In my junior year of college and I decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. I had family in Tucson, Arizona where I was going to school so I spent it with them. My roommates were out of town, and so were the rest of my friends. After Thanksgiving I got really bored and lonely, wondering if I'd made the right decision to stay in town.
Staying in Tucson by myself and experiencing the loneliness ended up being one of the best decisions I've made, because the anxiousness of being alone caused me to want to get up and try something new in life. My Dad used to run marathons and he always encouraged me to run, so I decided fuck it, I'll give it a shot Dad.
I went on a run through the warm Arizona night, and I was having trouble getting into it. I scrolled through my Ipod Video and landed on a podcast that I hadn't listened to a ton yet: Trance Around The World with Above And Beyond (now called Group Therapy). Now that I had my music in running was still rough but I became a lot more focused on the task at hand, and more willing to push myself when I was struggling. It was the fast bpm that mimicked my heartbeat as my speed increased. Really good songs would come on and it would make me want to sprint momentarily.
I slowly started increasing the amount of time that I would go on my runs, and that slow progression with the music made it feel like I wasn't working for it at all. I started going running at least 4 times a week, and after a while I was running for an hour without stopping. I think I started experiencing the "runners high" that my dad talked about after I was running for more than an hour. I was able to stay consistent with my running because the music they played was so perfect for it, and I was discovering new music that I could share with people later. I lost a ton of weight and had amazing cardio, plus I was finally getting laid consistently in college thanks to the new shape I was in hahahaa! Above and Beyond's podcast was my official wingman.
A lot of the songs on the podcast had an emotional connotation, but they were still powerful and could be abstract. Today I think the podcast errs more towards the emotional spectrum. The last few times I listened, it sounded like the songs they shared explored themes grounded in this world, like the stress of relationships. What hooked me was how transcendental their music felt. The records they used to play created these imaginative, geometric images inside my mind and that wasn't happening when I listened to the newer stuff.
I finally got to see Above and Beyond in 2015 at The Forum in Los Angeles. It was on their most recent album tour, the "We Are All We Need" tour. I was hesitant coming into the show. I listened to the album and it wasn't anything like what I listened to when I was going on my runs listening to Group Therapy. In all honesty I thought it was too soft. There were some songs that grew on me but it just didn't have the same effect. However, there's just something different about being there in the crowd with the massive speakers and all those people. Above and Beyond know how to put on an emotionally uplifting fucking show, it's what the album was meant for. I finally understood the relationship angle they were taking their music. At the end of the night it was time to play their final song, and they played the last one off the album, Treasure
The lights went dark, and the beginning chords began to play. All of the sudden a name popped up on the giant screen behind them. After a few seconds another, and then more started coming out in rapid succession. Pretty soon names were floating across the screen, and I realized those the names of everyone in attendance at the show tonight!!! Something about that just felt so magical...I felt so connected to everyone my body was overcome with chills. The emotional weight of the song coupled the feeling of camaraderie was therapeutic. I almost cried but I stopped myself, I kind of wish I did just let go and cry looking back at it.
I'll always cherish that memory of seeing them live and finally appreciating their new material. Even so, the older trancier stuff carries more weight with me. Below are tracks heard on Anjunabeats and the Group Therapy Podcast that would pump me up on my runs and give me a runners high. Please share your favorite trance or group therapy songs here, maybe you know some of the newer stuff that's good!
Cramp - RU116
Solarity - Terminal 6
London Grammar - Hey Now (Arty Remix)
Art Shumiloff & Jenia - Roxanne (Your Shape)
Oliver Smith - Cadence
Chris Lake feat. Jareth - Helium (UMEK & Mike Vale Remix)
If you're not familiar with the Group Therapy podcast you can find it on Soundcloud here