Now widely recognised as one of the world’s leading trance imprints, UK label Anjunabeats sits confidently alongside the Black Holes and the Vandits of the scene and has become one of the most forward-thinking of them all. Now in its sixth year, with over 60 releases under its belt including Above & Beyond’s critically acclaimed artist album ‘Tri-State’, it is looking stronger than ever.
With the fourth volume of their Anjunabeats compilation series ready to drop, the Anjuna posse have lined-up two hot parties to launch the CD — Godskitchen in Birmingham on July 1st and Turnmills in London on July 7th — featuring the hottest talent from their stable (such as Above and Beyond, Mark Pledger, and Super8 & Tab). The CD drops on July 3rd, and is a succinct round-up of the finest cuts from Anjunabeats’ last 12 months. James Grant, A&R and General Bossman for the label, spoke with us in the run up to Anjuna’s big week.
So James, how did you manage to become A&R and ‘general bossman’ at Anjunabeats?
Pure nepotism — Jono from Above & Beyond is my brother. About 3 or 4 years ago I was working in PR and looking for a new challenge, meanwhile Jono, Tony and Paavo from Above & Beyond had started Anjunabeats. I offered to come in work for peanuts for a few months to see if I could make a difference and things developed from there.
When, how and why was the label formed?
Jono and Paavo met at Westminster Uni and set up Anjunabeats for their final year project, doorstepping Oakenfold and Tong with their first 12” release. They then got together with Tony and started doing a few remixes including one for Madonna. The rest is history . . .
At the time of the label’s creation, how was the trance scene looking? There was a bit of slump after the period known as “the Golden Age” . . .
Back then trance was riding high in every sense, including commercially. Since then things have gone underground again and you don’t hear much quality trance on daytime radio for example, but the scene is strong as ever. Trance has suffered in some quarters through a perception that it can be formulaic. I can understand those that feel that and we’re always on the look-out for tracks that innovate. The likes of David West ‘Larry Mountains 54’, Above & Beyond vs Andy Moor ‘Air For Life’ and Aalto ‘5’ are good recent examples of tracks that we felt were pushing the genre forward.
So you’ve got Volume 4 of Anjunabeats just about to be released. It’s been a big year for the label, what with Above & Beyond’s album launch, how have things been inside the camp?
Things have been very hectic as we are trying to achieve a lot with a small team. I think people would be surprised if they saw just how involved the A&B guys get in the running of the label. We’re a tight knit team and are lucky to have a good blend of skills between us. We could all use a bit more sleep and maybe some time off now and then but we are passionate about what we do and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Speaking of which, how has A&B’s album been fairing since its release?
It seems to have gone done pretty well and the guys have just finished the main leg of the album tour. There’s a depth to the songs that you don’t always find in dance music and the critics seem to have picked up on it, which is nice. The Sun called it ‘the most original trance album for years’ so we were well chuffed with that.
How long did the whole process behind Volume 4 take, from the drawing board to release? What are the stages?
In terms of compiling the music, there are two stages to making a compilation. Firstly, we assemble a provisional tracklist for our distributor 2-3 months ahead of release (we don’t publicise this tracklist as it just causes confusion, but it always ends up on the net anyway), so they can send info to the shops to let them know it’s coming. Then the second stage is that we mix the final CD as close to the deadline as possible to keep things as fresh as we can. Alongside the music, you’ve got things like artwork, press and radio promotion to think about.
Anjunabeats is hosting Anjunabeats Volume Four launch parties at Godskitchen on July 1 and at Gallery Turnmills in London on July 7th. Did you always plan for Anjunabeats to get into events?
Anjunabeats has evolved in the last few years and we now think of ourselves as a community rather than just a record label. Events have been a natural progression and we’ve had successful parties at the likes of Passion, Turnmills and at Canvas back in March. The parties are all about friendly people and great music. There was a cracking atmosphere at the last one in London and we had people flying in from Canada, South Africa and all over Europe.
Could you take us through the main Anjunabeats artists, and why they are so damn good . . .
They are quite a few and best bet is to check out our website at www.anjunabeats.com. But aside from Above & Beyond, I’d have to pick out Smith & Pledger and Super8 + DJ Tab — awesome producers and great djs. We’ve also signed a guy called Boom Jinx that we’re very excited about. We’re releasing his stuff on our Anjunadeep imprint and he’s definitely one to watch. I’d like to think that one of the things that differentiates Anjunabeats and its artists is the focus on consistency and quality
What’s all this AnjunaWiki business about on your website?
In simple terms it’s about getting our fans involved and perhaps enabling them to do some of the work for us. The Wiki is like an online encyclopedia of Anjunabeats with everything you need to know about the label. But it’s a fluid thing that anyone can update at any time. It relies on a lot of good will but it works. These days news travels so fast on the net that the fans know stuff about us often before we know it ourselves!
How did the Anjuna crew get on at the Miami Winter Music Conference this year? What was it like when you first went to this legendary gathering?
Miami was a real eye opener — it’s all bling and bikinis over there. We saw a spanking new Rolls Royce with some of those spinning alloys fitted and as Tony said at the time, it was like someone drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa. It was our first time in Miami and gigs-wise it was great. A&B played a slightly deeper set at Nikki Beach, which went down very well and then a peak time set at Nocturnal. Allow it’s a conference everyone says that there’s less and less business happening every year at WMC, instead it’s just a big party. These days the more serious business deals at conferences like Midem in Cannes but Miami is still an indicator of the big summer records, especially for house music.
Above and Beyond
Trance seems to be one of the genres which new talented artists and djs can crack into relatively easily. What do you attribute this to? And why do some other scenes have such high “barriers to entry” do you think?
I don’t know whether it’s just a trance thing but these days there are more digital labels so the barriers to getting your music released are lower. With vinyl, it’s too expensive to release every half-decent song but digital labels don’t face the same overheads. It’s a healthy thing — it’s nice for producers to get their music exposed and the cream will still rise to the top.
The shop on your website also sells earplugs. Do you think that the vast majority of clubbers don’t seem to give a **** about their hearing? What can be done?
You only get one set of ears and so you need to look after them. It’s not that people don’t care about their ears but probably more a case of them not being aware of the risks of continued exposure to loud music. The earplugs we sell offer protection but without inhibiting people’s enjoyment of the music.
Do you think that club owners should be more responsible about at least informing their clientele of the potential dangers and how to reduce the risk?
I don’t know the exact details but I believe there will soon be more onus on the venues to inform and protect their customers. Watch this space I guess!
From: dirtyrascalon 30th Jun 2006 21:03.34 Wicked to read an interview about a great guy who does a lot for the Trance scene. Anjunabeats is definitely moving to greater heights, Volume 4 is a top. Well done all!
From: Mike Harrison 2nd Jul 2006 02:48.28 One of my fav labels, keep up the good work!
From: hands_in_the_airon 2nd Jul 2006 06:45.18 Anjunabeats is a stunning label and Above & Beyond have to be some of the most innovative artists around. I always buy their stuff because they deserve to be supported. I look forward to more exciting stuff in the future. Best of luck guys!
From: Andy Dunfordon 4th Jul 2006 14:07.33 One of my favourite labels and only a matter of time before I buy Volume 4. Above & Beyond deserve to be in the top 3 djs in the world in my opinion, I've seen PVD and AVB this year and they were rubbish compared with A&B who were awesome both at Canvas and earlier this year at The Gallery.
I was sat out in the garden with some friends last weekend and we had the Tri-State albulm on repeat. I think it went round 4 times before anyone thought about changing the cd. It was perfect for a long hot summers day.
Roll on Friday...
From: Ian Edwardson 6th Jul 2006 11:02.51 Great stuff guy's..
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