Above & Beyond have been nothing but impressive and are a truly unique act in the dance music scene. After the highly successful Acoustic I, they are now taking the 18-piece band set up on a nearly sold-out tour of the world’s most iconic concert venues. Notable stops include London’s Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Hollywood Bowl. This tour is in support of the release of Acoustic II, Above & Beyond’s second acoustic album release, which is slated for June 3 and will be released on Anjunabeats/Ultra Music! What sets Acoustic II apart from the rest is that it features versions of the tracks from their latest album, alongside classics from their extensive back catalog.
Following on last year’s Grammy nominated electronic album ‘We Are All We Need‘, Above & Beyond is bringing the acoustic sound back with this new release. In the late Summer, Above & Beyond began working with Bob Bradley, who’d worked on the first Acoustic album, to assemble a new selection of songs for Acoustic II. Thirteen songs were selected and became the core of the new album. Bringing a vibe that is more geared for Concert Halls than Nightclubs, it shows the versatility of this dynamic trio.
Stream “Hello”, “We’re All We Need”, and “Another Chance” on SoundCloud:
Pre-order Acoustic II by clicking HERE! Tickets are still available for some Acoustic II Dates, find tickets by clicking HERE!
View the Acoustic II Album Announcement Video on YouTube:
Re-recording the tracks for Acoustic II brought back the original vocalists for their respective tracks. For their live shows, original vocalists Zoë Johnston and Justine Suissa are joined by newcomers Natalie Holmes and Cobi. Jono, Tony and Paavo will also be performing different parts of the tracks, including Jono on Rhodes, Tony on guitar and vocals, and Paavo on piano.
“The great thing about this version of ‘Sticky Fingers’ is that, before this, the only version we had out there was a dance mix,” says Tony McGuinness. “There was more of a song that we never released. So the whole song is in this version of ‘Sticky Fingers’ and it’s the same with ‘Peace Of Mind’ – there are extra verses here.”
“With the first acoustic album, it was guitars, piano, strings and vocals that were the bare bones of what we were working with,” added Paavo Siljamaki. “This time around we thought: ‘what other kinds of things can we do?’ So brass is a really big player on Acoustic II: we added a lot of John Barry-esque brass horns. And we wondered what interesting things we could do with the voices, so there are a lot of choral and bigger vocal arrangements than on the first one. Really, this album is standing on the shoulders of the first one. If we’d have tried this then, it would have been overwhelming and too much for us to do.”
Above & Beyond – Acoustic II Tracklisting:
- Hello
- We’re All We Need
- On My Way To Heaven
- Save Me
- All Over The World
- No One On Earth
- Black Room Boy
- Peace Of Mind
- Sticky Fingers
- Alchemy
- Counting Down The Days / Liquid Love
- Blue Sky Action
- Another Chance
Stream a preview of “Hello”, “We’re All We Need”, and “Another Chance” on Spotify:
“Hello”
“We’re All We Need”
“Another Chance”
Catch Above & Beyond’s Acoustic II Tour in a city new you:
Weds 5/11 – Chicago Chicago Theatre – SOLDOUT
Thu 5/12 – Chicago Chicago Theatre – SOLDOUT
Sat 5/14 – Toronto Massey Hall – SOLDOUT
Sun 5/15 – Toronto Massey Hall – SOLDOUT
Tues 5/17 – Boston The Wang
Fri 5/20 – New York Beacon Theatre – SOLDOUT
Sat 5/21 – New York Beacon Theatre – SOLDOUT
Sun 5/22 – New York Beacon Theatre
Thu 5/26 – Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre – SOLDOUT
Fri 5/27 – Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre
Sat 5/28 – Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl – SOLDOUT
Tues 5/31 – Honolulu Waikiki Shell
Mon 6/6 – Sydney Sydney Opera House – SOLDOUT
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