Above & Beyond are DJ/producers Jono Grant, Tony McGuiness and Paavo Siljamäki. Making music collectively and individually under monikers including Oceanlab, Tranquillity Base, Nitromethane, POS, Aalto, Dirt Devils and Free State, the boys have also remixed tracks like Madonna ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ and Armin van Buuren presents Perpetuous Dreamer ‘Sound Of Goodbye’, as well as artists such as Delerium, Three Drives and Japanese superstar, Ayumi Hamasaki.

Standout productions from the trio include the debut Above & Beyond single ‘Far From In Love’, Oceanlab classics ‘Clear Blue Water’ and ‘Sky Falls Down’, Nitromethane ‘Time To Die’ and, on Paul van Dyk’s ‘Vandit’ label, Aalto ‘Rush’.

The trio’s Anjunabeats label has become a firm favourite amongst major players like Paul van Dyk, Judge Jules, Ferry Corsten, Matt Hardwick (“…easily my favourite label right now”) and Tiesto. Armin van Buuren admits “…I can’t remember the last set that didn’t have an Above & Beyond production in it. They sound great on the radio and rock any dancefloor.” Previous releases on the label include the aforementioned standouts and recently, spectacular cuts like POS ‘Remember/Amnesiac’, Oceanlab ‘Beautiful Together’ and Rusch & Murray’s much talked about ‘Epic’ – a track made entirely on forums over the Internet.

Recently, Jono, Paavo and Tony have snapped up a series of fresh artist for Anjunabeats. Out September, check Matt Hardwick vs. Smith & Pledger’s stunner ‘Day One’ (with Above & Beyond remix) and in October, check Kyau vs Albert ‘Velvet Morning (with a brand-new Aalto remix). 2003 will also see the release of the second Above & Beyond single, ‘No One On Earth’, featuring a vocal from Faithless songstress Zoe Johnston.

The label has recently embarked on an Anjunabeats tour; showcasing Above & Beyond DJ sets / Live, Oceanlab Live with Justine Suissa on vocals and Aalto Live with Paavo Siljamäki and Miika Eloranta. The first stage of the tour, in Canada has proved a phenomenal success. Follow-up tours have already been booked for Australia, UK and other countries across Europe, plus a return to Canada in early September.

As DJs, Above & Beyond hold regular commitments for Passion and have graced the decks at the likes of Ministry of Sound and Room At The Top in the UK, and internationally in Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Australia, Singapore and Japan. Through a combination of silky production skills and uplifting DJ sets, Above & Beyond are fast becoming one of the strongest moving forces behind electronic music. Indeed, the September 2003 issue of Mixmag singles out Above & Beyond as one of the most prominent trance acts in the world today.

The past twelve months have proved an immense success for the guys, the proverbial icing on the cake came when they won the prestigious Radio 1 'Essential Mix of Year' award, as voted for by the listeners of Radio 1 (notably some 10,000 voters!). The news was announced during Pete Tong's Essential Selection radio show in December, during a special live broadcast from Turnmills in London. If you are clammouring for more of the Above & Beyond style then their new Anjunabeats Volume Two cd should satisfy your needs. With a hectic international DJ schedule to match their studio commitments, the guys still found time to penetrate the world’s airwaves, you can listen to their weekly radio show on the Ministry Of Sound radio station every Tuesday 8-10 pm GMT.

Despite their impressive achievements thus far, Above & Beyond continue to shape the future of their genre and are still very much in the Ascension!

Catch them at Godskitchen happening Saturday 30 September at Metro City.