A quarter-century of electronic legacy
The legendary British trio Above & Beyond, comprised of Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamäki, has marked a milestone in the history of electronic music by celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary of professional career. To commemorate this quarter-century in the industry, the group has joined forces with the streaming platform Apple Music, presenting an exclusive and retrospective edition within the acclaimed 'One Mix' series. This release is not a simple compilation of greatest hits, but a meticulous reconstruction of their vast discography, designed specifically to be experienced in an immersive Spatial Audio format.
Since their beginnings in the early 2000s, Above & Beyond has forged a sonic empire, consolidating cult record labels like Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep, and gathering millions of weekly listeners on their Group Therapy radio show. Now, this collaboration with the Californian tech giant allows the devoted 'Anjunafamily' to rediscover the group's catalog from a completely unprecedented acoustic perspective, transforming the habitual consumption of clubbing into a three-dimensional auditory experience.
Musical archaeology: from 'Tri-State' to 'Bigger Than All Of Us'
The sonic journey proposed in this 'One Mix' covers the entire evolution of the trio. The session begins its journey at the foundations of their 2006 debut album, Tri-State, and extends to the productions of their most recent 2025 studio work, Bigger Than All Of Us. By working with Spatial Audio technology powered by Dolby Atmos, the engineers and the artists themselves have been able to strip the tracks of traditional stereo compression, revealing micro-melodies, hidden counterpoints, and harmonic textures that had remained latent for years in the original masters.
During this multichannel immersion, timeless trance and progressive house classics acquire a new dimension. The most die-hard fans will notice how spatiality transforms generational anthems. Among the cuts selected for this sonic restructuring, fundamental pieces of club culture stand out:
- Vocal anthems: 'Sun & Moon' and 'Northern Soul', where vocal frequencies and lead synthesizers achieve unprecedented panoramic separation.
- Dynamic expansion: 'Counting Down The Days' and 'Blue Sky Action', tracks that gain an expansive dynamic range in the drops and melodic progressions.
- Key collaborations: The recent hit 'Gratitude' alongside the duo anamē, or the iconic remix of 'Salva Mea 2.0' by Faithless.
- Legendary voices: A sharp focus on the label's regular collaborators, highlighting Zoë Johnston, Richard Bedford, Justine Suissa, Gemma Hayes, and Alex Vargas.
This is a retrospective mix that presents our music from the last 25 years. It has been very revealing to delve into old projects, remembering parts that are not so obvious in the stereo mix and that now become protagonists in the Spatial Audio mix. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we have enjoyed creating it.
— Above & Beyond
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The redefinition of consumption in the Spatial Audio era
Above & Beyond's foray into the 'One Mix' series underscores a growing trend in the electronic music industry: the transition toward immersive listening formats. Apple Music has been strengthening its dance music ecosystem by inviting industry pioneers to explore the limits of spatiality. The London trio thus joins a select list of curators who have passed through this format, taking the baton from top-tier figures such as Charlotte de Witte, LP Giobbi, Jeff Mills, DJ Bone, Hudson Mohawke, A-Trak, and Goldie.
Beyond mere nostalgia, this 25th-anniversary project demonstrates that the Above & Beyond catalog possesses a technical complexity that fully justifies its structural revision. The ability to isolate percussive elements and ethereal choirs in a 360-degree environment offers an experience that is closer to physical presence at a festival than to passive listening with traditional headphones. In an ecosystem saturated with ephemeral releases and accelerated rhythms, the decision to look back using cutting-edge technology certifies why Jono, Tony, and Paavo remain fundamental architects of the global electronic sound.
