Cleansing as it is cathartic, stirring just as many emotions as memories, and getting you to sway to grand, sweeping melodies, there seems to be little that Above and Beyond’s music can’t do to you. While the English trio perennially finds a place at the world’s leading dance music festivals, even reaching 30 million listeners across 35 countries every week through its Group Therapy, it’s probably incomplete without an annual trance pilgrimage to India – this time for a colourful celebration of togetherness over the Holi weekend. The group’s Paavo Siljamäki gets chatty with us ahead of their Submerge tour Bengaluru on March 12 at Royal Orchid Resort & Convention Centre.
What has always fascinated Paavo, Jono Grant and Tony McGuinness about India is its culture, people, food, music and parties, ever since they started their own label, Anjunabeats naming it after Anjuna in Goa, famed for its trance parties. “India has always been a special place for us. It’s the birthplace of Group Therapy Radio and the spiritual home of our Anjunabeats label. Especially in the past five years, the Indian EDM scene has been growing rapidly, there’s always so much enthusiasm and energy in the parties - we simply can’t get enough!” says Paavo. What also fascinates this 39-year-old is Bengaluru. “It’s a hub of technology and seems interconnected with the rest of the world, yet, is so very Indian,” he muses.
If we are being really honest, their music is something you just can’t pigeonhole. Even Paavo seems to have difficulty finding words to describe it. “It’s a little hard. We make everything from acoustic songs and hard club stuff to chilled tracks – we are always trying to go forward,” he explains. And it’s true. Since their days of counting Ferry Corsten, Tiesto and Matt Darey as influences, their sights have been set on evolving, interestingly drawing contrasts between happy and sad, the light and dark. This love for contrasts has also led them on another quest, foraying from trance into acoustic with stunning results.
“For years, we were trying to figure out the best way to play live as a band, as we all play instruments,” Paavo tells us. Subsequently, their acoustic project reflects the group’s classical training – while Tony sings and plays guitar, mandolin and ukulele, Paavo takes to the grand piano and cello with Jono on the Rhodes piano, guitar and vibraphone. Like we said, there’s little that they can’t do.
The reworkings of some of their best-selling tracks like Sun & Moon, Sticky Fingers, We’re All We Need and Love is Not Enough have been since performed at iconic venues around the world like Royal Albert Hall in London, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Sydney Opera House, and their albums Acoustic I and Acoustic II have topped music charts worldwide. According to the band, this project has only helped them hit refresh on what they do musically. “What was even more amazing was that it was bringing families together. People were bringing their parents and kids to the live concerts and it allowed us to look at the songs we love in a new way,” he says.
Paavo grew up in musical environs where everyone played an instrument. His dad sang in choirs while his granddad wrote poems. “I grew up thinking I need a ‘real job’ but realised music was and always would be my true love,” he says. It’s this love that also gets him to dish out advice for the young and the restless.
“Don’t think success is having a million likes on Facebook. Success is the ability to do what you love and make enough income from it, so you can fully concentrate on it and keep doing what you love, always evolving and improving. Music’s such a deep subject, you’ll never know it all, but while learning, it will bring so much love to your life – you’re lucky,” he smiles, knowing that that love in itself is above and beyond.
