Above & Beyond

Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki met at the University of Westminster where they were both pursuing a degree in Electronic Engineering. Having discovered a common mutual interest for electronic music, they decided to collaborate in writing music together. Following Paavo's suggestion, they set up the Anjunabeats label in the summer of 1999 with the release of their first single 'Volume One' under the alias Anjunabeats. Initially, the Anjunabeats record label was founded as a medium to release their own music, however since the label acquired the same name as their production alias, they started to release music under different names, most notably as "Dirt Devils" and "Free State". The original mix of 'Volume One', packaged with their 'Tease Dub Mix', received immediate attention in various dance clubs, and quickly gained support from superstar DJ's such as Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules and Paul van Dyk. Following the success of 'Volume One' and a string of singles and remixes under their 'Free State' & 'Dirt Devils' alter egos, Marketing Director & Manager of the Warner Music Group Tony McGuinness, was alerted to the duo by his brother, Liam McGuinness. Having been commissioned to remix Chakra's "Home" track, Tony McGuinness recruited Jono & Paavo to help him complete the remix. When the group was searching for a name to use for their Chakra remix, the inspiration came from a web page belonging to an American motivational trainer coincidentally named Jono Grant. Jono had the poster stuck to his wall. The slogan used by the motivational trainer was "Above & Beyond", and they decided to use that as their name. Although the group was relatively unknown at the time, their remix of Chakra's Home was picked over remixes by Rob Searle and Tilt to be the A side mix, and after plays by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, it reached number one in the UK club charts.