A title so short can’t be the name of a track that makes you feel so much, can it? Can it?
You, yes, you, Anjunafamily member, I’m talking to you. There’s no better way to cut the week than anything Anjunabeats related. Much more so if the news — and the music — come from masters Above & Beyond. We all know them, we all love them. Tony, Jono, and Paavo have been treating us with their music for years now. But that doesn’t mean it’s over yet.
As recently announced by the trio themselves, a new EP is on its way. Titled the Tranquility Base Vol. 1, it will be a release of five instrumentals honouring their legendary alias Tranquility Base, with which they released some pretty heavy tracks back in the day: ‘Oceanic‘, ‘Razorfish‘, ‘Getting Away‘, ‘Surrender‘, and ‘Buzz‘.
Today, Above & Beyond are lifting their second single from the EP, simply titled ‘500‘. The full EP will come out on May 25th. Recently-released ‘Angry JP8‘ and, of course, ‘500’, will be a part of the five-track pack.
In the same way the quieter moments on our albums have always been a major part of Above & Beyond, the bigger dancefloor moments have also been a hallmark of our sound.
-Above & Beyond
‘500’
The second track off the forthcoming EP, ‘500’, was written especially for its debut in Los Angeles, as part of the 500th episode of Above & Beyond’s weekly radioshow Group Therapy. Since then, the track has been spun ’round the world gig after gig, including, but not limited to, their Buenos Aires return, and their sold-out Printworks London takeover in April, as part of the iconic venue’s closing season.
This song starts with a plucky melody, coming from a sound that’s so reminiscent of their iconic ‘Red Rocks’ tune. Heavy bass is quick to look the part for the banging drop that gives ‘500’ a piercing character. As it is very welcome from A&B, the break features a proper trancey, airy, open atmosphere, with a little piano making you fly over the pads.
Fear not, though, the arpeggiated main melody comes right in, cutting through the openness of the first half of the break. A fast and intense buildup brings all the tension for the drop about to come, and the latter turns into a mix of both worlds, keeping the tension while opening the plucked arpeggio and turning into a sought-after trancey saw-wave lead. You don’t want to miss out on this one.
Listen to Above & Beyond’s brand-new ‘500’ right below for your Spotify play. Also, be sure to head here to support the song any other way you like. Finally, head here to pre-save the Tranquility Base Vol. 1 EP.
