Emulating the rapid trajectory of their label bosses Above & Beyond, Finnish duo Super8 & Tab let their productions lead. On new LP Empire, the young guns deftly navigate through a range of moods from languid to euphoric. The 11 album tracks – some vocal cuts, others club-charged instrumental trance – mark something of a watershed for the Anjunabeats flag-bearers. We spoke to Super8 about the the fruits of their labour.

What’s your favourite track?
Wow! There are so many good tracks, but if I had to pick one, I would say Cass & Slide’s Perception. Markus Schulz did a remake of that track which we then remixed. The original is one of my all time favourites.

Most DJs style of music changes from their original interest. Ferry Corsten mixed gabber and the harder styles when he first landed on the scene. What style of EDM did you begin with?
Before Super8, I was doing a bit of soulful house in the ‘90s. At the end of the ‘90s trance got really huge and that’s when I fell into the genre. I found trance in clubs and I liked the music so I wanted to produce it myself. The move to trance happened when I met Paavo from Above & Beyond. He came to our studio one day and played some of the tracks they were playing at the time like their remix of Madonna’s What It Feels Like for a Girl. That’s when I knew trance was the direction I was heading in.

What style of EDM sparked an interest in production between yourself and DJ Tab?
Trance brought us together. DJ Tab had been in the scene for longer than I was. He was actually one of the biggest DJs in Finland while I was clubbing. We met in clubs and he was also producing. I was doing track demos at the time and I asked Tab to test them out at some clubs. A few years later he moved into the same studio building and we began collaborating. The result was our first track First Aid. We saw potential and decided to do another, and that track was Helsinki Scorchin’, which went really, really well. Since then we haven’t been doing many solo projects, it’s just been the duo, Super8 & Tab!

So which one of you is the better DJ?
[Laughs] I’m not sure! I’ve been DJing since I was a teenager. Then there was a space of time where I wasn’t DJing. So let’s say that Tab has more experience in DJing than me. We both have ideas for tracks which we mix and it works!

With your new album Empire now out, what does it take to create music to be enjoyed by thousands worldwide?
Time! The project took longer than expected, a little over two years. We wanted to have four vocal tracks that would be really strong and then build the rest of the album around that. At the start it was hard to find a vocalist that we wanted to work with, which really slowed us down.

Once we found the vocalists the rest of the album moved quite fast and now there are seven vocal tracks on the album. We have mainly been doing club tracks with a harder sound and a different arrangement. It took time to find a new sound that’s good to listen to at home, in the car or on your headphones, but still has that club trance feeling.

What was the hardest track to produce from the album and which is the most innovative?
The hardest was My Enemy. We got the vocals from Julie Thompson and we loved them. With that track it always felt like we were 90-percent there but it wasn’t quite right so we ended up starting over again a few times. Finally we found a style that fitted the album and also complemented the vocals. It was the hardest one, but I’m really happy that we took the effort to do it over again.

The most innovative track was Slow To Learn, the opening track. The style is furthest from the sort of thing we normally do. It has got this electric kind of bassline and there’s that moderation in the chorus which isn’t used that much in club music.

Australia was lucky enough to have you here along with the Anjunabeats crew for Future Music Festival in March. Did you enjoy performing here?
Yeah, definitely! It was our second time doing the Future Music tour and it’s really amazing. All the cities were great, especially Sydney and Melbourne. Everyone is up for partying and it’s one of our favourite events. Hopefully we have a chance to do a repeat!

The Trance scene down under remains largely underground with a scattering of smaller, more intimate club shows across our cities. Do you think that is positive or negative?
I think it’s really good to have an underground trance scene. We went to a couple of club gigs during the Future Music Festival tour. Festivals are lots of fun, but sometimes smaller club events are great because it’s easier for the DJ to communicate with the audience. We love playing at clubs!

How does the Finnish electronic music scene compare with Australia’s?
I think it’s also pretty underground and there are also lots of small parties. Trance is the biggest thing there, but the parties aren’t huge in Finland. We normally get between 600 to 1,000 people at events. About twice a year there are big events with about 3,000 people. The common thing between the Finnish and Aussie audiences is that they go partying for the music and to have fun. They don’t take it too seriously!

What is your favourite kind of gig?
Festivals. The people are always having a lot of fun and we enjoy bringing music to the fans. Hopefully for the two hours on stage we can all have a really good time. We love it when there’s a party going on.

Who is your favourite producer?
There isn’t just one. At the moment we’ve really been enjoying what Wippenberg has been doing. Also Kyau & Albert, Above & Beyond and Cosmic Gate. They are all doing different things and doing it really well. It’s very hard to say who is the best, they are all producing different sounds but they are the best in their musical styles.

Do you think anyone else does it as good as the Finns?
No, certainly not! No one can do it as good as the Finns do it. Not even Swedish people, even if they think they can!

Empire is out now on Anjunabeats/Balance Music, distributed by EMI. Entries close very soon in the Super8 & Tab remix competition on inthemix, so if you’re a budding producer, make sure to get involved!