Above And Beyond Biography

The English progressive trance group known as Above & Beyond was established in 2000 by founding members and DJ’s Paavo Siljamaki, Tony McGuinness, and Jono Grant. Siljamaki and Grant met while students at the University of Westminster, and began writing music together after discovering that they both had an affinity for electronic music. The two musicians established their own label in 1999, releasing a number of dance mixes and garnering significant attention.

One individual whose interest in the group was piqued was Tony McGuinness, Marketing Director for Warner Music Group. McGuinness brought the duo on board, and Above & Beyond was born. The first remix under their new name, Chakra’s “Home,” became a smash hit upon its release, rising to number one on the UK club charts. Within a short amount of time, Above & Beyond had been commissioned to remix dozens of hits, including Madonna’s “What It Feels Like for a Girl” and Aurora’s “Ordinary World.”

By the early 2000’s, Above & Beyond had made their performance debut in Tokyo, followed by performances in Ibiza and at the Glastonbury Festival. Since then, Above & Beyond has released the albums Tri-State (2006), Group Therapy (2011), Acoustic (2014), and We Are All We Need (2015.) The albums have featured some of the most popular dance tracks in the last few years, including: “No One on Earth” and “Good for Me” (featuring Zoe Johnston); “Air For Life” (featuring Andy Moor); “Alone Tonight” and “Sun & Moon” (featuring Richard Bedford); and “Home” (featuring Hannah Thomas.)

Above & Beyond recently rose to the international spotlight with the smash hit song “We’re All We Need,” featuring Zoe Johnston. The single earned Above & Beyond a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording, which is in addition to the group’s dozens of award nominations from the Beatport Music Awards, DJ Awards in Ibiza, DJ Magazine, and the International Dance Music Awards. Above & Beyond ranks yearly in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJ’s Poll, and recently rose to number twenty-nine on the list for the year 2015. Clearly, this is a group on the rise and one to watch in the coming years.