Anjunabeats on Tour
If you've grooved to seriously hypnotizing trance music at some point in the 21st century, there's a good chance it's the product of Anjunabeats. Formed in London, England, by producers Jonathan "Jono" Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Paavo Siljamaki — otherwise known as electronic group Above & Beyond — Anjunabeats has grown into one of the biggest techno labels on the planet.
The name references Anjuna, a coastal village located in North Goa, India, which has become a hotspot for trance parties. As such, the music of Anjunabeats has been the soundtrack to countless dance parties around the world. The label has launched its own Anjunabeats North America Tour, which features some of its brightest stars in the worlds of trance and progressive house.
Anjunabeats Background
Grant and Siljamaki first started the label in 2000 as a vehicle to release their own productions under the alias Anjunabeats. Their first release, simply titled Volume One, came out that same year and quickly got the attention of influential DJs like Paul Oakenfold and Paul van Dyk.
Shortly after, McGuinness joined the pair to form Above & Beyond. The trio started dropping releases under various aliases, including Tranquility Base, Free State, and Rollerball. By 2002, Above & Beyond were DJing in front of thousands, from Tokyo to Glastonbury to European party capital Ibiza, Spain.
The following year, they released the Anjunabeats Volume One compilation, and they've continued releasing compilations under the Anjunabeats Volume and Anjunabeats Worldwide series every year since. In 2005, the trio branched out further with a second label, Anjunadeep, which focuses on deep house music.
Along with their own material as Above & Beyond, the Anjunabeats label has issued more than 300 releases. They've helped jumpstart the careers of artists like Mat Zo, Andrew Bayer, Jaytech, Daniel Kandi, Boom Jinx, Super8 & Tab, and several other DJs and producers from Europe, the U.S, and beyond.
The label has been nominated for Best Global Dance Record Label at the International Dance Music Awards several times. In 2018, they grew their brand even further with a 24/7 radio station on YouTube, which spotlights tracks from their ever-growing discography.
This was fairly the worst electronic music event I've attended this year, the event as a whole was not cohesive, the sets will take you absolutely nowhere, and the worst of all, the music will completely stop in between artists to change stage layouts. The producers clearly were not producing. Shout out to Kasablanca and Matzo that had a few cute moments during their sets.
The show was fine. The venue, Echostage, way overcharged for drinks. In D.C. I expect higher prices. But $30 for a small poor quality mixed drink is a bridge too far. Doubt I'll be back.
The venue was amazing the crowd was great and so was the show. Only thing I’d recommend when there are DJ shows trance etc kinds of raves, for there to be more of a light show during the Dj sets. Lasers, more lights more visuals etc that would really make it come together even more. Other than that, the venue is amazing and I love how it wasn’t super crowded or anything and room to breathe and dance.
Pier 17 is an amazing venue for a show! They had amazing sound clarity and hope their will be more Electronic Events held there! I really was hoping that we could have had this event end at 11:30-12 midnight instead of 10pm. Staff were excellent and made sure people had water when the sun was too hot for everyone!
Perfect setting for a fabulous concert. Will watch again. Pier 17 highly recommended venue.
I went both nights. Music was outstanding! Oliver Smith, Matt Zo, Tinlicker... I loved them all, honestly. Even better, the crowd was very friendly with a contagious positive energy. I made many new Anjunafamily friends that night.
This was my first show and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is recommended for those people who enjoy trance music.
I've been to this venue before, so I know to expect the over-the-top security..not friendly in any way, but thats OK.. The worst part was, on this rainy/cold night, we were thrilled to find out when we got there that the coat check was full! How can they not have enough space for everybody's coat?! My wife and I were holding our jackets ALL NIGHT bc of this. The DJ set was mediocre, quite honestly I expect more of a dynamic show than them playing just the basic top hits. You're a professional DJ, so why not actively mix and put on a show, rather than make hand gestures and air-drum with your hands all night? The night ended with a brawl in the lobby that we witnessed (some drunk guy vs. security) and this was one are where the overbearing security was a good thing, as he was dealt with quickly. Maybe House of Blues is OK for other music, but it is not my favorite venue for electronics shows. Go see a real DJ set in a club!
The show was excellent. Great beat, fun crowd, and good sound system. Grum and Andrew Bayer were excellent. Don't miss it.
