Late last month, Above & Beyond moved up two places from number 6 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs listing to number 4. They are set for world domination – literally. They have one of the most comprehensive web presences known to man. They have Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, YouTube, a podcast… you name it, the trio that is Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki have their fingers well and truly on the technological pulse. It contributes to a large part of their success. Now, as they prepare to wow Australia at Global Gathering, Tony McG took some time out to chat to OUTinPerth about what it’s like to be in the top 10 of the world’s best DJs.

What effect does the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs have on you guys as a musical act?
Personally I don’t worry about it. It’s really a measure of your popularity with people who use the internet and use their time to log on to websites. It’s not a very representative sample of people who go to clubs. You could argue that people who spend their most of their time dancing in clubs and going out spend less time on the internet. So it’s a sub-sector of what we do but at the moment it’s the only authoritative measure of rankings. It’s kind of an annoyingly important thing.

- Advertisement -

Your surge up the chart must indicate that your life is rapidly surging in new directions – is that an accurate assumption?
So many parts of our lives and our game are moving up. When we started there were just three of us doing everything ourselves and now we have a staff of about eight people. The whole thing is changing.

You have an incredibly meticulous web presence which spans all the social networking cites. What can you tell us about that?
We’ve been very active on the web right from the start. Paavo has an amazing skill in coding web sites, and I think that’s worked to our advantage. The web shows on iTunes were his baby too. And it’s not just about having the idea: it’s about practically figuring out who’s going to do what. The forum we have on Anjunabeats.com is one of the busiest in the trance forums in the trance scene. We’ve always thought it to be incredibly important to engage with our fans in any way we can. And doing it online is incredibly cost effective. It’s the way the world is and you need to converse in that way.

Above & Beyond will be appearing at Global Gathering on November 23. Alternatively, familiarise yourself with the online empire that is Above & Beyond at www.aboveandbeyond.nu or www.anjunabeats.com.

Scott-Patrick Mitchell