..
" />
Anjunabeats Artists
[The picture of the artists are above the name]
Above & Beyond
Above & Beyond Biography
Above & Beyond are one of the most exciting talents in the global dance music scene today. Their genre-defining productions - often released on their own Anjunabeats label - have become an essential tool for the world's leading DJ's and have set the benchmark for the new generation of trance producers. Above & Beyond - aka Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamki - have recorded under a number of different aliases including Aalto, Free State, Nitromethane, Oceanlab, P.O.S and Tranquility Base.
Equally comfortable behind the decks as in the studio, as DJ's Above & Beyond have rocked dancefloors at venues such as Godskitchen, Gatecrasher and Cream, as well as internationally.
The boys recently scooped Radio 1s prestigious Essential Mix Of The Year Award, prompting Radio 1 resident Pete Tong to describe them as the UKs new trance superstars. Above & Beyond were also shortlisted in 3 categories at the recent Miami Winter Music Awards, including in the category of best dance group alongside the Chemical Brothers, Scissor Sisters and Basement Jazz.
Recent productions from Above & Beyond have included Surrender and Getting Away under their Tranquility Base guise, and the latest Above & Beyond single, No One On Earth, which featured Faithless Zoe Johnston on vocals. The tracks have found with favour with everyone from Radio 1s Pete Tong and Judge Jules, to international A-listers such as Paul Van Dyk, Oakenfold and Tiesto. In addition to their own productions, the trio have performed remix duties for the likes of Madonna, Dido, Britney and Delerium.
In June 2005 Above & Beyond will release Anjunabeats Volume 3, the latest in a series of mix albums designed to showcase the best music on A&Bs Anjunabeats label.
Then in September, the trio will release their first artist album, set to feature collaborations with Carrie Skipper, Zoe Johnston and Andy Moor, known for his work with Tilt and as half of Leama & Moor. The first single from the album Above & Beyond + Andy Moor Air For Life will be released in July.
"I can't remember my last set that didn't have an Above & Beyond production in it. They sound great on the radio and rock any dancefloor. I think all the Anjunabeats tunes are in my box at the moment." Armin van Buuren
"They are a great team and have released some fantastic tunes." Paul van Dyk
Aalto
Aalto is a collaboration between Paavo Siljamaki from Above & Beyond and Miika Eloranta (Super8). The Finnish duo's first single, 'Liquid Sweep', was a massive club success but it was the second release, 'Rush', which put Aalto firmly on the map.
A stonking Super 8 vs. Orkidea remix saw the track become a firm favourite with Paul Van Dyk, who signed it up for release on his label in Germany and even invited the boys to perform live at one of his legendary Vandit sessions in Berlin.
Aalto's brand new single "Taurine" was released in June and made its way to the Top 30 Dance singles in the UK and is still being hammered by the likes of Paul van Dyk, Above & Beyond and John Askew.
Alt+F4
Alt+F4, aka Magellan Project, aka Avanto, consists of the two young finnish producers Joonas Hahmo and Matti Kotala.
Before Matti and Joonas joined forces, both of them had already been active in the Finnish music scene for several years as producers as well as DJs. For Matti and Joonas making music is more than just using machines; it's about creating a vibe that takes the listeners on a journey.
In the beginning of 2001 when Ferry Corsten came to Helsinki, the boys met and found out that they shared the same passion for electronic dance music and they had the same idea how tracks should be produced. So it was obvious that after this meeting Matti & Joonas created a new producer-team. Over the years they've gained more and better equipment to realize their ideas until they reached their nowadays massive studio.
It was in 2003 when Drizzly Music signed their track "Dive Theme" for the new label Asgard Recordings. It is the theme song for Tamperes Club Dive and has been played since the beginning of 2003 by the likes of Misja Helsloot and Black Hole Recording's DJs Ton TB & Cor Fjineman as well as Norway's DJ Stigma and Italy's Giorgio Ponticelli.
In between producing several theme tracks for the biggest indoor-events in Finland such as Docklands and liQuid (Marco-V, Orkidea, Cosmicman), Joonas & Matti delivered several guestmixes for Giorgio Ponticelli's "Subtraxx Experience", a show on Digitally Imported, the biggest Internet electronic music radio station. The reactions of the listeners were all the times so overwhelming that Giorgio Ponticelli asked the boys to make a mix for "The World In The Mix" show which was over 4 hours long and included 15 minute mixes from 16 DJs all over the world. Joonas & Matti were able to present their unique sets with names like Mike Shiver, Envious, Kenjido Okiru, zgur Can and Niklas Harding.
This spring Joonas and Matti created a new guise named "Alt+F4". Their first release "Alt+F4" which has been signed to Anjunabeats has until now been played by every big DJ in the world and gained them lots of reputation in the music scene. Names like Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren, Misja Helsloot, DJ Tiesto, Miika Kuisma and Super8 were knocking on the guys' doors to get a playable CD.
Joonas and Matti have always wanted to support good talent from Finland who need a platform to present their high quality music, so it was obvious they should start a record label. After joining forces with a few friends in summer 2004 it was finally the birth of Electric Sauna Records, a subdivision of Drizzly Music. At the moment Joonas & Matti have their latest massive track on Electric Sauna Records named Avanto "The Flute" with remixes by Airbase, DJ Orkidea and Mike Shiver.
So far "The Flute" has been played by every top DJ in the world while the peak was reached when it was part of "Tiesto in Concert 2".
Aspekt
Aspekt is producer Olie Smith doing what comes naturally: a slightly funkier, more progressive sound.
His debut single was a two sided vinyl, featuring "Mobetta", a favourite with Paul Oakenfold and "Something Else". Olie now works with together with Mark Pledger as 'Smith & Pledger'.
Boom Jinx
Some artist are brought up in musically enriched surroundings, whilst others are undoubtedly born with a creative gift. One such Norwegian artist that realised his creativity is Øistein Johan Eide (aka Boom Jinx).
Upon stumbling across a copy of Soundtracker back in 1989 (a pattern based sequencer for the Commodore Amiga computer), his creativity started to manifest itself and at the age of 15 he found himself spending more time making music than attending elementary school.
With this burning passion to create, Øistein was given his first freelance assignment producing music for a major US game developer in 1991. His goal in life now set on making a career out of music, it wasn't long before he found himself producing music for more than 50 commercials and websites for high profile bands and personalities.
His work being exposed to millions worldwide, he was offered full-time employment at one of the leading sound and music
production companies in Norway. These days, its easier for Øistein to say what type of projects he hasnt worked on than what he has, and his music airs on TV, Cinema and Radio every day.
While recognizing how fortunate he was to make a living doing what he loved, he also realized he would rarely be able to express himself with complete creative freedom due to the restrictions of clients needs. And thus, Boom Jinx was born.
Marking his presence on Anjunadeep, the first release 'Come Play Perfect' is an incredible fusion of bladerunner-esq atmospherics and electro fuelled futuristic deep trance. An impeccably engineered production masterclass thats sure to make a big impact upon its full release...
For more information, visit:
www.boomjinx.com
Carrie Skipper
Carrie Skipper's first introduction to Anjunabeats came when she met Paavo at a friend's party and revealed her passion for music. Before long she was invited into the studio to show what she could do and the guys were so impressed they hooked her up with rising UK production duo Smith & Pledger.
Carrie ended up co-writing and singing Smith & Pledger's debut single, "Forever". A track that became a huge favourite for top DJ's like Armin Van Buuren, Above and Beyond and Matt Hardwick, and was featured on many of the world's leading dance compilations.
Carrie went on to work with Miami DJ/Producer Markus Schulz, Swedish DJ/Producer Mike Shiver and with Hungary's Shane 54. She made brief but significant appearances on a number of Anjunabeats releases, including Tranquility Base "Surrender" and Above & Beyond vs. Andy Moor "Air For Life".
"Time Goes By" was Carrie Skipper's first solo release, borne out of a late night jamming session involving Carrie and Above & Beyond. "Time Goes By" was remixed twice by Super8 (Miika Eloranta) who loved the song so much he begged to work on it. Super8's "Deep Mix" became a fixture in Tiesto's sets and his "Bangin' Mix" was played on BBC Radio One. David West also provided a fine remix that was a winner with many a prog trance fan, while Floris de Haan transformed "Time Goes By" into a superb top notch chill out masterpiece!
Dan Stone
If you had told this bright hopeful that in 18 months time one of his tracks would be signed to one of the hottest trance labels in the world, he would have laughed in disbelief. A year and a half down the line and that laugh has all become a reality.
His first production Tauro, which was released on 90 Degrees North in April 2005 stamped his name onto the trance circuit, with plays from the likes of Paul Van Dyk and Armin Van Buuren, reaching no.9 in the world DMC trance chart.
4 months later, on a night out in London, Dan was introduced to Paavo (Above & Beyond) and within weeks Made In Bahrain was signed to Anjunabeats.
This hard hitting stomper of a track is sure to rock many a dancefloor with its pulsating rhythms and sparkling uplifting energy, it's already shortlisted for inclusion in Tiestos next big compilation.
Released out in March/April this year and with many other tracks in the pipeline, this is a name you will want to watch out for in 2006.
Daniel Kandi
Recognizing the elements of a strong melody in a trance track after just a few seconds of sound. That is what this artist has been striving to make possible from the earliest of his productions, coming to full fruition in the present day...
Daniel Kandi, a producer already a known in his home country denmark, not so much for trance, but for his remixes in more commercial genres, having formed the remix-team called Hit'n'Run. He has remixed for danish artists such as Tue West, Thomas Helmig, Tv2, Christine Milton, Sisse Marie, Infernal, and foreign artists as Pain & Rosini, Terri Walker, with an upcoming remix for David Morales.
In addition to these commercial remixes under his belt, he had a track published on Bent Fabrics album, a danish piano pioneer who made the world famous "Alleycat", which charted higher than Elvis back when it was released.
Now turning his music experience and focus onto the trance scene, Daniel has made a big impact with his debut Anjunabeats track "Breathe". With its sublime smooth pads, tight rhythms and pulsing arp leads, this track shows the true brilliance of Daniel's affinity to creating powerful melodic trance.
DJ Tab
Janne Mansnerus, aka DJ Tab, began his DJ-ing career in 1992 and has gradually evolved his style into what he now describes as "progressive and melodic trance". Tab holds residencies at two of Helsinki's biggest club nights: Illusions and Hallmark, where he is responsible for the club's music direction. He also hosts a monthly radio show called 'Radio Extreme'.
Tab's success in the Finnish club scene has helped further his international exposure, and he has DJ'ed as far afield as Estonia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Holland and the UK. His DJ-ing philosophy is to be one with the crowd, and he actively engages the clubbers and carefully scans crowd reaction to deliver the most memorable experience possible.
Since 1999, Tab has applied his understanding of dancefloor mechanics to music production, and has already collaborated successfully with Miika Kuisma as AR52 on John OO Flemings Joof imprint. AR52's first single "TimeGate / Hibernation" received massive support from the top DJ's and was featured on most major trance compilations (including Gatecrasher and Godskitchen). The follow-up "Enigma / Air Traffic" was equally successful.
The Verso E.P. on Anjunabeats represents his first solo release, with the peak-timer, Verso, neatly complimented by the brooding set-builder, Radiate. Both tracks have enjoyed massive support from the trance elite, including Matt Hardwick, Above & Beyond and Armin Van Buuren.
Endre
Endre is Swedish producer, Alex Sjstrm. A great example to any aspiring producer out there, at just 17 years of age Alex has risen from bedroom musician to one of dance music's emerging new talents.
Alex hails from a musical family (his father was a DJ, his mother a singer) and draws his influences from a broad range of genres, including House, Drum'N'Bass, Techno, Ambient, Breakbeat, Hip Hop, Classics, Pop, Rock and Trance. This eclectic taste is reflected in his own music-making and a unique style that combines laidback melodies with atmospheric production ideas, to build dancefloor tension and create impact.
Endre's first offering, 'Kallocain', is an epic and melodic affair with a Van Dyk groove and some rather lovely strings. Factor in a remix from an in-form Robert Nickson and you're left with yet another killer Anjuna 12".
As a point of interest, Kallocain is named after the classic Swedish novel which envisions a future of drab terror. Seen through the eyes of idealistic scientist Leo Kall, the book's depiction of a totalitarian world state is a montage of what novelist Karin Boye had seen or sensed in 1930s Russia and Germany. Its central idea grew from the rumours of truth drugs that ensured the subservience of every citizen to the state. Who said politics and music don't mix!? Kallocain will be released in March 2004
Mike Koglin Vs. Jono grant
Jono Grant is one third of Above & Beyond, while Mike Koglin is one of Germany's leading trance producers and so famous in his Mutterland that he's resorted to dying his hair peroxide blonde in order to preserve his anonymity.
When Jono and Mike got frisky in the studio, they spawned 'Circuits', the musical equivalent of a 30KG lovechild. After crawling into the record boxes of Aqua, PVD and Judge Jules, this baby's grown into one of the anthems of 2004.
The Anjunabeats package includes a deeper Jono Grant rework to add to the thumping Original Mix. Expect more collaborations between Jono and Mike in the near future.
Kaste
Kaste (aka Dyyni) consists of two Finnish producers Jani Kervinen and Mika Savela and are renowned for their uplifting sounds and emotional melodies.
Before Kaste was born, Jani made his own music under the alias Mystery Islands, and it has become one of the biggest names on the Finnish Trance scene. Jani still produces under this alias, as well as producing new tracks with Mika. Mika is also no stranger himself to producing his own tunes under the aliases Clublimit and Soundfall.
Jani And Mika joined forces in 2004 when Mika sent out a demo to Jani and Kaste was born. Soon enough, the boys released their first track under the other name for Kaste, Dyyni which was called City of Moving Waters. The Track was released on Monster Tunes and the track has had support from major Dj's worldwide. The next project for Jani and Mika was their remix of "Airwave - Save Me', but their interests clearly lied in producing tracks of their own.
Kaste's new track Desert Eagle was receiving rave reviews, even before it was released. The boy's big break came when Anjunabeats supremos Above & Beyond heard the track, they played it on their radio show, Trance Around the World. Jono, Paavo and Tony loved it so much, that they decided to sign Kaste to Anjunabeats
Kyau Vs. Albert
Ralph Kyau and Steven Moebius Albert are from Lobau, East Germany and run the Euphonic label, a firm favourite with the Anjunabeats team.
Since 1996 both created many tracks and remixes under the project Kyau vs. Albert, incl 3 German chart singles in the last 2 years. Their newest hit is the brilliant 'Velvet Morning'.
Using the offer of an Aalto remix as bait, we've managed to secure the track for a release on Anjunabeats. The Anjuna 12" should surface around December/January time and will feature the Mirco De Govia remix together with the brand spanking new Aalto mix.
Lucas & Beltram (no pic)
Lucas & Beltram are Jeroen Beltman and Martijn Endenburg. Working under their Varian guise they are responsible for one of the biggest tunes of the year so far, Varian - Endless Desire which has been caned relentlessly for months by the likes of Tisto, Markus Schulz, Ferry Corsten and Marco V.
With Lucas & Beltram - Trust Me being recently signed to Anjunabeats, it looks like these guys are on fire!. Trust Me sounds similar in more ways than one to Above & Beyond pres. Tranquility Base - Surrender and it has been making dance floors go nuts all over the world. The track has already earned support from Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren and Johan Gielen.
After years of producing, Martijn & Jeroen decided to also concentrate on the art of Dj'ing. Kicking off their DJ career with an exclusive guestmix on Trance Around The World with Above & Beyond, We can guarantee that you will be hearing a lot more from these boys in the future!
Matt Hardwick Vs. Smith & Pledger
When Gatecrasher resident Matt Hardwick had an itch to go into the studio he called his favourite label Anjunabeats, and we hooked him up with our two new superstars, Olie Smith & Mark Pledger. After days of toiling in Olie's studio they emerged with a corker of a track - "Day One".
An instant hit at Gatecrasher, the record got rave reviews from the few that got an early promo. With an Above & Beyond remix on the flip, "Day One" has become one of the Autumn's biggest anthems and has set the stage for the follow up, due any day now.
Menno de Jong
Menno De Jong fell in love with music very early in his life and began and began training in classical piano at the age of 10. Over time he gradually became interested in modern and electronic music and soon found pleasure in playing music to other people.
He found himself behind the turntables at his own, and other people's parties, and after spinning at a school party at club Downunder in Eindhoven, he was asked by the manager to become resident DJ on Thursdays and Sundays, where he spun for the following 2 years.
After organizing some underground trance parties in his home area, Menno started to DJ at some bigger events, captivating audiences with his beautiful progressive, trance and tech'trance sounds. This resulted in bookings alongside some of the biggest names in some of the most prestigious venues all over the world.
Meanwhile on the music production side, Mennos diverse taste in music (ranging from classical to dance) was now proving essential in the sounds he was experimenting with. Mennos breakthrough came when Anjunabeats picked up on a track called Guanxi. The track was signed to the label for a release in July 2004, complete with a remix from Super8.
Not long after the signing of that track, another of Menno's productions, Millionfold was signed to Gesture Music, with a remix by Markus Schulz. Mennos on a roll, so expect to hear much more from him in 2004.
Nitromethane
Nitromethane is used in the amination of 3,4-methylenedioxy-phenyl-2-propanone, which is a precursor of MDMA, used instead of the heavily watched methylamine in order to avoid detection by the authorities. As such was the perfect name for a side project for Above & Beyond's Tony McGuinness (above, foreground) when he's with his brother, the chemically clever Liam (above, on orange Lilo).
The McGuinness brothers have been in bands together for years and started spending the odd night knocking up dance tracks. "Time To Die" came out of one such session in 1999.
Whilst searching for samples for his Yamaha sampler, Liam came across a young student called Jono Grant who was selling custom made CD's on the web, after a stint making synth sounds for Yamaha. Liam bought one of Jono's CD's and got a demo CD through the post. Impressed by what he heard, he asked Jono to remix the tune he'd been working on with Tony and help engineer the two mixes the brothers had done. Jono agreed, and for the sessions brought along his new chum Paavo, sowing the seeds for Above & Beyond.
The original white label vinyl promos from 1999 had three mixes, Tony's original mix (effectively the first Above & Beyond collaboration), Liam's "Merlin's Mixture" and an Anjunabeats Remix. Caned by Graham Gold and others, the track was lost for years before Captivating Sounds decided to sign it in 2001, two years after getting the promo! The record's new lease of life came courtecy of the weird but wonderful Seraque Remix: it may sound like an anthem today, but few could get their head around it at first. Armin was the first to get it, then Paul Van Dyk (who tried to sign it to Vandit) and then, once Anjunabeats licenced it back for the UK last year, Judge Jules (six weeks in a row on his Radio 1 show)
The follow up to Time To Die is called Religion. Like its predecessor, it was hatched one dark night years ago, played once on Radio 1 by William Orbit ("I love this record Tony") and gets the odd spin in A&B DJ sets. Featuring a cheeky Madonna sample it has been turned down twice by the great lady, but we're still hopeful she'll see the light.
Oceanlab
OceanLab is a project featuring Above & Beyond and vocalist Justine Suissa.
In the least two years OceanLab have become one of the scene's most respected names, combining lush production with sensitive lyrics and beautiful melodies. Their first three singles, "Clear Blue Water", "Sky Falls Down" and "Beautiful Together" all got full marks in UK Dance bible MixMag and have become club anthems allover the world.
OceanLab made their live debut in Passion earlier this year (pictured above) and were proclaimed "the best live act we've ever had" by resident JFK.
An old friend of Tony's, Justine Suissa toured Europe with Chicane whilst they were promoting the album Behind The Sun. "Autumn Tactics" is one of the album's stand out tracks and Justine's elegant vocals and presence added a classiness to the band's live shows.
The new OceanLab single "Satellite", is turning out to be their strongest ever, being played twice in Armin's show two weeks in a row, five weeks in a row on Judge Jules show, and so far eight weeks in a row by Dave Pearce.
The recent OceanLab remix competition prompted more than 2,500 people to take part and the two best mixes will be released alongside the two mixes by Above & Beyond (Original and Progressive Mix) and Marcus Shultz remix.
P.O.S.
P.O.S stands for Paavo Olavi Siljamki, and is Paavo from Above & Beyond's solo project.
Paavo spends most of his waking hours with a computer in front of him, either surfing the net or, more usually, making music. One Autumn night last year he was awake and doodling, remembering the summer parties he'd enjoyed in the UK and, at home in Finland. Struck by a fit of inspiration he put on his headphones, plugged them into his G4 Powerbook and worked through the night on a track which ended up as his first debut single. "Remember (Summer Sun)" was released on an EP with "Amnesiac". Both proved popular in clubland, but it is "Remember (Summer Sun) that has achieved anthem status, containing as it does "one of the most gorgeous chord changes ever" according to Tony.
Paavo is also a member of Above & Beyond, Aalto, Dirt Devils, Free State and Tranquility Base etc.
A new track "Gravity" from P.O.S is now finished and will be released with an epic Arksun Remix in early 2005.
Rusch & Murray
Rumoured to have been allocated its own suite (complete with Jacuzzi) inside Armin Van Buurens record box, Rusch & Murray's debut single Epic is the stuff of Internet legends. Created by two producers - Greg Murray and Christian Rusch - who'd never met in person, only online, the track became one of the most popular dance downloads on mp3.com before it landed on the Anjunabeats A&R team's stereo. Booted into orbit by a thumping Above & Beyond remix, the tune has found favour with all the big guns including Paul Van Dyk and Matt Hardwick, who described Epic as 'the biggest tune at Gatecrasher right now' (July 2003).
Keep those ears peeled for Rusch & Murray's follow up single, 'The Promise', out in the New Year.
Smith & Pledger
Smith & Pledger are London-based producer/DJ's Olie Smith & Mark Pledger. Olie and Mark met whilst at Westminster University in 2000 and soon set up a studio together. Since then a series of high profile solo releases and remixes have cemented the duo's position as one of most exciting new dance music talents in the UK.
Smith & Pledger's style is best categorised as classy and melodic, leading Mixmag to recently describe them as "the best thing happen in trance this year". In 2004 their most recent production, "Believe", became a global club anthem for the likes of Paul Oakenfold (including in his Radio 1 Ibiza Essential Mix) and Ferry Corsten, as well as riding high in the cool cuts chart. Prior to that, the duo's first single "Forever", featuring vocalist Carrie Skipper, earned massive support from A-list DJ's such as Armin Van Buuren, Above & Beyond and Markus Schulz.
Olie and Mark have also collaborated successfully in the studio with former Gatecrasher resident DJ Matt Hardwick. Their first production together, "Day One", was hailed by DJ Magazine as the "instrumental trancer of the year" and earned widespread support from the worlds leading DJ's, including Tiesto and Paul Van Dyk. "Connected", the follow-up single, proved just as popular, picking up a "Record of the Week" gong on Armin Van Buuren's radio show and earning multiple Radio 1 Specialist Dance plays.
In addition to their own solo productions, Smith & Pledger have completed remixes for a wide range of leading labels such as Anjunabeats, Lost Language, DATA, Intensive, Direction, Incentive, and Mondo (see below for full discog).
On the DJ'ing front, 2004 proved to a breakthrough year for Smith & Pledger. As well as a raft of international gigs, the guys appeared regularly at the UK's leading clubs including Godskitchen and Passion, and as result of their strong performances, have recently been offered a residency at the prestigious Gallery night at Turnmills in London. Smith & Pledger's DJ sets feature melodic yet uplifting and dance-floor friendly tracks, with a strong focus on debuting their own brand new productions.
As well as their frequent club commitments, Smith & Pledger have performed guest mixes on radio stations such as Galaxy and Kiss100, and also regularly appear on international shows such Markus Schulz' Global DJ Broadcast and Judge Jules' Global Warm Up.
With a new single lined up for release in March and a third collaboration with Matt Hardwick planned in May, plus with a series of high profile DJ dates, 2005 looks set to be a big year for Smith & Pledger.
For more information and a full discography, visit
www.smithandpledger.com
Stephen J. Kroos
Stephen J. Kroos is a talented producer and DJ from the Netherlands. He grew up listening to the likes of Depeche Mode, Jarre, Kraftwerk and Art Of Trance and found home with Electronic Dance Music in 1988 during the Summer of Love. He soon found himself buying decks and started Djing, securing his first residency in Amsterdams Roxy club, from where his Djing talent went from strength to strength with regular gigs at clubs like Pacha and Ministry Of Sound.
After gaining massive experience behind the decks of several clubs around the world, Stephen felt an urge to start producing his own music, and actually been producing music since 1997. 2003 was the year when Anjunabeats heard his brilliant, creative mix of techno & trance and fell in love instantly, especially with Phantazmz and Optimistick, which feature on his first EP release on the label. With a string of quality productions forthcoming on Anjunabeats you can expect big things for this talented Dutchman.
Stephen's debut EP on Anjunabeats "Phantazmz/Optimistick" was released in March.
Super8
Super8 is Miika Eloranta from Helsinki, Finland, who also forms one half of Aalto.
Miika has produced a string of successful remixes, including Rollerball "Albinoni", Space Brothers "One More Chance" and the monstrously enormous remix of Aalto's "Rush".
His first solo release Alba/Dawn blew everyone away last year, with two quality slices of trance mayhem cemented his fanbase right across the world and earned huge support from the likes of Above & Beyond, Armin van Buuren, and Paul van Dyk (who was rumoured to have created a special padlocked secret compartment for it inside his record bag, complete with barbed wire and a round-the-clock armed guard.)
The follow up was written sitting at a Grand Piano in a music shop in Helskinki in a stolen, magic fifteen minutes and titled, suitably, "Cre8".
Supermodels From Paris
Having already made a big name for himself with fellow producer Jaakko under the guise 'Dallas Superstars' , Finnish club heavy weight Heikki Liimatainen brings his dirty funkier side of trance to Anjunadeep with the single 'Keep On'
For a history lesson in Heikki's muiscal pedigree, we have to look at the success of Dallas Superstars. Working with Jaakko (who is known for his work as a producer and writer for Bomfunk MC's and Darude among others), they became a huge success with the worlds top dj's, releasing their debut album "Flash" in 2003. Five singles were released from that album with strong support from BBC Radio 1 DJ´s Pete Tong and Judge Jules.
Now with a second album to follow "Higher State" which will be released internationally in 2006, including an uplifting cover version of "Fine Day" , Heikki shows us what he can really do solo by branching out as 'Supermodels From Paris'
With an aim to create music thats both airplay friendly and kick ass on the dancefloors, this first release on Anjunadeep ticks both boxes with ease, with it's bouncey fat bassline, spoken lyricals and catchy ice cool trance licks.
Tranquility Base
Tranquility Base was started as a side project to enable Above & Beyond to release a remix which was rejected. They'd tried to make a certain record sound a little cooler than it did, and thought they'd succeeded. Unfortunately, the A&R man (who shall remain clueless) disagreed, describing their mix as 'not too bad'. Secretly they were delighted, as a rejected remix is a free track for them, so they changed the riff and put it out under a pseudonym. It remains their favourite production - somehow they made a perfect sounding record - and with the magic words 'progressive mix' on the sleeve Razorfish started picking up plays from virtually every major DJ, including Paul van Dyk, Tiesto, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, Dave Pearce, and even Sasha.
Incidentally, as if to prove the idiocy of the A&R man in question, when Above & Beyond sent him the finished version he rang back straight away, screaming 'I love this new track you've done - don't sign it to anyone until you talk to me!'
They did neither.
Above & Beyond presents Tranquility Base "Surrender" has been firmly blowing the roof off the clubs around the world this summer whilst being road-tested by Above & Beyond. More recently, Armin, PvD and other top jocks have been hammering this gem making it a firm favourite of clubbers around the globe already.
"Surrender" is set for a late September release on Anjunabeats. Limited promos are available now.
Luminary
After a chance encounter online during the spring of 2002, UK producer Laurence Rapaccioli, already known for his work under the artist name Arksun began a musical collaboration with Ashley Tomberlin, an unknown vocalist and musician from the United States. After completing a few initial tracks, they lost touch until the fall of 2003 when they began to take another look at the music they had created the previous year. With a renewed sense of purpose, the musical parnership finally gelled, and Luminary was born.
It wasnt long before their music began to garner the attention of established independent labels such as Lost Language and Ministry. Their first Luminary track My World was snapped up by Lost Language in the fall of 2003, and since then has grown into a full on 3 disc release including remixes by Nikola Gala, Pesh and Andy Moor.
The track thrust their name to the forefront and My World was quickly picked up by Tiesto to be used on his In Search Of Sunrise 4 compilation album.
Their second release Wasting was burnt into Armins A State Of Trance 2005 compilation before it was even barely signed as a single and swiftly released on Armadas infamous Soundpiercing label.
Now joining forces with Anjunabeats and with a newfound sense of purpose and desire to create their unique blend of music, Luminary are all set to push their music career up to new heights.
Their debut single with Anjunabeats, Amsterdam , has already garned critical acclaim, achieving 5/5 in DJ magazine, topping Paul Van Dyks mixmag chart at no. 1 and airplayed on all the worlds top trance shows including 3 times on Radio 1.
Maor Levi
Maor Levi is a highly original up and coming producer hailing from Israel.
At the tender age of just 17 and after already releasing a track under the Pillow One alias on the Future Heroes 2 compilation via Lost Language, he now joines forces with Anjunabeats hot new label, Anjunadeep.
Producing since the age of 11 and inspired by the Tiesto Magik series, he took his unique style of trance on the internet. Garnering many reactions and taking onboard all the resources he could find, with the help of fruityloops he honed his skills to the point where labels started taking him seriously.
Even though he's still relatively new, his name has already become well known in the trance community with his distinctive sound.
The first release Lital in January 2006 helps opens up the Anjunadeep world with a rich atmospheric dark stutter-vocal fuelled trancer thats being supported by the likes of Markus Schulz and Armin Van Buuren.
Hawk
Hawk, aka HKN is the Norwegian dj and producer Hkon Lofthus. Another young rising star within the electronic music scene, he's fast gaining popularity with the worlds top djs.
His love of electronic music started back in 1998 as he worked his magic behind the decks at local clubs and parties, at the same time discovering the possibilities of making music on computers. This progressed onto arranging some of the most successful parties in Norway with regular radio show spots, which in turn gave him the drive to take his music to the international community.
With Need For Cognition he achieves just that, opening his anjunadeep account with a blissed-out prog trancer of the highest order, combining luscious melodies with a dark and driving bassline.
The sound of Hawk has arrived...
Sunny Lax
There are tunes that get hammmered by DJ's, and then there are tunes that hammer you into submission with their sheer energy. One such tune is PUMA by newcommer Sunny Lax.
This debut release on Anjunabeats marks the start of a very promising career by this young artist from Hungary. Born in 1986, Levente Mrton has been making music for 5 years strong. Inspired by artists as diverse as the Prodigy, Vangelis, Moby, Mike Oldfield and even Coldplay, his goal has always been to delight and touch the feelings of people with his tracks.
Now that he's seeing his first full release on the label of his all time favourite producers Above and Beyond, he says his dream has been realized.
The incredibly uplifting peak-time debut trancer 'PUMA' has become a popular fixture on radio shows such as A State Of Trance, Trance Around The World and P.V.D's Soundgarden @ Radio Fritz and BBC Radio 1, devastating many a dancefloor in the process too.
Already demonstrating a musical maturity way beyond his years, this is one trance artist to watch out for in 2006...