Of all the myriad genres, health subgenres and scenes that fall under the EDM umbrella, mind trance is possibly the most divisive. While there are many die hards who swear by it, online plenty of electronic fans deride the genre for its perceived sameness. British trio Above & Beyond have bucked that trend handily. Since former titans Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren abandoned trance for the more commercial pastures of bigroom house, A&B has provided a consistent stream of quality material while also fostering other talent on their label Anjunabeats, most notably breakout star Mat Zo.
Above & Beyond’s original productions set themselves apart with a focus on traditional approaches to musical production. Each song is first composed on analog instruments, usually piano and guitar, before being turned into a club track (a process the group flipped for their excellent acoustic performances.) The trio also lean on a consistent roster of talented singers/lyricists, which results in vocal performances that, while still a bit cheesy, massively hurdle the low bar traditionally set for dance music. These unique approaches, coupled with an engineer’s mixing precision for their official releases, make them the trance group for those who can’t quite get it with trance.
With the recent release of We Are All We Need, perhaps their most critically acclaimed album to date, the guys set off on a worldwide tour that felt something like a victory lap. Mixing their effervescent stage presence with a near-immaculate track selection and absolutely stunning visuals, A&B’s show at House of Blues was the best electronic set that Boston has seen in quite some time.
Opener Line 8 put on an adept, if uninspiring, set. Sticking true to a very low-key vibe, the German producer laid down a series of simple trance instrumentals that mixed a consistent bassline with pulsating, though fairly unstimulating, synth lines. The lack of any empathetic rise or fall in the music, mixed with a very noticeable lack of vocals, made it seem both at odds with and a perfect pairing for A&B’s epic main act. It had a noticeably different vibe that made it feel like an opener in the truest sense of the word- warming up the audience with something simple to to make the appearance of the headliner that much more special. If that was the purpose, it worked incredibly well as an appetizer, while also giving serious trance fans some deep cuts to chew on.
The relaxed groove fell away as soon as A&B took the stage. A spike in energy is expected whenever a beloved act makes their first appearence, but when bandmates Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki ran out (third member Jono Grant was back in England hosting the group’s weekly radio show) there was an incredibly palpable eruption of excitement, affection and joy from the crowd. The two smiled and waved, absorbing the intoxicating display of adoration before taking their positions behind a massive LED panel and manning the DJ decks.
The two wasted no time, exploding into the new album’s title track “We Are All We Need.” WAAWN tracks were understandably quite frequent, which powerful drops of popular cuts like “Sticky Fingers,” “All Over the World,” and the Breaking Bad-inspired “Blue Sky Action.” They also explored their discography, with classic tunes like “Alone Tonight,” “On My Way to Heaven,” and a hard-nosed rework of “Sun and Moon,” which drew easily the biggest fan reaction of the night. The only disappointment was a lack of tracks from side project Oceanlab, which only appeared in the (admittedly transcendent) finale of “On a Good Day.”
Beyond fan service, though, the real joy of this song selection is that the group played almost exclusively their own tracks. While a few edgier cuts from Anjunabeats labelmates such as Andrew Beyer and Ilan Bluestone were used as deeper bridges, nearly the entirety of the set was their own work, which is quite a rarity for EDM DJ sets. The crowd heard the songs they came out to see, and through masterful mixing A&B were able to keep an unfaltering ebb and flow of crowd energy. It was very impressive.
Of course, this being an A&B show the song choice was just the beginning of the experience. Proving once again that they have the best visual team in the EDM sphere (barring possibly Bassnectar), the duo was flanked by a series of measuredly stimulating, consistently evocative and regularly moving images that meshed perfectly with whatever they were playing at the moment. While these often took the form of basic visual flourishes, such as exaggerated portrayals of nature or a speed-cut of a cityscape (an admittedly common live music trope that somehow felt fresh here), there were a number of truly standout moments, such as an extended sequence involving the silhouette of a Michael Jackson-esque dancer performing in front of a psychedelic background and a wonderful video where a series of different feet in worldwide environments walk in step with each other. All of visuals worked great in expressing the overarching concepts of joy and unity that run through A&B’s music.
Also of note was the use of the group’s now iconic conceit of typed text overlaid on screen in lieu of talking to the crowd. This seems a bit silly the first time you see it, but it worked in enabling an emotional connection with the audience without breaking the immersion of set, as well as giving the opportunity to share sentiments that would sound silly if a DJ were yelling them. Beyond a few funny cracks about Boston’s weather, Tony and Paavo typed out a series of inspirational statements that worked in harmony with the rest of their presentation. There are very few contexts in which the statement “it’s never too late to reach out and get in touch,” would elicit anything other than an eye roll, but in this show it just made sense.
Finally, absolute credit has to be given to Tony and Paavo for their incredible stage presence, which revolved around their fantastic interaction with fans. The two were beaming for the entire set, feeding off of the audience’s energy in a startling earnest way. In the last stretch of their nearly 2 hours on stage, they had their “Push the Button” stunt, wherein they pull an audience member on stage to hit play on a big drop (much to the annoyance of the ever-vigilant House of Blues security). Again, this is something that should have been eye-rollingly silly, but the happiness the two showed in integrating a fan into the set just made it work.
The two really showed their affection at the end though, when after the final song they took no less than ten minutes to make sure they greeted every person in the front row. Tony and Paavo shook every hand, gave every hug and took countless selfies. A&B have managed to make fan outreach an integral part of the live experience, and the results spoke for themselves. No one in attendance is likely to forget this set.
Trance music is certainly not for everyone, but if there’s one thing that could make a convert it’s an Above & Beyond show. With an immaculately mixed setlist and awe-inspiring visuals, the group represents the best of what big-EDM has to offer. In the end though, the raw personality and joy these guys show onstage is what truly takes the show to new heights.
