
Above & Beyond's Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Above & Beyond On Their Common Ground Tour & Miami Scene
A DJ trio nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 58th GRAMMY Awards, for 2015's "We're All We Need," Above & Beyond's album Common Ground reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 shortly after its release in January. Backstage at Ultra in Miami, we spoke with DJs Jono Grant and Paavo Siljamäki from the group about the Common Ground tour that followed, the eclectic Miami scene, and the makings of their 2014 project, Acoustic.
As trance and EDM have grown to a next level, Grant and Siljamäki discussed the international and intense scene that has developed around Ultra. "It's a real honor to be able to first of all, have so many people turn up there," said Siljamäki, "but also to have a lineup like we had with such talented people." He also shared that about 14 people from their London office were in Miami with them to party and enjoy the 2018 Ultra scene.
As we noted in our Miami episode of On Location, few cities take such pride in being international. "So you get not just Americans, not just English people, but you get the whole world coming here," Grant expanded on the Miami scene. "A lot of South Americans come up for this week, so it's a really good opportunity to play to a really wide audience."