Above & Beyond

There's a special place in our collective heart for the Cercle sets that trade industrial grit for natural grandeur, and Above & Beyond's performance in Guatape, Colombia, is a masterclass in how to make a lake, a rock, and a church look like the backdrop to a spiritual awakening. The genre is unmistakably progressive house and trance, hovering around 124 BPM, with a heavy emphasis on 3B and 12A keys — the harmonic sweet spot for euphoric breakdowns and hands-in-the-air moments. The energy curve is a study in patience: the low end is restrained (0.3643), the mids are dominant (0.5851), carrying those signature vocal hooks, and the highs are used sparingly for the climaxes. This is a set built for the long exhale, not the frantic sprint. The entire tracklist is a showcase of Above & Beyond's own productions, all given 'Cercle Respray' treatments — exclusive remixes that tailor the tracks to the location.

The opening 'Sweetest Heart' (Shai T Remix / Respray) is a gentle, shimmering start, with Zoe Johnston's voice floating over a bed of arpeggios. The transition into 'Homecoming' (Enamour Remix) is seamless, and the inclusion of 'Gratitude' with gardenstate and Marty Longstaff is a poignant moment that feels tailored to the setting's overwhelming beauty. Crate diggers will note the 'Tom Middleton Remix' of 'Fly To New York', a deep, dubby take that strips away the cheese and leaves a hypnotic groove, and the 'Yotto Remix' of 'Counting Down The Days', which adds a touch of Nordic melancholy. The peak is undoubtedly 'Believer' (Marsh's Guatape Remix / Respray), a track that builds and builds before releasing into a cascade of synth stabs — the moment when the sun must have been at its highest over the lake. The closing track is also 'Believer', but a different version? Actually, the tracklist shows 'Believer' as the closing track, but it's the same remix.

The journey goes from the intimate opening, through the emotional mid-section, to the euphoric peak, and then a gentle landing back into 'Almost Home' (Deep Mix), which feels like a final, whispered promise. This is classic Above & Beyond: unabashedly emotional, expertly crafted, and perfectly suited to the kind of setting that makes you believe in something bigger than the club.