CoolJunkie Interviews Above & Beyond

September 8, 2009 10:00 AM
by Marcos Colón

You never really understand how immense an electronic dance music act or artist can be until you realize how much they travel and just how far their sound reaches distinct areas of the world. When it comes to Above & Beyond, you’ll get a much better sense of their success and magnitude if you simply log onto their YouTube channel and see the video episodes of their tours. Whether it’s playing on top of a mountain in South America, or some isolated area in Russia, their music spans the globe.

CoolJunkie was recently caught up with Above & Beyond’s Paavo Siljamäki about their video diaries, a special hot-air balloon performance, and an upcoming U.S. tour.

CoolJunkie: You guys currently have quite the series of dates ahead of you. You’ll basically be touring South America very soon. How’s that treating you?

Paavo Siljamäki: We actually love it! Even though there are that many dates, we are very big fans of traveling the planet, which obviously helps our success. It takes it tolls on you at times, but it pays you back in many ways.

CJ: Are there any grueling parts about being on the road constantly?

Paavo Siljamäki: Well I guess that the sort of grueling parts are the few hours of sleep after playing to thousands of people. You then wake up and you have to go to the airport. I’m still hoping that someone will invent some kind of teleportation machine. (laughs)

CJ: I recently saw a video on your YouTube channel of you guys where you played one of the physically highest acoustic gigs I’ve ever seen, taking place inside of a hot-air balloon, and you also brought along Pete Tong. How did that come about?

Paavo Siljamäki: Our previous CD compilation that we had made had a cover artwork that was just three hot-air balloons on it. At that point we were really into the whole ballooning type thing and we had a competition to win a balloon ride with us. But as we were doing more and more live acoustic music, doing an acoustic set inside of the balloon seemed like the best thing to do.

CJ: Have you guys ever thought about releasing some solely acoustic tracks?

Paavo Siljamäki: We haven’t actually planned to release any of the acoustic tracks, but that’s becoming more of the way we write music. Since we do so much traveling it’s an easy way for us to write more music. But there are no plans to release, “Above & Beyond Unplugged” just yet. (laughs)

CJ: You guys also have a series of TV Episodes on your YouTube channel where your fans can actually stay tuned to your tours. Do you guys think you’ll continue this for tours to come?

Paavo Siljamäki: Yes absolutely! It’s a great way for us to remember some of the highlights of our travels around the world and it’s also a really good way for people and fans to see what we’re up to. They can see some of the amazing places that many people didn’t know you can actually play at.

CJ: I also came across a video that involved you guys, but you weren’t actually in it. It involved comedians Matt Lucas and Alex Macqueen. It was absolutely hilarious. How did that come about?

Paavo Siljamäki: Well, Clive Rudloe, as you probably didn’t know, has been the world’s number one DJ for a couple of years. (laughs) The actor that plays Clive, he’s actually good friends with Matt Lucas and Matt Lucas saw the Clive Rudloe video and really wanted to be a part of it.

CJ: Obviously you guys play some massive gigs and some of your sets can last hours on end. Outside of EDM, what would you say Above & Beyond mostly like listening to?

Paavo Siljamäki: It’s totally different for all of us. But for myself, after a gig I mostly like to listen to some film scores, or something that’s epic. It does get to a point where after a gig it’s almost nice to hear nothing.

CJ: When it comes to technology, you guys definitely always have an ear and eye in the forefront. Is there a gadget out there right now that you couldn’t be without?

Paavo Siljamäki: I would probably say on all of our behalf that we absolutely adore our iPhones. That thing is just so so cool. There are so many new apps coming out all the time and it always keep surprising me.

CJ: Since you guys travel around the world so much, it obviously gives you the advantage to see how electronic dance music is perceived in each market. As far as the U.S. goes, what are your thoughts as to how it’s developing in the U.S.?

Paavo Siljamäki: I think that America is really an amazing country for us to play and party in. I think that the most obvious thing for America, for me at least, is that electronic music has been around for quite some time there. The promoters there are very very experienced and always throw very good parties. That makes it lovely for DJs to come to America and play, but also because the crowds there are so great. Everything just works in the country…food’s great…women are beautiful…it’s great! (laughs) As a matter of fact, today we just agreed to a three-week tour taking place in America!

CJ: What’s in store for the remainder of the year?

Paavo Siljamäki: Well, next we’ll be on tour in South America in September and the next bigger tour is going to be in America in November.

Click here to hear more from Above & Beyond.