As I wait expectantly in the hotel lobby to meet Paavo Siljamäki — one-third of the legendary trance music trio Above and Beyond, I wonder if Tony McGuinness in an adjoining media room is disgruntled by answering for the nth time the same question posed by yet another journalist, while Jonathan Grant is still flying out from a gig in Dubai to join them for their last Trance Around The World (TATW) 450 radio show in Bangalore, India.
“Have you checked the venue yet?”
I look up to find Siljamäki with a camera strung along his arm (testimony of his visual indulgences), flashing a naturally heart-warming smile and an extended hand.
“I…I… haven’t”, I reply with a handshake and stutter that emerges from being caught unawares.
“I’m quite nervous about this show actually,” he confesses.
“Is that a good thing?” I ask, bemused by the honest confidence of his feelings.
“I always think that if you get nervous, it means that you care. And usually the shows I get a bit nervous for, are the ones that feel really amazing.”
Bolder
As I listen to Siljamäki speak with an energy that is as fresh as his talent is old, I’m recovering from the fact that I’m sitting with this true-blooded artist who as part of the celebrated English trance act has been swooning Vocal Trance music fans for almost over a decade under the alias of OceanLab and Tranquility Base, with a sound that is only getting bigger, better and bolder. Their critically acclaimed second studio album “Group Therapy” that released in the summer of 2011 propelled them deeper into the realm of super-DJ stardom, earning over 30 million listeners on their weekly radio show TATW.
Loyal fans
With thirteen years of strong record innings at their revered Anjunabeats label that has lately been boasting of a growing roster of promising artists, it comes as no surprise that they continue to claim top territory spots on DJ mag polls.
As cheeky posts and announcements by the trio appeared on social media, indicating the end of their radio show at the 450th episode, the misleading news caused an emotional outpour of sentiments. Fans from around the world expressed unwillingness at having to end their weekly dose of therapy with their musical shrinks. Their bourgeoning, loyal fan base claiming to have forged an emotional connection with these trance musicians seen unlike any other.
Fortunately, it turned out that therapy just got a cozier revival.
Arab News was thrilled to have them talk about their new radio show, next studio album and much more at the final TATW 450.
Reincarnation
“Time goes so quickly. We can’t really remember when we first started doing the radio show. Now, a couple of years later, here we are in India and we’ve done 449 shows.
“For quite a while now we’ve started to think that the TATW brand as such doesn’t necessarily fit into this thing that we feel is much bigger, for people and for us. There was a period when we were thinking ‘Why isn’t that radio show called Group Therapy radio?’ because that’s what it should be called. This has been a long time coming.”
Group Therapy Radio
“It feels almost like TATW was something we invented and it was like our baby, whereas Group Therapy Radio is much bigger. It’s such a fitting name for the radio show because that’s really what it feels like for us. It really connects people around the world every week.
“The name Group Therapy radio/ABGT came when we were working on the first Group Therapy album. For us that was such a therapeutic thing because we write songs about our own lives and work together as a band. It’s almost like putting all of our emotions and things that happen into our music.
“Once we started playing the tracks, it became obvious it’s really about when people come together to enjoy this music. Something really amazing happens at the gigs. That is group therapy. Having everybody together…loving the music.”
Indian connection
Borrowing the name of their two-toned record labels — Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep — from a beach in Goa infamous for its psy-trance parties, India has remained an interest for Above and Beyond personally, culturally and musically.
“People in India are now getting online and the electronic dance music scene is becoming bigger and bigger, and so much more exciting. Things are really happening here in India.
“Once a year we get to highlight what’s going on around the world as we’ve had the chance to travel the world so much. We really want to show everybody what an exciting place this world is. We want to highlight the common ground, which is the excitement for this music.”
Work-in-progress
“We are focusing on our new album, and we’re in the songwriting phase. Right now we’re just having fun in the studio. We sort of know where we’re aiming from but we really don’t know for sure. I think the album process is that sort of thing for us. We’ll just try and do it as well as we can, and maybe, just maybe in six months we’ll know what the album is about. We’re hoping obviously to have it finished by next year, but… These things can take a looong time.” (laughs)
Jetlagged
“For us it’s difficult to find time to be creative. A week in one place would be a really good thing to have. Not having that is one of the challenges in our career and I think that is also part of the inspiration for the therapeutic songwriting process. So maybe being a bit tired and a bit jetlagged can lead to other kinds of creative things.”
Visual appeal
“I’m into visual arts. Just by seeing something it should touch you in some way. That’s the thing I’m interested in. That connection of actually being able to affect the viewer or the listener in some way. The stronger that connection is, the more exciting the art is for me.”
Above and Beyond music…
“…is life, of course,” Paavo, Jonathan and Tony emphatically agree when I finally meet the trio together at the TATW 450 after-show. Perhaps, life really is about small moments like these.
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