Author: Kathy Vitkus

Trance Titans Kyau & Albert Talk Touring and ‘Nights Awake’

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Kyau & Albert DJing

Not more than two years ago DJ/producers Kyau & Albert had coolly referred to themselves as “B-list artists” despite the fact that for more than 15 years they have been the eminent conductors in the production studio providing winning tracks that have brought artists like Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Above & Beyond to the superstardom. The duo — Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert — have been skyrocketing into their own and rightfully so promising more of the same with their latest achievement, their upcoming full album release Nights Awake. In spite of their progressing fame their affable personalities have always remained intact and they handle it like the true, unpretentious guys that they’ve always been especially to their dedicated fanbase. Their latest accomplishment is an unforced onslaught of adoration dedications that will leave you both energized and enlightened. We caught up with the modest duo at their Washington, D.C. stop at Mute at Lima Restaurant and Lounge where they have recently committed their Euphonic Records label to a well-received residency.

The name of your new album Nights Awake resonates with fans like me considering the hours we keep to attend our club and festival events. What is the meaning behind the title for you?

Steven Moebius Albert: Personally, I think the night is a very intimate thing. Most of the lyrics and the songs are also about the night just like the romantic view on the night. We had a couple of ideas to name the album and this was just one that just fits best.

One listener appropriately said of “All Your Colours,” “I love it when DJs can create a dream with sounds.” With so many superb selections to pick from was there a strategy for releasing “All Your Colours” as the first release from your new album or is that process more random?

Ralph Kyau: I wouldn’t say it’s random. I think in total we did around 40 tracks for the album, and on the final CD there were 15. And in the process we’re making tracks, we’re listening to the tracks, which are maybe a few months old and selecting the best ones. Finally when the album was almost finished we gave it to different friends and family — for example, Ronski Speed and our manager, Marco (Marberg) — and we got a good response on “All Your Colours.” But we also had “All Your Colours” in our minds because it’s a special record and it’s different to the last single, “Another Time,” so therefore we are quite happy about this track.

“Do You Still” is a more ambient, chill out, melodic trance track. It’s a little different style for you and significantly more vocal. One of your SoundCloud listeners commented, “This makes me feel in love, beautiful.” What was the inspiration for this track?

Albert: It’s actually one of the oldest tracks on the album. It was already recorded four years ago. We made some final changes. The inspiration behind the track itself is there was a movement in Germany called krautrock back in the day. It’s like ambient, electronic synthesizer sounds combined with rock elements. You have a journey within the track; it changes.

Kyau: It completely turns the mood from the beginning to the end and this is how this track works. It’s not really a proper DJ track but we liked it a lot. We were very surprised when we sent the album to Sara Cooper or to our graphic designed in New Zealand and they all said, “Wow, what a good track.” We didn’t have it on the screen in the beginning but the response was very good.

“Do You Still” has some harmonizing in there. Is that Steven on all vocals for this or is someone else introduced?

Albert: It’s all me. All the vocals come from me.

There’s a fair amount of vocal trance on Nights Awake overall and it’s not solely Steven Albert on all of it. How was it that you recruited the Adaja Black for the vocals on “Could You Fall?”

Kyau: Exactly one year ago, it was the 25th or the 26th. We were in an Australia tour and we played in Sydney on a boat in the harbor and Adaja was there, and I think she was a friend of the promoter and we were in contact.

Albert: And she was standing beside me and she was singing to the tracks and we thought, Hey, she has a really good voice. She wrote the vocals so I don’t know where her inspiration came from.

Kyau: Originally it was planned to do a second track with her but she is busy as a TV presenter in Australia and is doing live performances very often so maybe next time.

Traditionally so many of your tracks are heartwarming poetry with the perfect fit composition to accompany the words. Is there a formula for this? Does Ralph typically write the words? Does Steven typically write the music? Do you both go into the Euphonic studio and skillfully and collectively hammer out these masterpieces?

Kyau: Most of the lyrics come from him.

Albert: For example, when you make demos for the track we just use like fantasy English. We don’t really have proper lyrics.

Ralph: We’re just looking for the hook. You need to find the hook.

Albert: If it doesn’t have a hook, then the lyrics aren’t going to make sense in the beginning.

Kyau: A hook and melody and then later we check if it suits into it. It’s a different way of doing it but it works.

“We are basically absolutely independent on the musical freedom we have.”

And then there’s your track “We Own The Night” with label mates Stoneface & Terminal which is that soaring, uplifting trance that you’ve traditionally produced and are known for. One SoundCloud fan aptly called this song “dream trance.” The lyrics speak of chasing stars, forgetting to let go, the sun dawning, the night calling, and hounded by one’s heart. What can you tell us about the lyrics for this?

Steven: It’s just the attitude behind the lyrics. I just thought, It sure could be nice…. I just like the story behind it.

You’ve recently toured with them a bit and still managed to produce this ethereal gem? What were all of your roles in this process?

The album was also almost finished when we actually played for them. They’re living close to our hometown. We were talking how we were finishing the album and they said, “Hey, let’s do a track together.” We were thinking, Yeah, this might be a good idea. So we were exchanging ideas.

Kyau: We had a couple of track ideas and we played them all to them and they said “We Own The Night” would be a good pick. But from the album version I think in late February we are going all together back in the studio and doing a proper club mix. And possibly there is coming a single with a new proper club version and a video version in late April. We will also do a video clip for this.

Kyau & Albert

A few years ago you produced a hauntingly mesmerizing remix of Paul van Dyk’s “Complicated.” What behind-the-scenes planning brought the powerhouses of Paul van Dyk, Ralph Kyau and Steven Albert together for “Open My Eyes?”

Albert: Paul van Dyk influenced me a lot when I started doing music so I always wanted to work with him.

Ralph: He was the big DJ who supported us first. Before we got our charted and MTV he was the first who invited us and played our track. It was re-released under the name “Be There 4 U” but he played the original version “Outside” heavily. It was in 2001, I think. Then he invited the whole Euphonic crew step-by-step to his radio show. Nobody knows, Paul van Dyk was the first to have a radio show but he never made it into this big thing like Armin or so. He had a radio show already in 1999 or 1998 and it was quite influential for all the German EDM lovers. We were always in contact with him and Vandit. We also played for his birthday party, for his 40th birthday one year ago. And then he produced his album Evolution and we were doing this track together with him but our version, the K&A mix, is only on our album.

You’re taking to the road with your latest release in the States, Canada and beyond. Most of the time you only stop in any given city to do your gig. What is some place in the world where, given enough time, you’d actually like to take time to visit a bit longer more as a tourist?

Albert: It makes sense to go somewhere in the countries that are very far away like Australia or New Zealand. Also New Zealand has really nice nature.

Kyau: Two years ago I did two weeks with the gig and then I did two weeks around New Zealand on holiday. And when we started our international career we were very off and quite long everywhere. We checked out the whole west coast of the U.S., we were somewhere in Florida and also other places. We have had such a tight schedule and especially when we were producing the album. Now it’s getting a bit less stressful, especially in the last months of finishing the album, because we had a deadline or because we set a deadline for ourselves, it was quite busy so in and out was the perfect thing.

Mute promoters and fans couldn’t be more thrilled by the recent news of your residency. What can you tell us about your recent Euphonic artists residency with Mute at Lima in Washington, D.C.?

Albert: It’s the second time we come here and it wasn’t too long along that we’ve been here. There was only one show with us in the past year other than tonight so we’ll see how it’s going but I hear it’s already good.

Kyau: It’s a cool thing and the last time we were here it was three months ago.

Albert: I like residencies because you know what to expect and everything works and it’s cool.

I don’t mean to push too much of a good thing but with the success of your Euphonic Nights back home and your recent residency with Mute, can fans hopefully expect a Euphonic Night sometime in the States? Your recent Euphonic Night was seven Euphonic artists, two dance floors.

Albert: Yeah, this is great. Nothing planned but maybe.

Do you know your plans for any of the bigger, upcoming festivals such as those surrounding the Winter Music Conference and the Ultra Music Festival?

Kyau: This year especially as we are still promoting the album which is not out yet, everybody thinks it’s out but the official release date is February 25th, we are coming for a couple of days to Miami and we are doing interviews and gigs sometime around mid-March or in the 20’s.

What is one of your highlights of 2012?

Albert: It’s hard to say. There was no standout highlight but it was a good year overall.

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to in 2013?

Albert: For us it’s pretty exciting to have a new album out. The last one was 2006.

Kyau: I’m really happy about the response right now not only from the media, but also because we can do clever releases on Euphonic because we have our own label and own vision. We are basically absolutely independent on the musical freedom we have. But right now we send it to different partners for example there’s a big partner in Latin America with many TV stations that are interested. We signed it to Eastern Europe. We signed it to South Africa. We are talking to Australia, New Zealand, now Asia. We didn’t expect this but it’s a really good response on the album. We haven’t really started planning the album tour. That’s the next point to do the album tour. We are extending our U.S. visa so there are a couple of things in the doing. And there is also coming a track soon on Anjunabeats. It’s an exclusive track for Volume 10 and it gets released later as a single. It’s a single called “Glühwürmchen.” It’s the German term for glow-worm or firefly.

The CD version of Nights Awake features lyrics to your tracks so you’re offering something more tangible.

Kyau: Many fans ask us [about] the lyrics, and maybe not for the U.S. proper English-speaker, but in other territories they want to have the lyrics. Like in Germany they ask, “Can we get the lyrics?”

Well, now we’ll all be out there singing them with you.

Kyau & Albert’s Night Awake is out February 25 on Euphonic.

Top image by Kathy Vitkus

Live Review: Virgin FreeFest 2012 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

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Marjorie Merriweather Post — heir to the Post Cereal Company and the General Foods Corporation, collector of extravagantly fine possessions, devout Socialite, and committed philanthropist — had a vision to create a theater for the arts to house Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra. In 1967, in a serene, intimate setting, on 40 preserved acres known as Symphony Woods in Columbia, Maryland, Merriweather Post Pavilion was born in Ms. Post’s namesake. While not limited to the orchestra, the Merriweather Post Pavilion has housed an eclectic mix of performers for decades from Led Zeppelin to Avicii.

Another who shares Ms. Post’s passion for both musical outlets and committed philanthropy is Richard Branson, who brought his vision to life this past weekend at the Merriweather Post Pavilion with his 6th annual Virgin Mobile FreeFest. Sir Richard stepped in and once again the charitable contribution was the gift of music. The FreeFest initiative is a way of giving back in these tough economic times and to raise awareness of homeless youth. In the form of a too-good-to-be-true free festival their unofficial motto is, “We’ll take care of the tickets. You take care of the karma.” It seems to be working because at least in the last three years along with tens of thousands of hours of volunteer time, they’ve also raised nearly $600,000 for their cause.

There was an abundance of good karma and camaraderie bringing this melting pot of music fans together ranging from the rockabilly fans of Alabama Shakes to dubstep fans of Skrillex. And all the while that is going on there is something about this event that is endearingly sentimental. Maybe it’s a reflection of the end of summer on this blue-sky fall day. Maybe it’s the warmth of song lyrics like, “Love and love and nothing else, it’s all I need…,” from Trampled By Turtles or “Never seen the sun shine brighter, and it feels like me on a good day….” from Above & Beyond, or a combination of that and the charitable reason for bringing all of these eclectic fans and music together in the first place. Someone in the crowd declared that this show to them is, “like comfort food,” and Sir Richard is our host.

In the cozy, tucked away corner of the festival grounds, DJ Alvin Risk brought the Dance Forest to life with an early afternoon time slot of tunes like “Here We Go,” and “Tonight We Are Young,” that had the whole crowd singing in unison like the cast of Glee. He set the crowd reeling with his dubstep remix of “Earthquakey People.” And for those diehards so inclined, Risk pumped his FreeFest after show party at Washington DC’s U Street Music Hall on Facebook on Friday promising, “DC. This after party tmrw is going to be on another level….”

Off to the Pavilion Stage and switching gears, Trampled By Turtles generated a downhome, easy-going blend of fiddle, bluegrass and folk with the soft, strum-laden beauty ballad “Midnight On The Interstate,” offering a balanced composition of build and plucking. A fan commenting on the YouTube version of this song defined it perfectly with, “0 dislikes thus far is an amazing testament to this song’s ability to touch the heart.” The band followed with the energetic, dueling banjo, foot stomper “Sorry.” Their ability to weave their live show with heartfelt harmonies, back-to-back with frenzied romps, utilizing the same combination of banjo, mandolin, fiddle, harmonica, and guitar adds to their rousing appeal. Into their set singer, David Simonett, gave the shout out, “We got to catch Allen Stone before us and man, that was fantastic!” A Southern-voiced female cheered from the crowd, “You guys are so good!” A thank you came from the stage as the band went into “Trouble.”

The Dismemberment Plan was playing “The City” on the West Stage as Nervo duo took to the Dance Forest with “Reload,” a sampling of Otto Knows “Million Voices” and “Atom” while the word “Doomsday” repeated on the background visuals along with images similar to the T1000 robot from Terminator 2.

The Pavilion stage remained closely guarded during the reunited Ben Folds Five performance as too many fans tried to enter the pavilion seats causing over-crowding. For those up-close-and-personal they witnessed fun-loving singer Ben Scott Folds at his Baldwin piano belt out hits like “Michael Praytor, Five Years Later” and “Jackson Cannery,” rising from his bench at one point to remove one of the piano wires and giving it to a stage hand in a comical attempt to appear to adjust the sound.

As the sun began to set more noticeably in the heavily shaded Dance Forest due to the dense tree canopies, Thomas Gold dished out the electronic dance music classics “The Island,” “Teenage Crime,” and “Who’s In The House” to a frenzied, young crowd. Meanwhile the Pavilion Stage held a Janis Joplin revival of sorts with the Joplin’s similar soulful passion, stage antics, and song builds from Alabama Shakes on hits like “Hold On.”

Running from the Pavilion Stage to the West Stage to the Dance Forest, from blues rock to classic rock to trance, sidestepping over fans sunning on blankets of the pavilion hill, trying not to spill someone’s double-fisted, newly purchased brew filled to the brim, acknowledging of some message T-shirts like “One Hit Wonder” and “White Raver Rafting,” and trying to take it all in, the famous movie line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off comes to mind, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

The young duo of Porter (Robinson) and Zedd proved their stellar, singular talents combined is a formula for excellence. This is a repeat on Sir Richard’s lineup for Robinson who made a solo appearance on the 2011 bill. Earning escalating accolades in recent months from their peers, critics, and fans, this teamed force is well on their ride to electronic dance music super stardom. They kicked off with the familiar intro chant of, “Breathing you in…” from Zedd’s breakthrough hit “Spectrum” and the remainder of their set was an amalgamation of winners like “Clarity,” “Spectrum” (full track,) “Unison,” and “Pay Attention To The Drums.”

The house lights of the Pavilion Stage went low in preparation for the next act, as the stage screen displayed, “Black Dahlia Films,” then “Gang of Outlaws.” This prelude set the stage for the enduring sounds of the blues rock trio ZZ Top. It should come as no surprise that they still got it considering the decades and generations of experience under their belts. With their trademark black clothing, dark sunglasses, cowboy hats, shrouding beards and mustaches, and stage features like their exhaust pipe microphone stands, they look as discernible and iconic as they did at the debut of their career. With hits like “I Thank You,” “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” and “Give Me All Your Lovin,” and with the occasional, obligatory paired up, sway back-and-forth in unison to the beat that the crowd expects, they had fans on their feet rocking their Southern roots.

Well past dusk as the thickened crowd meandered the grounds a confused group asked, “Where’s M83?” Another patron pointed in the direction of the West Stage answering, “There, where everyone is going.” Once there they discovered the French electronic band bathed in a celestial stage of blue and a grateful singer who made the declaration, “So very excited to be here with this beautiful crowd.” The band then ignited that crowd with the recognizable “Midnight City.”

Another Virgin FreeFest repeat, formerly performing as a member of the Raconteurs, Jack White, closed out the Pavilion Stage. He arrived decked out in a pin-striped black suit and tresses of hair that habitually obliterated his face. He was flanked by a landscape of all-female band members donning white as the singer flailed the stage making an occasional sinister glance. MTV’s Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year, Skrillex, closed out the West Stage in celebrated style with smoke and pyrotechnics, a visual screen of metal wheels and cogs, his stylized name illuminated to fill the screen, a massive crowd spanning in all directions, and DJ decks resembling a futuristic, open-air lunar rover.

On Monday Richard Branson posted an image with the dubstep artist on Facebook adding, “Skrillex teaching me how to DJ at Virgin Mobile Live FreeFest. Should I stick to the day job?” Perhaps we’ll witness their tag team at next year’s FreeFest.

A perfect closing to the Dance Forest were the enchanting storytellers in the woods, Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki, of Above & Beyond. They continued their long-running Group Therapy theme with inspiring and poetic phrases displayed throughout their show in conjunction with historic events, the tracks played, and a sign of the times. They mixed their legendary tracks like “On My Way To Heaven,” “Alchemy,” “Thing Called Love,” “Home,” “Sun And Moon,” “Prelude,” and “Alone Tonight,” with phrases like, “The future is born slippy but it will be all good,” “This is home, “A bit more moon than sun tonight,” and “You are not alone.” They drew throngs of applause with, “We’ve been playing this song and dedicating it to people that inspire us, people that have inspired a generation people who left this earth too soon, Neil Armstrong thank you, Steve Jobs thank you.” They offered up a remix of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” before displaying “Whatever you do this autumn, remember life is made of small moments like this,” and ended with “Good For You.”

Ms. Post’s symphony orchestra in the woods venue didn’t quite come to fruition as expected but the successful outcome of witnessing the exalted music fans exiting the dusty grounds at closing time in the name of providing a community of homeless youth with access to housing, programs in social entrepreneurship and urban agriculture, in the end Ms. Post would surely give the DJ nod of approval.

Images by Kathy Vitkus

Jaytech: One Geeky Dude on the Road to the Future

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In August Australian DJ/producer Jaytech issued his second full-length album, Multiverse, an album that was three years in the making. In a candid interview, our Kathy Vitkus talked to Jaytech about his latest endeavor featuring collaborations with Nathan Grainger and Dirty Vegas’ Steve Smith.

You’ve been quite busy since Big Shot spoke with you at Ultra Music Week in March 2011. Your new album, Multiverse, has just been released. What do you plan to do with your spare time or breathing room that you’re experiencing these days after this latest major project?
Jaytech: Absolutely! I just finished up a ten-day holiday with my sister and two friends in Japan. I had two gigs while I was there, in Tokyo and Fukuoka, respectively. As the two cities are at opposite ends of the main island, we decided to make our way across the country on the bullet trains and check out Kyoto and Hiroshima along the way. I’ve been to Japan four times but every trip has been squeezed into the space of two or three days at the most, so I wanted to actually soak it up a bit this time. My new album came out around the same time, so it was also a way to kind of take a step back from all the promo and marketing we’ve been doing lately.

Multiverse definitely echos that traditional, Above & Beyond/Anjunadeep euphoria. As a member of the prestigious Above & Beyond Anjunadeep label what is the guidance, approval, influence or scrutiny that comes from James Grant or the Anjuna team that effects your latest production or its track selection process?
For this particular album the main man running the A&R process was Allan McGrath, who joined as the manager of Anjunabeats in 2010. There was never any particular influence to do the album in a certain way. It was more about taking what we thought was the best of the material I’d written and arranging it in a way that would have the best impact. I’d say there were probably about 30 or 40 contenders for album tracks, 13 of which made the final cut, so it was definitely a huge undertaking for everyone involved.

“In a weird way, I think writing music helps sharpen your definition of the world around you, as it kind of explains things in a way you can’t necessarily do in words.”

“Stranger” appears to be the instant dance floor hit. Cosmic Gate tested it on the dance floor (with a glowing success) when they recently toured through DC, and Kyau & Albert wasted no time creating a valiant remix. It was your first single release from Multiverse. Other than its obvious and infectious lovability and groove, what is it that personally impressed you about “Stranger” that influenced your selection as the first single release from your latest album?
Ultimately, I feel it’s Steve Smith’s vocal work that has taken the track’s appeal to the next level. It’s a nice lyrical sentiment, not too much for listeners to swallow, but with some extra layers of musical complexity for those who want it. We recorded it in Above & Beyond’s studio in London, which is a much nicer recording environment than I’m used to in terms of setup and acoustic treatment. I think that reflects in the record – as a vocal track it came together quite easily.

How was it that you convinced Steve Smith of Dirty Vegas fame to lend his incomparable, sensual and sultry vocals on this track?
After Dirty Vegas’ single “Tonight” was selected as the official anthem for the Ibiza Music Summit in 2009, Above & Beyond were enlisted to do a club mix, which was partly produced in front of a live audience during the summit. After that, the track became quite popular among Anjunabeats fans, and later on we got in touch with Steve to see if he’d be interested in doing some vocal work for my album. We had the rough draft for “Stranger” in the works for a while but eventually decided to get together in London, to expand on the lyrics and give it the recording treatment it deserved.

Your label mate, Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness, often uses his songwriting as a sort of catharsis and has therefore managed an undaunted series of poignant, candid manifestos over the years. Your “Labour Of Love” in title alone offers insinuation to the trials and tribulations in relationships. Are the lyrics on “Stranger” and “Labour Of Love” some of your own and do they have a story to tell drawn on personal experience?
In the words of producer Nile Rodgers, whose autobiography I read just recently, it’s always good to give your lyrics a secret hidden meaning — something that everyone will relate to but that also means something hidden to you personally. While “Stranger” is largely Steve’s interpretation, the lyrics on “Labour of Love” do have a double meaning. For me it’s also about the trials and tribulations of writing a second artist album, and relating to an ever-changing audience. The story of the track is basically about pushing on for the sake of what you love, even if the path is not as clear and simple as it used to be. To me, this is true in both music and relationships.

Was the release of your latest album in conjunction with your 27th birthday pure coincidence or was this a calculated birthday present to yourself and a gift to the rest of the world?
To be quite honest we were originally looking at getting it out a little earlier, as it’s been four years since my last artist album. In the end, I think it was the right choice to give it a bit longer in order to get the track list and artwork properly wrapped up, and to time it in the release schedule in a way that would have the best effect. I guess it is a gift to the world, although to me the reward is the process of writing it. In a weird way, I think writing music helps sharpen your definition of the world around you, as it kind of explains things in a way you can’t necessarily do in words.

You’ve paired with Serenade on both “Everglade” and “Through The Maze.” What can you tell us about this amiable songstress and the history of your collaboration with her?
We’ve known each other for a very long time and she’s actually responsible for a lot of the vocal “snippets” from some of my earlier work, such as “Genesis” and “Manipulator.” I’ve always considered her to have an amazing voice, and I think the best from her is yet to come. The two tracks she features in on the album are still largely instrumental affairs, but when I get the chance to record her under really great circumstances I think we should definitely do a more fully fledged vocal track, like I did with Steve Smith.

What is your working relationship and your meeting of the minds with Nathan Grainger who sings on “Labour Of Love” and “Innovation?”
Nathan is basically a living legend amongst our crew back in Australia and heavily involved in the world of electronic music. We’ve been rocking out to prog anthems and partying together for as long as I can remember, and we’ve actually written three whole albums together just for fun. Usually the music we’ve written has been of a pretty silly nature, but having done so much recording together it just kind of made sense to actually try and do something more seriously.

“Innovation” in name is a forward-thinking term although this smooth, unique track has a retro ’90s feel like a subtle version of Depeche Mode “Rush” meets God Lives Under Water “Your Mouth.” What was the inspiration and framework behind the making of this particular track?
It’s more indicative of the kind of music my friends are listening to back in Australia. Although a lot of them started with progressive house and trance, nowadays when I go back there people are listening to all kinds of stuff, such as glitch, dubstep, midtempo and a whole bunch of other styles I never knew existed. “Innovation” was influenced by that kind of slower tempo sound.

Fans missed you at the Group Therapy show in Miami this past March. Your unfortunate absence from the scheduled line-up was due to unforeseen circumstances but your absence, especially from this particular show, was an unprecedented void. The annual, Miami in March, Anjunabeats/Anjunadeep shows are not quite the same without the Jaytech franchise. What are you plans to take your DJ show on the road promoting Multiverse to a world of Anjuna fans?
The plan is to really tour the hell out of the album over the next six or eight months. At the moment we’ve got gigs lined up for North and South America, Australia and Asia, and there’s more stuff in the pipeline. Should be a pretty busy year of travel I think! As for Miami, I will definitely be there in 2013.

Scattered throughout the 13-track collection you host a few melodic, downtempo compositions and wrap with “Blue Ocean” feat. Melody Gough and “Coda” which are 96bpm and 93bpm respectively. As Above & Beyond did with Group Therapy this allows the opportunity and endless possibilities for a transition into club remixes. Do you see that in the future for any or all of these tracks?
Possibly, although I think I’m more inclined to create clubbier mixes of the progressive and trance tracks from the album. It’s always a bit of a pain making a club mix out of a 93bpm track because the tempo is way off what it needs to be, so you either need to speed up/slow down the vocal a lot or do some creative chopping, and often you end up pretty far removed from the original musical idea.

As part of the Anjunabeats/Anjunadeep label you’re aware of their reputation for working with quite the prolific artists. If given the choice, which artist could you see assimilating quite well into the Anjunadeep family and why, or one who might present another collaboration opportunity for you?
To be honest I’d love to see an Eric Prydz record on Anjunadeep, although he’s got such a good thing going with his own imprint that it maybe wouldn’t make much sense to do that. As for assimilation into the Anjunadeep family, it’s great to see Jody Wisternoff featuring more on the label as I’ve always been a big fan of his sound.

The partial list of the approval ratings from fans regarding your latest release reads like the following, “… Jimbo, you did everything right..,” “… Already had it for 2 days and haven’t stopped listening to it!!!…” and “SWEET JESUS…. THIS ALBUM!” With all modesty aside, in 30 words or less, how would you describe Multiverse.
One geeky dude on the road to the future, painting a picture of the colorful things he sees along the way.

Live image via Facebook

Above & Beyond’s Tony McGuinness: “We’ll Stop Touring When We Die!”

Kathy Vitkus Leave a Comment

British trance trio Above & Beyond continue to push the envelope with their productions, live show and Anjunabeats label, constantly innovating and moving their music forward. For their new video for “On My Way To Heaven,” the triumvirate, who recently Cream Ibiza Mixed by Above & Beyond,  tapped actor Steven Berkoff (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, A Clockwork Orange, The Krays) to perform a dramatic Shakespearean soliloquy set to the group’s track featuring Richard Bedford. With Above & Beyond returning to the States over the summer for select gigs for their ongoing Group Therapy tour, we thought it was high time to publish our chat with A&B’s Tony McGuinness conducted back in March in Miami.

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