Andrew Bayer is the Anjunabeats G.O.A.T

When I first started listening to Andrew Bayer years ago, I absolutely loved everything he did.  The man could do no wrong. In fact, I played some of his older tracks on repeat and then heard them in so many artist’s sets and ABGT episodes that I’ve gotten a bit burned out on a few.  But THEN he released “In My Last Life” in 2018 and he skyrocketed to the top of my favorite DJ/producer list.  As I write this, I’m listening to the “In My Next Life” remix EP for the 27th time and have yet to tire of it.  So I can barely wait to see my #MCM at the Anjunabeats North American Tour Vancouver, BC stop, EDC Las Vegas and the ABGT Weekender this year! I mean, there’s a reason he’s called the fourth member of Above & Beyond!  

My favorite artists tend to be classically trained musicians.  I find that their productions are fuller. With complexity and hidden depth.  So intriguing that I can listen repeatedly. Their works are timeless. Even those tracks that don’t have lyrics tell a story if you just listen.  And they have mass appeal. All of this is what made me fall in love with Andrew Bayer’s artistry.

Much like myself, Andrew Bayer’s piano lessons as a child were taken grudgingly, yet he eventually warmed up to it.  And again, like me, Andrew’s first real exposure to trance was on a trip to Germany. Though I’d heard artists like Massive Attack and The Prodigy before that trip, I’ll never forget that first trance set in a German club in 2000.  The music made sense to Andrew. He was already used to lengthy songs and the classical structure that tells a story with notes, chords, and dramatic changes in volume. It stuck with him and he began producing at 15 years old. He went on to get a degree in Music Synthesis (Music Production) from Berklee College of Music.  

Andrew’s first releases on the Anjunadeep label were alongside Scottish producer Alan Nimmo as duo Signalrunners in 2007.  He was a mere 20 years old.  Then from 2011 to 2013, Andrew took off on his own and released “It’s Artificial”, followed quickly after by “If It Were You, We’d Never Leave”; both albums on the Anjunabeats label.  He was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2015 for “We’re All We Need”, one of the most popular tracks he helped produce on Above & Beyond’s album, “We Are All We Need”.  Three years later, Andrew was nominated again for his production contributions on “Northern Soul”, another immensely popular track off Above & Beyond’s “Common Ground” album.  Bayer is often called the fourth member of Above & Beyond due to his production efforts on their two most recent albums.  It’s whispered amongst the Anjunafamily that Above & Beyond don’t release a track without his final approval.

So when the first single from “In My Last Life” dropped, admittedly, I was perplexed and disappointed. It was so different from anything else he’d done before. Slower, sparse in areas, with lengthy tracks around seven minutes, it lacked that typical driving beat of “Signs of the Fall” or “Super Human”. But I had faith and did my best to reserve judgment until the full album came out. On my first listen through it dawned on me that like Above & Beyond’s “Common Ground” album, “In My Last Life” is a crossover album. A bit Pop, a bit Trance, a bit easy listening, very cinematic, and even my Mom likes it. But so many of my Anjunafam hated it; some still do. I kept saying, “Just wait, you guys. Andrew knows what he’s doing! Every one of those tracks was meant to be remixed, just wait and see!” And sure enough, “In My Next Life”, the remix EP dropped April 12, 2019, and I’ve fallen in love all over again.

Like Cinderella’s glass slipper, the lyrics written and sung by Ane Brun and Alison May fit Andrew’s lush, gorgeous tracks perfectly. They loosely tell a story so one can hear different meanings with every listen or change of mood. I can listen when I’m sad and feel uplifted, then listen when I’m happy and suddenly find myself mourning the loss of someone from my youth.  The perfect marriage of music and words in “Immortal Lover” speaks to my deepest beliefs in reincarnation. So the first time I heard Alison May sing “I have unfinished business in this life, not ready to go to the other side, your immortal lover,” I was floored. As a Hindu, we believe that those people with whom we share a deep love and bond in this life, are an echo of the same vibration we had with that soul in a previous life. The strength of this connection keeps us meeting in future lives. But I know most people hearing those words would find different meaning as we each perceive the world through glasses tinted by our individual experiences. This is the greatest beauty of “In My Last Life”; the huge variety of emotions it pulls out in me. I find something new to love with every listen.

I had the great privilege of seeing Andrew in Portland on the final stop of his album tour this past December. Just like every other time I’ve seen him, I danced my ass off through his entire set. He made me feel bittersweet loss, heartache, yearning, love, hop, and incandescent joy as tears welled up while I smiled and laughed with my Anjunafamily. I’d brought a coworker and now friend that I’d introduced to Andrew’s “In My Last Life” album to experience one of his sets for the first time. Seeing him glow as we danced till we were dripping sweat was one of the highlights of that night. We got to hear some of those remixes for the first time, and even an unreleased Bass track he’s working on with Seven Lions.

The excitement I feel every time I remember I get to see my GOAT at the 2019 Anjunabeats North American Tour in Vancouver, BC gets my heart racing.  I’ll catch him a second time this year Under the Electric Sky at my very first EDC Las Vegas. With that enormous EDC lineup, it’s guaranteed someone else amazing I’ve never seen before will be playing at the same time as his set.  Honestly, I could care less. We all have our artists we won’t miss regardless of how many times we’ve seen them, and Andrew Bayer is mine. But I’m most looking forward to seeing him at the ABGT Weekender as I’ll be surrounded by thousands of my Anjunafamily, many of whom I’ve been sharing heartfelt messages and words of love and support for several years.  Andrew Bayer was amazing before “In My Last Life” and I can’t wait to see what this musical genius has in store for us next! It’s no wonder he’s the perfect #ManCrushMonday.

CLICK LINKS IN PARAGRAPH ABOVE FOR INFO & TICKETS TO ALL THREE EVENTS!!!

*Featured Image of Andrew Bayer Via MagneticMag.com*