One of the biggest trance events every year is undoubtedly the Group Therapy celebrations from Above and Beyond every 50th episode of the mix series. Last year, they celebrated ABGT300 (Above & Beyond Group Therapy) along with the support of other Anjunabeats acts like Ilan Bluestone, Grum, Andrew Bayer and more.The reason this is one the most anticipated events each year is because this is when Above & Beyond reveal all the magical tunes they’ve been working on in the studio for the past year. A&B’s 2018 Common Ground album was teased heavily and announced at ABGT 250 in 2017, and in ABGT300 they announced that a companion EP for the album was in the pipeline, with exclusives that were again premiered at the event.

Finally, we have the release date of the EP, it’s tracklist and the first single. While the EP is due only on March 27, its first single, Flying By Candlelight, with vocalist Marty Longstaff, has just been released, in both the Original and Club mixes.

“Flying By Candlelight is a love song about a saviour who rescues our protagonist from a dark, lonely place, taking him through a spectacular night sky. A bit like The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, but a bit longer lasting!” – Above & Beyond

A&B are known for consistently releasing club mixes of their more mellow tunes, which somehow retain the original’s sentimentality while boasting heightened energy. It’s the best of both worlds, which is why, barring melancholy listening sessions, I always favor the club mixes.

Obviously, it was the club mix debuted at ABGT300, so the original still held some surprises. It’s a deep cut with some soft percussion which ensures Marty’s voice remains at the forefront. Some programmed basses and fleeting vocal chops enter the mix during the climax, but there isn’t any ‘drop’ as such. It feels like a continuous, freely-flowing tune which just carries you away on a sonic journey.

The club mix, on the other hand, immediately starts things off with a stronger kick, accompanied by stabs of basses that keep the beat flowing. After a slow buildup in the extended mix version, we get a raw drop that includes synths that you might recognize from their previous single ‘Rocket Science’. Wasting no time, the soundscape is heavily low-pass filtered, and Marty’s voice soars through, in a tense prelude to his dominance in the rest of the song. After 8 bars, this suspense is lifted, bringing back the kicks, only to enter the breakdown a few seconds later. The melodies on the vocal topline provide much of the emotion, until the drop introduces the chord progression through wide, layered synths. A&B are experts at layering different melodic ideas, and even though the drop melody wasn’t teased before the climax, it seems to fit perfectly. It’s seven minutes of absolute ecstasy.

The lyrics are utterly soulful, and speak of a lover rescuing the protagonist from loneliness by acting as a a lighted candle in a dark house. Marty Longstaff has worked with A&B before on Tightrope, but these lyrics are even better. Metaphors galore, and such evocative imagery. As you listen to this tune, the lyrics along with the production will lull you into a sense of warmth and peace.

This is yet another example of why A&B have earned such respect among members of the electronic community at large. We’re all in eager anticipation of the full Companion EP to Common Ground, which will be the 500th release on A&B’s Anjunabeats label. I couldn’t think of a better release to commemorate this occasion. Apart from the other two tracks on the EP (Distorted Truth & There’s Only You (ft. Zoe Johnston)), A&B also are yet to release their fantastic club mix (with Jason Ross) of Sahara Love. Distorted Truth is set for release on Feb 8th. Check out all these exclusives in their ABGT300 set last September at Hong Kong below.