18 March 27 - april 2, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Past Is Present Above & Beyond returns to Ultra for the first time since 2018. BY KEARRA WEITING A bove & Beyond has represented the vanguard of electronic dance music for over two de- cades. During that time, the trio developed and fused trance, house, and ambient motifs that ranged from light and atmospheric to deep and immersive. This year, Paavo Siljamäki, Tony McGuin- ness, and Jono Grant began celebrating the 25th anniversary of their imprint, Anjunabe- ats. They also announced their new album, Bigger Than All of Us, which will be released on July 18. It is the band’s first album since 2018’s Common Ground. “Our history with Miami goes really long,” Siljamäki tells New Times ahead of the group’s first performance at Ultra Music Fes- tival since 2018. “Tony even lived in Miami for a bit, so it’s always been sort of our hub.” Though Above & Beyond stayed off the Ul- tra lineup for several years, the band has toured relentlessly, only slowing down when they started working on the new album. “About a year ago, we asked our friend Dave Dresden of Gabriel & Dresden to come and help us get this album together,” Siljamäki says. Alongside Dresden, they uncovered a trove of long-forgotten ideas when revisiting the band’s copious unreleased material. Some of these ideas served as the basis for some of the tracks on the album, refreshed with new production until they sounded complete. “It’s the true testament of a good song if a song was great ten years ago and it’s great today,” Siljamäki adds. Aside from Dresden, Above & Beyond summoned a bevy of collaborators, old and new alike, to fully realize their vision. “The last time we were in this situation was about seven years ago, so it’s interesting to revisit,” Siljamäki says. “I love this moment in time where I know how the album’s going to be, and I’m super excited about it, and no- body’s heard it.” Bigger Than All of Us showcases new cre- ative forays that transcend genre while pay- ing homage to the melting pot that comprises Above & Beyond’s roots. The evocative track “Quicksand (Don’t Go)” became an instant fan favorite after it debuted during the band’s Group Therapy 600 performance in Mexico City last year. “Its core is very much like a classic trance track,” Siljamäki explains. “I’m a true trance guy at heart, and it’s nice to see that people still really respond well to it.” Longtime collaborator Zoë Johnston pro- vided the song’s spine-tingling vocals. “She’s sounding amazing as ever, and some of the lines she comes up with are so catchy. I can already see the tattoos of some of the lines of the future songs,” Sil- jamäki says, beam- ing. The band wholeheartedly embraces the spirit of collaboration, with the personal stories shared by team members and fans shaping their new album. “We are aware of how fortunate we are to have this incredible community. That’s why it’s bigger than all of us,” Siljamäki adds. “I’ve always thought that the cool thing is having these communities. If we do some really cool things for them, they will come and make it possible.” A similar strategy propels their labels An- junabeats, Anjunadeep, and Anjunachill for- ward. “We don’t necessarily know the future. We’ve always been led by new discoveries, the new great artists that we discover who come and reshape the direction where the whole imprint is going,” Siljamäki says. This year’s jam-packed release schedule also helps highlight Anjunabeats’ 25-year milestone. One of the label’s latest discoveries is J Ribbon, the 20-year-old producer and Hï Ibiza resident DJ. He made his Anjunabeats debut last year with the release of “My Habi- tat,” with new music dropping in May. While Above & Beyond’s approach to live performances has changed over the years, it never fails to incorporate the band’s love of connecting with its fans. The band famously displayed fan-written messages in real-time during shows. Expect the band’s upcoming Ultra set to be one of the festival’s highlights, with Sil- jamäki, McGuinness, and Grant closing out the Live Stage on Sunday. Still, for the upcom- ing string of tour dates in 2025, including Ul- tra, Siljamäki won’t divulge much, only teasing, “I think we’ve homed in on a really cool little design.” Ultra Music Festival. Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Bayfront Park, 301 Biscayne Blvd., Mi- ami; ultramusicfestival.com. Sold out. [email protected] Photo by Luke Dyson “WE ARE AWARE OF HOW FORTUNATE WE ARE TO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY. THAT’S WHY IT’S BIGGER THAN ALL OF US.” | CROSSFADE | t Music British group Above & Beyond will make its long-awaited return to Ultra this year.
