Above & Beyond's Jono Grant has caught the synthwave bug.
Working in secret alongside longtime friend and fellow trance producer Darren Tate, Grant has formulated a new collaborative alias, JODA. Dropping their debut track, "We Find Ourselves," Tate and Grant say the single is inspired by 2011's Drive soundtrack, one of the most acclaimed film scores of the modern era.
The working relationship between Grant and Tate was first established nearly two decades ago. In 2003, they linked in the studio and produced two melodically dense, uplifting trance singles, "'Let The Light Shine In" and "Nocturnal Creatures." As Grant's career began to take off with Above & Beyond and Tate's solo career as DT8 prospered, the two found themselves on different paths.
However, in 2019, a set of unique circumstances drew the two creatives closer once again. Tate had recently signed new music from DT8 to Above & Beyond's fabled Anjunabeats imprint. Meanwhile, Above & Beyond themselves were approached with a new creative endeavor: the opportunity to score their first film.
"I'm musical, but I've never done a score before, which would be quite an undertaking. And I knew Darren was massively experienced at doing that," Grant recalled. "I've always admired what he does in his film work. So my first thought was: why don't we do it with Darren?"