Above & Beyond

Above & Beyond is the London-based trio of Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki. The group came together in 2000 after Grant and Siljamäki, then students at the Royal College of Music, were brought in to remix Madonna's "What It Feels Like for a Girl." That remix — credited to Above & Beyond — launched one of the most influential careers in trance. In 2000 the trio also founded Anjunabeats, the label that would grow into a global brand encompassing the deeper, more atmospheric Anjunadeep imprint, sold-out Group Therapy festival editions at the Gorge in Washington, and a weekly radio show that consistently ranks among the most-listened-to in dance music. Their studio albums — Tri-State (2006), Group Therapy (2011), We Are All We Need (2015), and Common Ground (2018) — produced anthems including "Sun & Moon," "Thing Called Love," and "On a Good Day." What sets Above & Beyond apart is their commitment to songcraft. Working with vocalists like Zoë Johnston and Richard Bedford, they have produced a body of vocal trance that doubles as proper songwriting — material strong enough to stand stripped down on their two acoustic albums, performed at the Royal Albert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Few electronic acts have crossed into that territory so successfully. They are also among the most articulate voices for the emotional power of trance. Their Group Therapy concept — the idea that the dancefloor is a place of communal vulnerability and release — has shaped a generation of fans and given the genre a vocabulary for its emotional impact. To listen to Above & Beyond is to be reminded why this music matters.