On July 20, Scottish progressive house producer Grum headlines at Soundcheck as a part of the iconic electronic label’s 2017 world tour. Grum’s one of the more recent additions to the label founded in 2000 by producers Jonathan “Jono” Grant and Paavo Siljamäki, aka trance and house legends Above and Beyond. Since 2011, the label has expanded its slate of releases from merely trance to a plethora of other sounds, mirroring dance’s pop and house evolution.

Regarding the creative process that inspires the label, Grant noted the following in 2013:

We are very picky, and I feel like are attention to quality control is what has made it great. We work very closely with all of our artists on how their record sounds. So, where other labels might put out a track that they know has most of the raw ingredients to be a success and leave it at that we will go the extra mile and make sure if we think there is something wrong with it when we test it out in a club that we try and go back and fix it before it gets an official release; sometimes that even means working on the record ourselves. It really is just attention to detail, even if it is slower at times, it’s worth it.

Here’s five intriguing facts you may not have known about the Anjunabeats label!

1. Only 100+ artists have made 300+ Anjunabeats releases in 17 years

As noted before, the level of curation on Anjunabeats is one of the label’s selling points of excellence. However, what may be just as, or more impressive is the longevity of the label. In the modern era, the blend of hyper-focus and sustainability is both notable and impressive.

2. In 2011, with Arty’s Zara, the label expanded past just releasing trance tracks 

Prior to Russian DJ/producer Arty’s release of Zara in 2011, Anjunanbeats — not unlike Above and Beyond as a production act — were best known as a trance label. However, regarding Arty’s progressive release, the artist himself noted the following: “Tony, Paavo, and Jono are really good guys and they really know what’s going on on the scene. I was looking for the best label to sign “Rush” for like three or four months, and I thought that I had just made that track for myself. But then I sent it to Anjunabeats after a bunch of other labels that didn’t respond to my submissions. Then, Anjunabeats picked the track and they came to me and asked to make another mix. It was a huge success, and so we just started to work together.”

3. The label is named for a beach in India?!?!?

Anjuna is the name of a beach in Goa, on India’s western coast, which was a popular hippie destination in the 1960s and 1970s. Currently, Goa is the epicenter of the Indian electronic music scene, while still also being popular with backpackers and tourists.

4. Mat Zo’s 2013 album Damage Control as Anjunabeats pop “breakthrough?”

The EDM-as-pop evolution touched Anjunabeats’ push from trance into a progression of sounds including electro, house, and more bass-friendly vibes. Led by Porter Robinson collaboration “Easy,” British producer Mat Zo’s album Damage Control  reached number one on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers chart number seven on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2013. It’s an impressive trifecta that feels certain-to-be-replicated.

5. Anjunabeats producer Andrew Bayer is from, you guessed it, Washington, DC!

Anjunabeats’ Andrew Bayer’s album productions include 2011’s It’s Artificial and 2013’s If It Were You, We’d Never Leave, two of the label’s most anthemic releases in recent years. Furthermore, he’s also produced for everything from bands to short movies as well as his voluminous and strictly dance/electronic-related creative output. As far as his roots, in 2013 he noted regarding his own growth that, “[a]lmost every major stylistic breakthrough in the first 5 years of my work, I can trace back to a specific night at Glow. Pretty crazy to think about actually!”