From side-room to open air
Tracks, crowd, and little quirks
[Anjunadeep] began in London in 2005 as an offshoot of [Above & Beyond]'s world, guided by A&R leads [James Grant] and [Jody Wisternoff]. In recent years the label nights shifted from late club sprints to sunny
Explorations and city Open Air days, with more live rigs alongside DJ sets. A typical arc might float through label staples like
Breathing (by [Ben Bohmer]),
The Owls (by [Yotto]),
No Dancers (by [Cubicolor]), and
Lailonie (by [Marsh]). The crowd feels mixed and thoughtful, with house fans comparing track IDs, couples gliding near the front, and friends giving space for long, slow builds. A neat tidbit: the yearly [Anjunadeep] mix is road-tested first, with many edits tried by [James Grant] and [Jody Wisternoff] before they land on the compilation. Another quirk is tempo discipline, with most sets living around 122 BPM so multi-artist handoffs feel smooth. Heads up: the songs and production beats I mention here are informed guesses from recent patterns, not locked-in facts.
The Anjunadeep scene, up close
Soft colors, open space
Shared rituals, quiet signals
You will see relaxed fits in earth tones, light jackets, and simple sneakers, with a few vintage windbreakers nodding to early 2010s deep house. Fans tend to face inward in small circles, leaving room to move, then lean forward during a long build as if the floor is tilting. Merch skews useful and clean, like logo caps, tote bags, and vinyl editions of the annual mix. When a favorite hook returns, the room hums on vowel sounds rather than shouts, and the clap often lands on the off beat. Between sets, people trade track IDs and compare notes on which sunrise cuts played at
Explorations this year. Phone screens are out for a quick moment at the peak and then away, and many rely on group chats or forums to post full lists later. It is a calm, detail-minded culture that prizes flow and patience over volume, which fits the way this label tells a story.
How Anjunadeep makes the room breathe
Slow tension, clear payoffs
Little choices that matter
Vocals tend to be airy and human, often used like texture more than a big singalong, so the kick and bass can carry the room. Arrangements favor long intros and wide breakdowns, which gives DJs time to blend two or three tracks without crowding the beat. Live acts like [Ben Bohmer] and [Cubicolor] bring hardware synths for pads and arps, while label DJs layer extra percussion to keep the groove moving. Most cuts hover near 120 to 124 BPM, a pocket that feels unhurried yet danceable, and big turns often come from a fresh chord or a brighter lead. You may notice the drummer role is the kick itself, so claps and hats enter like small scene changes to shift energy. Lighting tends to be cool tones and soft strobes that match the music, more wash than fireworks, so ears lead the night. A small but telling habit: many tracks arrive as extended or key-matched edits the crew tests on the road before they appear on the next compilation.
If you like Anjunadeep, try these live acts
Kindred sounds on the road
Why these names click
Fans of [Anjunadeep] often also follow [Ben Bohmer] for his warm, live-looped take on melodic house that hits the same emotional peaks. [Yotto] brings roomy low end and patient breakdowns, and his shows favor long blends that echo the label's pacing. [Lane 8] attracts a similar, no-phones crowd that comes to listen, and his chord choices sit close to the label's palette. [Tinlicker] shares the punchy yet silky drum sound and writes vocal hooks that land well in big rooms. If you drift toward crossover electronica, [Rufus Du Sol] offers live-band energy while keeping the same widescreen, melodic mood. Taken together, these artists play mid-tempo, melody-first sets that reward patient listening. They build peaks with care rather than sudden drops, which is why their fans move easily between these bills.
