Group Therapy Radio specialists, Above and Beyond, will be coming to India on a four-city tour. Iknoor Kaur caught up with one-third of the band, Tony McGuinness
For many trance music is noise. For some it’s about dance and for few it’s just another genre of music. But according to people like Tony McGuinness and his two men, Paavo Siljamäki and Jono Grant, it is therapy. From Trance Around the World to Group Therapy Radio — not only has the Above and Beyond trio managed to bust every chart but have also revived the radio wave in the world. Who said gone were the days of radio broadcastsIJ This band of boys survives and helps a lot of other people survive too, only because of radio. They created waves in Bengaluru a year ago and will now be here on their four-city India tour from November 21 to 24. We caught up with one of them a little earlier. Excerpts from an interview with Tony McGuinness:
Do you enjoy coming to IndiaIJ
Very much. This is a country with a rich and endless culture, amazing food and attractive people. I have not explored it enough though. I have spent some time in Goa and we plan to spend three days in Goa at the end of this tour too. On this four-city tour we are planning to play our remixes from los Angeles.
How did this transition, from Trance Around the World to Group Therapy Radio happenIJ
I think it was a natural progression. The idea of Group Therapy Radio came from the audience. People were talking about waiting for their weekly therapy session and we didn’t want it to be genre specific, since for a long time we have been playing music outside of a strict trance definition. Our label is a testament to our musical taste.
In that context how relevant are radio shows nowadaysIJ
I think they are incredibly relevant. We all have a bewildering choice of music and I don’t think anyone can listen to all the music available every week. We are curators of whatever shape and form we choose. With Group Therapy Radio we focus on good quality and emotional electronic music so people are used to hearing a certain sound. I myself am a big fan of a radio show in America which is a college radio show in Boston called Riding the North Horse. It plays music from Scandinavia and I listen to it every week. They always play a track that makes me buy an album. Radio shows help us get educated and teach us how to be selective.
People tend to think that mixes are easy to put out. What’s the actual timeline for a project like thatIJ
We always try and include new and upcoming music from our artistes in the compilations. We ask all the artistes what they are working on. We get submissions from existing artistes and friends of the label, too. So then we start listening to them and pick those we feel are the best. They need to fit together well. Then we start making rough versions of the compilations and the one that gets released is usually version number 20 (laughs). But we live in a world where both music and the way it is glued together are important.
How do you deal with fans expectationsIJ
I would love to know what the ancient Indian philosophers have to say about managing expectations because I think there is a lifetime of interest in that subject. How much I know of this Indian philosophy is not to have too many expectations — live now and not in future. That is what we do with our music. We do what is right for us. We keep the same melody and passion that we have always had. It is a constant request that we get from the public to stand still and not change. But I think it is important for people to know that they can’t get the same product from us every time. It is not the sound of the product but the nature of music and songs that is important.
looking back on all these years, does the enormity of what you are doing ever set into your headsIJ
Very rarely does it hit you, just the enormity of what has changed. But yet, what keeps you sane is that it’s only rock and roll and we are entertainers. We are trying to be someone people will remember.