Institution
Anjunabeats
Definition
Anjunabeats is the British record label founded in 2000 by Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki — the three members of Above & Beyond. It became the home of the more progressive, melodic, songwriter-oriented wing of classic trance, releasing early records by OceanLab, Andy Moor, Super8 & Tab and Mat Zo, and quietly out-lasting most of its 2000s-era peers.
Anjunabeats is the reason the phrase 'trance family' still means something a decade after the genre stopped being commercially dominant. Its 'Anjunabeats Volume' compilation series, launched in 2003, is a decent parallel history of classic trance from a distinctly British-progressive perspective — less peak-time euphoria, more melodic depth.