When the English trancegroup Above & Beyond brought their 450th radio show ‘Trance Around The World’(TATW) to Bangalore recently with a live concert broadcast directly from theJayamahal Palace, it was a dream come true for the EDM (Electronic Dance Music)lovers in the city as well as a sad moment since it was the group’s last show.The marathon 8-hour broadcast of TATW450show also marked their ‘Group Therapy’shows, which is identified with high production values, and great sound andlights.
Other than the trio, Jono Grant, Paavo Siljamaki and Tony McGuinness,the concert also featured some cutting-edge acts by Norin and Rad, AndrewBayer, Mat Zo and Jody Wisternoff, from the group’s label Anjunabeats. On whythey chose Bangalore for TATW450, Siljamaki says, “The level of enthusiasm for trance in a fewcities from India is something that is really amazing and Bangalore is oneamong them. We’ve seen it change over the last few years, so we thought this isthe right time to put up a show like this here. And since ours is a radio show,we also wanted to show the world that Bangalore is an EDM hub. We’re happy thatwe’re introducing this side of India to the world.” City Express caught up with the young, talented musicians who opened forthe final landmark radio show. On their musical influence, Norin and Rad said, “Wehave listened to everything. Jay Lotus,Incubus, Downtown punk etc.
Pretty much everything. A lot of our ambience, sound and texture, we stem itfrom what we hear in ‘Flying Lotus’. Incubushas a really good texture on theirsounds. We just hope to achieve something as great as what they have done.”About the underground music scene in the city, they say they are yet toexperience it. “From what everybody is telling us it seems like it is insanehere.” The most exciting thing, according to them was when they got recognisedat the Bangalore airport. “That was pretty weird because to us we are not thatbig a deal!” Andrew Bayer, though just 25 has already been in the business forthe last 13 years. “I started production when I was 12, I started playing thepiano when I was 3. I released my first record when I was 16. I have been in thebusiness for a long time considering my age.” On his future collaborations, Andrewsays, “My last debut album was ‘Its Artificial’ . The next one is mostlyexperimental music like downtempo.
I have sampled some great musicians likeSophiane Stevens, Ane Brun with whom I have recently remixed as well. So I’mreally excited to be working with those people. I can’t wait for people to hearmy new album on which I have been working for years. ‘If It were you, we’d never leave...” Mat Zo ha been exposed to different genres of music includingIndian classical music from a young age since his mother is also a musician. “Ifeel like I have a connection with it. India is an exciting, vibrant andchaotic place. With all the stress which comes along India, I love coming here.It is never boring.” Mat also did a collaboration with Prayag Mehta and RishabJoshi of ‘Lost Stories, but nothing really came out of it. “I would definitelylike to work with these guys again.” Jody Wisternoff feels that the EDM sceneis pretty exciting in Bangalore. “I think people are quite advanced here whenit comes to music. They have a sense of history. When Andrew Bayer played ‘Halicon’,the audience went crazy!” Jody is also looking forward to work with a lot ofpeople from the label Anjunabeats.