Memories

This section of the site is for the memories that Anjuna's eleventh anniversary has brought to the surface.  The music that has been played, the people that have been met, the feelings that have been experienced - basically what the Anjuna brand makes people think and feel.


09/05/2011


In this interview from 2010, Tony talks about their presence in Ibiza, the workload that goes into the label and the effects of musical piracy on Anjuna.


http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/night/reviews/2010/interview_above_beyond_i.htm


11/05/2011: Anjunaddiction's Article


As the moniker suggests, when trance really started to hit the spot prior to a trip to Ibiza mid-2006, a track called 'Alone Tonight' soon became the source of my 'Anjunaddiction'. A good friend of mine introduced it to me, where I remember finding Richard Bedford's powerful performance quite hard to bare on first listen. While that grew on me, another track, now deemed a 'classic' by many, by OceanLab lept from the crowd ('Satellite'). After discovering that at Escape Into The Park on a blistering summer's day and stumbling across 'Far From In Love' not too long after, there was no looking back and certainly no looking elsewhere. Anjunabeats was what I realised I had been looking for for years!

Unfortunately for my bank balance, I soon discovered the chaps behind the music (Above & Beyond) had been operating the almighty Anjunabeats label for over six years. While it opened up a wealth of superb tracks and compilations to journey through (Volume Three still reminds me of those sweltering days of the summer and, amusingly, finishing my shifts at Greggs the bakers on my gap year), I realised I'd missed out on a fair bit of history.

Nevertheless, here we are today with my interpretation of a celebratory mix. Being a fairly avid historian and a music mentalist (which my tinnitus will thank later), it hasn't taken too much of an asking for me to get familiar with Anjunabeats' past. And therein lies the concept of my tribute, a look back through the years in chronological order, with my personal favourite from each year woven together (almost) seamlessly, as if they were all made in mind of each other. From the infectious 'Volume One' to the bustling beauty of the beast that is 'Moon Dust', the mix takes the listener on a journey of where it all began and how the label has developed. The most difficult years to decide on were by far 2006 and 2007; never had the label experienced such a rich and rapid selection of releases; not being able to include Buzz was a bit of a wrench, with Nimbus just about pipping it!

Being relatively new to Ableton (and mixing), it took a lot of tinkering, patience and understanding. With that and the addition of the two final 'bonus' tracks, I'm pleased with how it turned out, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did making it!

Cheers, and throw a shape or two for me!

~Anjunaddiction


13/05/2011: Mike's Article


Anjunabeats is a label that has evolved massively over the years. Throughout the growth of the label and the artists associated to it, they have become bigger and bigger, being part of some of the biggest trance events in the world.  Whilst the Anjunabeats of today is different in many ways compared to the early days, we can't forget it's purpose; to provide music people love.

This mix features some of the classic gems from the first five years. For many good reasons, Anjunabeats chose to include no tracks from the first half of their history on Anjuna10, so this mix showcases some of the tracks that sum up those first 5 years.

For many, there will be a flood of memories attached to some, many, or even all of these tracks, from club nights across the land, long car journeys or even lazy Sunday afternoon BBQs.  For some, many of these tracks will be new, and hopefully a good insight into what makes Anjunabeats the most respected trance label on the planet.


28/05/2011: Jake's Article


My Anjuna history started back in 2004 whilst still in my infancy with the whole 'Trance' genre and I came across Rusch & Murray - Epic, and I was blown away...after this I had to find out more about it...which in turn led me to Anjunabeats and Above & Beyond....only then to find out that I had already heard a certain track by them before. Tranquility Base - Razorfish, which to this day is still my favourite ever track. The years proceeding this, i went through a vinyl collecting stage, racking up over 500 Trance vinyls. 100 of which are in one way or another Anjunabeats releases.

After hearing this opportunity came about I jumped at the chance to finally put together a mix of my favourite Anjuna tracks...but knowing a number of other fans were compiling a mix...I just had to try and be as original as possible. I also like to keep my mixes 80 minutes long (for CD purposes)....so I have squeezed 21 tracks, some mashups...some little clips into this mix, I am extremely happy with how it turned out...obviously a few little clashes here and there...but I think that's me being quite fussy...and enjoy the transition between the two Razorfishes.

At the end of the day this mix is for fun...and I had a blast doing it!


06/06/2011: Physicx's Article


The date was November 28, 2009, and my best friend and I were sitting in the Travis County Expo Center taking in the sights and sounds from our first rave titled "Mega Buzz" by the new local production team 'Massive Intent'. They'd brought out a stellar lineup with the main headliners being Above & Beyond, Christopher Lawrence, Filo & Peri, The Glitch Mob, Planet Of The Drums, Rusko, Q-Bert, Designer Drugs, and Boom Jinx, although at the time I'd never heard of any of these guys except A&B because my friend was crazy for them and the only reason he convinced me to take a 2 hour drive without telling our parents to go to this. The time was about 1:25am and Christopher Lawrence absolutely ripped the place apart playing some crazy Psy-trance stuff that everyone was going nuts for, and I was wondering whether A&B could beat him out for best set of the night with a crowd that energized.

Out come Paavo and Jono to the stage and kick off their set at 1:30am. My friend and I made our way down to the floor of the stadium to get our groove on when I noticed EVERYONE in the building was coming into the main room to see A&B. The whole place was packed wall to wall and all the way to the back just for them, and then it started. My first taste of Above & Beyond was their remix of Dirty Vegas' 'Tonight', and boy did my jaw drop in amazement at the people's reaction. I hadn't listened to any electronic music for close to 9 years since I first heard Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto on TV, and wow did I miss it. The hour and a half that A&B spent slapping everyone in the face with tune after tune was one of the best 90 minutes of my life, and the tracklist speaks for itself. Jumping from the Progressive drums of Rasmus Faber's 'Are You Ready?' (appropriately titled for the night) and into the addicting rumble of Mat Zo's remix of Activa's 'Eclipse' and ending the night with what my friend told me was probably their best song ever 'On A Good Day', Paavo and Jono truly made it a night to remember, and reminded me that it really was in our best interest to take the road trip for this. Not to mention our football team defeated the #5 team in the state that same night to reach the State semifinals. It really was a good day. This is the sound of Above & Beyond I'll always remember.


08/06/2011: JVA's Article


My foray into the world of Anjunabeats and into trance music in general came a lot later in the trance timeline than most of the members of the Anjuna community, and yet happened much earlier in life than many of the aforementioned. The interesting thing was, it didn’t happen all at once, but gradually; I first dipped my feet, liked the feel, then waded in a bit more, and before I knew it, was swimming and frolicking happily on the ocean of euphoric and melodic pleasure that we know as trance music. There are so many tunes from this label I could use to describe this experience, but I can recall that there were three records that are most responsible for starting my love affair with Anjunabeats and trance.

I had my first listen to an Anjunabeats record in late 2007, in probably one of the most unlikely places: a karate studio. For a sparring warm-up, our instructor decided to forgo the typical metal/punk heard in the studio, and instead put on a new techno/trance compilation he’d bought called Adreneline, and it was on this compilation that I had my inaugural listen to Kyau & Albert's “Made of Sun.” It was easy to practice my techniques to the pounding beat, and at the end of the song, I immediately asked, “Can we play that one again?” Out of all the tracks I heard on the compilation, that one stood out to my ears the most. The next day, while browsing online for new music, that same tune quickly ended up in my downloads and has gone on to be one of the most played tunes in my library. It certainly wasn’t the most popular Anjunabeats track ever, and not even my own absolute favorite, but I was certainly a start.

My real “anjunaddiction”, however, did not fully begin until early 2008. By that time, trance had really started to hook me in; I’d fallen in love with trancers like Toby Emerson – “Liquify” and Armin van Buuren – “Sail”, it wasn’t long before I took a listen to the classic by Super8 & DJ Tab “Helsinki Scorchin’ (Alex M.O.R.P.H. Remix).” The only word to describe the experience would be “mind-blowing”; even today, that record remains Never before had I been so strongly captivated by a record, and it soon became clear to me that a whole new undiscovered world of music was at my fingertips.

If that was not enough already, then my first listen to Nitrous Oxide – “Amnesia” did me in for sure. I’d decided to look up this so-called Anjunabeats, to see if I could find any more tunes as good as the ones I’d heard up to that point. I was met with more in discovering the beautiful and timeless “Amnesia”. I first listened to it while writing a short story about Antarctica, and the feeling from the tune matched it perfectly; like being on top of a mountain, in the dead of winter, watching the sun slowly rise. Immediately, I knew that there was no going back; trance, and Anjunabeats, was the kind of music I wanted to hear the most!

Unfortunately, there were some experiences that fellow Anjunabeats fans have had that I’ve missed out on. I have yet to see Above & Beyond spin a live set. I have never set hands on an Anjunabeats vinyl; all of my purchases have been either mp3s or CDs. I never felt the anticipation up the releases of such things as “Tri-State” or “Anjunabeats 100.” And sadly, through no fault of my own (I’m currently 17) it looks as if the time for those experiences has come and passed. But as I look back on some of my favorite records in eleven years of Anjuna history, I’m sure that my Anjuna experience has been as meaningful to me as to anyone else.

For my own bit of reminiscence, I’ve put together a mix of records that seem to chronicle my own best experiences with Anjunabeats’ music. You’ll find some of the old favorites and classics, as well as the more recent, but much-more-than-decent gems, and some that I just couldn’t resist throwing in there. It’s definitely not a “Best-Of” mix; I’m certain that for every track I’ve put in here, veteran fans could list at least three others they think were better. However, I hope that I can convey the amazing experiences I’ve had with Anjunabeats through this mix. Not much else to say, except for, ENJOY!