There’s always a bit of trepidation when you approach an interview with a big league artist like Above & Beyond. Will they be in a good mood today? Will they give me answers that consist of more than one word? Will they even answer the phone? All this and more was racing through my head as I patiently waited for my allotted time, and I was disappointed – but not entirely shocked – when Paavo Sijamäki of the trio didn’t answer his phone. Then, just as I’d concluded that he was another arrogant DJ probably more concerned with sleeping off a 3-day bender, I got a call back. Paavo had answered and he was ready to talk.

When he got on the line Paavo sounded nothing like the arrogant DJ on the wrong end of a 3-day bender I’d assumed him to be. “So sorry about keeping you waiting Melanie, I had a little trouble waking up this morning but now all the other interviews have woken me up so you’ve got a fresh and awake Paavo.” As it turns out Paavo was ever so polite, and also rather charming. As we chat further I realise that his trouble waking up on time can be credited to Above & Beyond’s increasingly busy schedule, which includes working on a new album and preparing for their upcoming Australian tour as part of the Future Music Festival. As ITM revealed last month, Above & Beyond will be hosting their very own arena on the tour, and they’re mighty excited. “We’re doing an Above & Beyond stage and we’re bringing our favorite DJs with us. With us it’s going to be Super8 & Tab, Matt Zo and Jaytech.”

If you’re an Above & Beyond fan this is pretty exciting stuff, especially considering this will be the first time the guys have done their own stage on a festival tour – anywhere! “That’s something that I’m really excited about at the moment, because it really gives the full possibility of ensuring the music from start to finish is going to be fantastic, ‘cos we’ve got our guys that we’re really proud of touring with us. That’s the thing on this tour; it’s the Anjuna family coming to Australia.” As Paavo explains, the guys are also handling the production of this arena themselves. “We’re getting a London designer to design the stage and we’ve been talking about what sort of stuff we’re going to play.” Having heard murmurs of an upcoming Above & Beyond album I ask Paavo if audiences can expect any new material on the tour. “We’ve got quite a lot of half finished things and we’re now in the process of trying to finish them, so I’m hoping on the Australian tour as well we’ll have some to test drive.”

While their Future Music Festival shows are shaping up to be a must see, many fans are still desperate to know if they’ll be given the opportunity to see the trance icons at their own sideshow. “Well, good question, [as] funnily enough just yesterday I was asking the same question myself. As we speak, nothing is confirmed, so if you know more maybe you can also tell me,” he joked. Sadly I was unable to enlighten Paavo, and although he admits that sideshows would “make these times in these cities even more special,” he also stresses his wish for people to make the effort to come to their Future Music Festival shows. “One of the things that we really want is for people to come and party with us at the festival, I suppose if we do a confirmed club show somewhere I think some people might pick and choose wrongly and go to the club show.”

As anyone who has seen Above & Beyond perform before probably knows, usually only two thirds of the trio front up for shows. So who will be gracing our shores this time? “This time around it’s going to be me and Jono,” Paavo explains, with the trio working on a method of rotation that leaves it up to their manager to decide who goes where. “It’s been a lot better that way because there’s a lot of really exciting places we get to go, it’s a lot better that people pick for us. The one thing that we realised, though, is that normally when we go somewhere for the first time everyone wants to go and one is left behind. Then, when we then return – which we tend to do – it gets better and better.”

(Un)lucky for Paavo and Tony, then, was that Jono was the only one able to attend Virgin Galactic’s unveiling of the SpaceShipTwo in California’s Mojave Desert last December. With their track Buzz chosen to accompany the unveiling of Richard Branson’s rocket (which hopes to offer people trips just above the atmosphere), Jono was there representing Above & Beyond, playing a exclusive DJ set to 800 dignitaries, celebrities, soon-to-be astronauts and media. Disappointed that he missed out on the event, Paavo explains that he hopes his absence will see him get to do something even more exciting with Virgin Galactic. “I really, really, really, really wanted to get there, so I’m hoping that it rings true there as well that next time we do something with them it will be even more exciting.” Sensing that wheels may be in motion for the plan to “persuade Richard [Branson] to let us DJ on the first Virgin Galactic passenger flight into space,” I probe Paavo for some more information. “[There’s] nothing that I can share just yet, but I’m really confident that cool stuff will happen in 2010”. Indeed, interesting stuff!

Above & Beyond still have plenty of commitments to fulfill here on earth until such time. In March – along with just about everyone in the global dance scene – Above & Beyond will be heading over to Miami as part of the Ultra Music Festival. With punters at the festival spoilt for choice, I ask Paavo if there is any pressure to ensure their set stands out from the rest. “Because we have Anjuanabeats and Anjuanadeep it puts us in a situation where we can quite confidently say that we’re not going to play the same set as everybody else.” The ability to boast a repertoire of music no one else has is what allows Above & Beyond to do what their name suggests – stand out above and beyond so many other trance artists in the scene. “I think in those festival situations it becomes very clear that if you didn’t have that, you might be in danger of playing the same set as someone else,” Paavo reiterates.

While on paper Paavo’s confidence in Above & Beyond’s ability may sound a little egotistical, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure Paavo is self-assured and definitely not coy about the group’s success, but he is also extremely humble and grateful for the opportunities it has brought them. When I ask Paavo how he is feeling about headlining Dutch festival Trance Energy in a few months time, he can barely contain his excitement. “It’s really exciting. Trance Energy – obviously being one of the epic productions that happen in dance music, I’d say that there aren’t many parties that have a production of that level – for us it’s a real honor, given the past headliners of Trance Energy. It’s a really fantastic opportunity for us to go in there and rock it. I’m buzzing off that one.”

Although they are honored to be playing at so many big events this year Paavo admits that their increasingly hectic tour schedule is taking its toll. While they have been working on new material for some time, Paavo reveals that it may be a bit of a wait before anything is released. “I think we’ve been talking about getting something released around summer (mid-year). But let’s see how we go really, these things always take a lot more time than we think they will, especially with the touring schedule we have.”

Don’t miss Above & Beyond headlining the Anjunabeats Arena on the Future Music Festival national tour:

Feb 27 – Brisbane
Feb 28 – Perth
Mar 6 – Sydney
Mar 7 – Melbourne
Mar 8 – Adelaide