Undoubtedly Super8 & Tab are considered pioneers in the next generation of trance artists. Having been there since the inception of the world-famous trance label, Anjunabeats, Super8 & Tab have touched hearts across the world with melodic tracks and energy during their performances.We had a chat with one of Finland's biggest electronic music exports about their origins, busy tour schedule and also the similarities between the Finish and Canadian scene. Look out for them at the Fantasy Land stage of Digital Dreams Festival, in the meantime enjoy their guest mix.THUMP: What have you guys been up to?
Janne Mansnerus: We just got back from our Australian tour. It was fantastic! It was our first time doing a tour in four different cities; Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Most of them were sold out events. We've been to Australia before for festivals, but this was our first club tour there.Was this part of the Code Red tour?
The Code Red tour is over, but we pushed back the release of the track so it would come out around the same time as Anjunabeats Vol. 11. That's why we did the Code Red tour in North America back in February.You guys had great success with the tour, what were some of your highlights?
It was our first time touring with Jaytech. We had a lot of fun! We actually got to check out Hawaii, it was nice to have time off. We tried surfing and one of the locals took us to the island where Lost was filmed. When you tour a lot you don't get much rest; you land to the airport, then you check in at the hotel, play the gig and next day you're repeating the same routine at another city. Having the local food there was awesome. Code Red wasn't released yet, but we've been testing it out at gigs and the reaction from the crowd has been great! The track is at the top of the Beatport chart and it stayed there for about a week.In this track both Super8 & Tab and Jaytech have stayed consistent to your sound, why is it important for producers to stay true to their sound?
For us, we are always searching for new sounds whether it's techno, house, big room but the core has always been the same. What you hear is the Super8 & Tab sound, but we're always trying to bring in something new to our music. What's different in Code Red are the bass and drums—that comes from us. The melody comes from Jaytech, but it's usually the other way around. We are definitely going to work together in the future again and the core will always remain the same.The Anjunabeats compilations are always on point, how did you get involved with the label?
Paavo from Above & Beyond is originally from Finland and was in our town with Jono looking for Finnish producers to work with for their new label. They stopped by our studio, liked what we were working on and we've been with the label since day one.So you guys were there from the very beginning.
I think the track, "Alba," was one of the first 20 releases on the label, and then my own single was number 27 if I remember correctly. At first we were both solo acts, but at around 2004 we decided to form a duo since we both made the same kind of music, "First Aid" was our first track together, after that it just made sense to continue as a duo. After Helsinki Scorchin came out we knew it was time to drop the solo projects, as it was a lot of fun working in the studio and playing gigs together.You both have a very busy schedule leading up to Digital Dreams Festival. There's also a mix of club and festival events happening, how do deal with the differences?
We like both. They both have very different vibes to them, but at the festival you get a lot of energy purely from the overwhelming amounts of people that are there for you. The production at some of these festivals also makes it that much more special. When you go to a club it is a more intimate setting and even if there are 300 people you still get that big rush of energy from the fans. So whatever the setting, we are always kept energized.Digital Dreams is one of the biggest festivals of its kind here in Canada and it will be your first time playing there. What should we expect?
Obviously we will play Code Red, but we also have an album 99 percent completed so we will drop some tracks from it, so a lot of exclusive Super8 & Tab material. Festival season is a great time to test out tracks and see what feedback we can get from the fans.What can you tell us about the Finnish electronic music scene?
Even though Finland is a big country, we only really have a population of about 5.4 million people and it's also the third largest country in Europe, so even though our scene isn't big, it's very healthy. A lot of European countries had dark times in their scene but somehow Finland has been consistent since the scene was introduced in the early '90s. The Finnish really like to go out and have a good time. They also love the clubs as they try to push limits with lights and other production inside them.What's the best club in Finland in your opinion?
All the cities have their special clubs, but in Helsinki let's say you want to check out Above & Beyond for example, The Circus would be the place to go, it holds about 2,000 people. If you want a deeper, underground kind of environment a place called Aaniwalli would be a good choice; it used to be a warehouse, but now they bring in techno and house DJs. It started a few years ago but it's becoming very popular.How is the Canadian scene compared to Finland?
It's actually similar. We have played in Canada quite a few times and we have DJ friends there as well. When we talk to them it seems like we have a lot in common. The parties are always great in Canada, maybe it's because we're on the same latitude, that might have something to do with it [laughs]. We have cold winters and crazy hot summer days. The club scene is great. This will be our first time playing at a big outdoor festival in Canada.Are you excited?
Oh yes! We have a late flight on Sunday so we have the whole Sunday to enjoy the festival and relax a little bit.Ani Hajderaj is an advocate of electronic music and also loves soda water. Follow him on twitter @AniHajderaj.
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Janne Mansnerus: We just got back from our Australian tour. It was fantastic! It was our first time doing a tour in four different cities; Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. Most of them were sold out events. We've been to Australia before for festivals, but this was our first club tour there.Was this part of the Code Red tour?
The Code Red tour is over, but we pushed back the release of the track so it would come out around the same time as Anjunabeats Vol. 11. That's why we did the Code Red tour in North America back in February.You guys had great success with the tour, what were some of your highlights?
It was our first time touring with Jaytech. We had a lot of fun! We actually got to check out Hawaii, it was nice to have time off. We tried surfing and one of the locals took us to the island where Lost was filmed. When you tour a lot you don't get much rest; you land to the airport, then you check in at the hotel, play the gig and next day you're repeating the same routine at another city. Having the local food there was awesome. Code Red wasn't released yet, but we've been testing it out at gigs and the reaction from the crowd has been great! The track is at the top of the Beatport chart and it stayed there for about a week.In this track both Super8 & Tab and Jaytech have stayed consistent to your sound, why is it important for producers to stay true to their sound?
For us, we are always searching for new sounds whether it's techno, house, big room but the core has always been the same. What you hear is the Super8 & Tab sound, but we're always trying to bring in something new to our music. What's different in Code Red are the bass and drums—that comes from us. The melody comes from Jaytech, but it's usually the other way around. We are definitely going to work together in the future again and the core will always remain the same.
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Paavo from Above & Beyond is originally from Finland and was in our town with Jono looking for Finnish producers to work with for their new label. They stopped by our studio, liked what we were working on and we've been with the label since day one.So you guys were there from the very beginning.
I think the track, "Alba," was one of the first 20 releases on the label, and then my own single was number 27 if I remember correctly. At first we were both solo acts, but at around 2004 we decided to form a duo since we both made the same kind of music, "First Aid" was our first track together, after that it just made sense to continue as a duo. After Helsinki Scorchin came out we knew it was time to drop the solo projects, as it was a lot of fun working in the studio and playing gigs together.You both have a very busy schedule leading up to Digital Dreams Festival. There's also a mix of club and festival events happening, how do deal with the differences?
We like both. They both have very different vibes to them, but at the festival you get a lot of energy purely from the overwhelming amounts of people that are there for you. The production at some of these festivals also makes it that much more special. When you go to a club it is a more intimate setting and even if there are 300 people you still get that big rush of energy from the fans. So whatever the setting, we are always kept energized.
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Obviously we will play Code Red, but we also have an album 99 percent completed so we will drop some tracks from it, so a lot of exclusive Super8 & Tab material. Festival season is a great time to test out tracks and see what feedback we can get from the fans.What can you tell us about the Finnish electronic music scene?
Even though Finland is a big country, we only really have a population of about 5.4 million people and it's also the third largest country in Europe, so even though our scene isn't big, it's very healthy. A lot of European countries had dark times in their scene but somehow Finland has been consistent since the scene was introduced in the early '90s. The Finnish really like to go out and have a good time. They also love the clubs as they try to push limits with lights and other production inside them.What's the best club in Finland in your opinion?
All the cities have their special clubs, but in Helsinki let's say you want to check out Above & Beyond for example, The Circus would be the place to go, it holds about 2,000 people. If you want a deeper, underground kind of environment a place called Aaniwalli would be a good choice; it used to be a warehouse, but now they bring in techno and house DJs. It started a few years ago but it's becoming very popular.How is the Canadian scene compared to Finland?
It's actually similar. We have played in Canada quite a few times and we have DJ friends there as well. When we talk to them it seems like we have a lot in common. The parties are always great in Canada, maybe it's because we're on the same latitude, that might have something to do with it [laughs]. We have cold winters and crazy hot summer days. The club scene is great. This will be our first time playing at a big outdoor festival in Canada.Are you excited?
Oh yes! We have a late flight on Sunday so we have the whole Sunday to enjoy the festival and relax a little bit.Ani Hajderaj is an advocate of electronic music and also loves soda water. Follow him on twitter @AniHajderaj.