Above & Beyond North American Tour - Tri State Album - anjunabeats, www.anjunabeats.com, Trance Around The World



Come catch them in their first Alberta Performance

A blend of sleek electronic rhythms, lush filmix textures and old-fashioned songwriting. "Tri-State" is the fulfilment of any dance act's ultimate album aspiration: a padding-free, skilled, diverse long-player. In a world "Brilliant", 5/5 DJ Magazine

2 years in the making, Above and Beyond released ‘Tri-State’, their first artist album, on March 6.

If you'd like to listen to the tracks from this album, check out the Tri-State preview podcast by clicking here.

‘Tri-State’ is not an easy album to categorise. Tracks like the already hugely received Andy Moor collaboration ‘Air for Life’, ‘World on Fire’ and forthcoming single ‘Alone Tonight’ will immediately impact with A&B devotees everywhere. However, the downtempo Lemon Jelly-esque Balearica of ‘Indonesia’, ambient title track ‘Tri-State’, the epic drama of ‘In the Past’, and the break-beat majesty of ‘Home’ will chart new ground for the trio.

“We’ve spent the last five years making singles for clubs, so it’s been a very liberating process making an album," says Jono. "It's electronic music but we’re giving people something raw and real - what you're getting is just the three of us with our vocalists. Our fans may recognise the roots of a lot of the styles on the album in what we've done before, both in remixes and our Essential Mix - we've always had broad musical tastes. But it'll still be surprising to a lot of people."

"Most of the songs deal with doubt in one form or another." says Tony . "We're really interested in how its possible to have conflicting views on the go at the same time, be it about a relationship or your life, and actually be OK with that. There's always a richer seam in the gap between two viewpoints - to love or to leave, to keep going or to change direction. That's partly why 'Tri-State' is so apt a title."

Although Tony sings on the guitar-fused ‘For All I Care’, the main vocal duties lie with newcomer Richard Bedford, who made his debut as A&B's voice on the anthem 'Alone Tonight'. "I'm so glad we found Richard - he sings like I'd like to sing." says Tony. Richard's evocative turn on ‘Liquid Love’ and his unmissable Royksopp-esque delivery of ‘Stealing Time’ will unquestionably wow. But for those who prefer female vocals there are treats instore. The bittersweet vocals of ‘Can’t Sleep’ are from Ashley Tomberlin (from Luminary), Zoe Johnston, who sang "No One On Earth" makes a welcome return on the hymn-like "Good For Me", and the album closes with another unknown Hannah Thomas lending her stunning voice to the haunting "Home".

Much like their award winning Radio 1 Essential Mix, A&B's album seamlessly fuses dance beats and movie-soundtrack moments. "We're well known for making new electronic sounds and we've made some great new noises for Tri-State. But we all really love the sound of real instruments like strings and piano, and that's an important thread on the album." Says Paavo. "It sounds like the soundtrack to a really great, emotional movie".

As both producers and DJ’s, Above & Beyond need no real introduction to the dance community. Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki met while studying at university in London. With Tony McGuiness they came together under the Above and Beyond name to remix Chakra’s ‘Home’ in 2000. In the interceding 5 years they’ve gone on to become one of the world’s foremost credible dance acts; a group Pete Tong labelled as “the UK’s new trance superstars”, when they took the prized gong for ‘Essential Mix of the Year’. More recently they were nominated alongside The Chemical Brothers, The Scissor Sisters and Basement Jaxx for the coveted Best Dance Group category at the Miami WMC.

The holy trinity of Madonna, Britney and Dido have all called upon their refined remixing skills, along with other artists as diverse as Armin, Delerium and Ayumi Hamasaki. It was with their remix of Madonna’s ‘What It Feels Like for a Girl’ that the trio broke though. Ms Ciccone liked their version so much (calling it “completely perfect”) that she used it to accompany the release’s video.

Their solo productions have captured the imagination of the clubbers and DJ’s alike, with anthems like ‘Far From in Love’ and ‘No One on Earth’ rocking dance floors worldwide. Meanwhile they’ve tasted chart success twice with the Oceanlab’s singles ‘Satellite’ (Top 20 in 2004) and ‘Clear Blue Water’. Outside of the studio, Above & Beyond also A&R one of the UK’s most successful, independent dance labels, Anjunabeats.

Above and Beyond’s ‘Tri-State’ is the album that will not only enrapture their fan base, but cause thousands more to sit up and take notice too.

Opening will be - MD

more details to follow