 2000 and consists of members Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki.
Grant and Siljamäki met while attending the University of Westminster to get degrees in electronic engineering and bonded over their shared love for electronic music. They decided to collaborate and set up the Anjunabeats label in the summer of 1999 to release their first single “Volume One,” using the alias Anjunabeats. However, since they had already given that name to the label they instead released under aliases such as Dirt Devils and Free State. The release of the “Volume One” single was widely played in dance clubs and picked up by DJs like Pete Tong and Paul Oakenfold.
Following the initial success of “Volume One,” the group was commissioned to complete various remixes, and the Marketing Director and Manager of Warner Music Group, Tony McGuinness, called upon them to help him remix a track called “Home” by Chakra. While searching for a name to release the remix under, they came across a website belonging to another man ironically answering to the name of Jono Grant, using the motivational slogan “Above and Beyond!”. They have stuck with it ever since.
With the rise of the Chakra remix, Above and Beyond became the chosen UK vocal trance remixers and got to remix Madonna’s “What it Feels Like for a Girl.” She was so impressed with the remix that she used it instead of the original mix for the music video. Since then, they have remixed tons of major artists including Tomcraft, Britney Spears, and Dido.
They began to build out their DJ career in 2002, performing live for the first time in front of an audience of 8,000 people alongside Tiesto and Ferry Corsten and have since become regular headlining acts at major trance festivals like Creamfields and the Godskitchen Gathering. In 2004, Above & Beyond started the Trance Around the World radio show, reaching 30 million listeners in 35 countries. They released their first full-length in 2006 (Tri-State) with follow-ups in 2008 (Above and Beyond presents OceanLab: Sirens of the Sea) and 2011 (Group Therapy). They have also dropped two remix albums (Tri-State Remixed and Sirens of the Sea Remixed) as well as numerous singles, remixes, and compilations since 2003.
As chart-toppers and headliners in the trance game today, they’re paced to be around a long time. Don’t expect to lose sight of Above and Beyond anytime soon.