In the Anjunabeats community, the backlash against artists moving outside of Above & Beyond’s trademarked sound has been mixed. Last June, when Above & Beyond invited Audien to Anjunabeach, SoCal attendees were surprised by his rapid transitions and genre diversity. That said, should artists well outside of Above & Beyond’s own genre be on an uplifting trance lineup?
The transition from Grum, Spencer Brown, or Andrew Bayer leading into an Audien set can be complicated. The next time Audien performed at an Anjunabeats gathering, he catered to the crowd. Audien mentioned plans to play a progressive-only set when Anjuna took over a stage last September at Electric Zoo.
playing a progressive only set at @ElectricZooNY this weekend ?
— Audien (@Audien) August 30, 2018
That all being said, yes, artists like Audien always have a place at Anjunabeats gatherings. But should they have to sacrifice their style and song selection to play at these shows? Audien performed on April 26 for the Anjunabeats tour stop in Denver. He played his Anjuna catalog and stuck to 128 BPM. Despite all that, there were some complaints from fans.
There are some fans that can’t be pleased
What should artists do if they wish to appease Above & Beyond’s passionate fan-base? It’s worth noting that there are some fans that simply can’t be pleased. They come expecting uplifting trance, and sometimes won’t accept anything else. There are also a significant number of people who are open to different genres (see: Jason Ross’s b2b with Seven Lions at Group Therapy at the Gorge).
When the more difficult-to-please faction doesn’t get that one genre they want, though, some have been known to complain relentlessly.
Audien’s performance this July will be the ultimate test. When he takes the mainstage at the Group Therapy weekender, Audien will have completed two more Anjuna tour stops in New York City and Tampa Bay. At the very least we expect those cities to give him an idea of how he wants to approach his future Anjunabeats shows.
Audien hopes to have his first studio album completed by June. In July it is very likely we will hear new and unreleased material from the man himself at the Gorge Amphitheater.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwVxzDPgYAw/
See what happens when Above & Beyond and Audien are at the Gorge in July. Remember your sunblock! How do artists in other genres fit into Anjunabeats shows? Do you think they should adjust their set to account for the audience? Or stay true to their sound?
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