DMNW Staff Picks: The Best Albums of 2014

[authorbox authorid=”277″ title=”Phillip Francis: Above & Beyond’s Acoustic“]Above & Beyonds sound has always been an emotional and moving sound. Even with a high tempo and driving bass lines, the common tone after seeing them live is that of tears. Not tears that come from despair or sadness, but the tears that comes from an overwhelming feeling of euphoria and happiness. Above & Beyond has been producing music like this for well over a decade now and show no signs of slowing down.

The reason that the Above & Beyonds Acoustic Album has made the top spot is because it is so familiar, yet so different. It really speaks to the artistic talent of Jonno, Paavo, and Tony, that they are able to take all of their most cherished old and new tracks and make them into something so different. This dynamic ability is unrivaled by any other artist in the electronic music scene.

I was in LA at the Greek Theater when I first heard these amazingly beautiful songs that I knew every word to but it felt like they were songs I had never heard before. The sweeping cloud of emotion couldn’t contain a single person in the crowd or hold back the tears of joy in listening to this beautiful music.

Yes, this album is not an electronic album at all. What this album shows us is that our scene is capable of so much beauty and deserves the credit for its works. There are a lot of artists out there with as much talent as Above & Beyond, but they do not receive the respect because they display in an electronic form. This album has also brought around a lot of outsiders and introduced them to what electronic music can be and we can watch them fall down the rabbit hole and realize the beauty of our scene.