Introducing Rising 21

Last month, our Anjunabeats Rising series returned for its 21st edition, with label debuts from three exciting emerging producers: Bandēs, Lørean and SQU4RE. And who better to introduce them than A&R Director Gareth Jones…

"US-based Alex Bandes has been silent for a couple of years following a string of warm releases on Colorize between 2020 and 2022. Taking his sound in a clubbier direction, ‘The World Needs It’ is the first of a few releases coming on the label over the next few months. Never forget that Anjunabeats loves quality progressive as much as the big room trance (paging Tinlicker’s debut artist album), and with fellow Rising graduates J Ribbon and CVMRN  riding high of late, let’s see if Bandēs is next. It certainly went down well during Above & Beyond’s Deep Set at The Gorge."

"The eagle-eyed among you will recognise the name Lørean from 2023’s revisit of ALPHA 9’s ‘Before The Dawn’. A friend of ARTY’s, he was enlisted to add a modern update to what we all count as a modern classic. Since then, Lørean’s sound has embraced the new wave of melodic trance and progressive growing out of the European club circuit, faster tempos but rich musicality. ‘Away’ has echoes of classic Duderstadt in its DNA."

"Italy continues to be a hotbed for innovative and exciting dance music, and of late has become more and more musical, more and more Anjuna. Diego Bocchi spends a fair amount of time behind the scenes on projects, but his SQU4RE alias has seen releases on This Never Happened, Grum’s Deep State records, and Meduza’s AETERNA Records. ‘Fix This Beat’ is punchy, fun main stage music with an electro edge."

Get to know Bandēs, Lørean and SQU4RE...

To celebrate the new EP, we sat down with Bandēs, Lørean and SQU4RE to talk through their musical influences, favourite Anjunabeats records, future plans, and more…

How did you come up with your artist name?

Bandēs: “It’s my last name! :)”

Lørean: “When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time playing World of Warcraft. At some point, I needed a name for my second character, so I started playing around with different words until I came up with Lørean. And no, DeLorean wasn’t the inspiration - that was just a coincidence!”

SQU4RE: “SQU4RE was born out of my search for a name that could best represent me through a geometric shape. That’s why I chose the square. The number 4, in particular, is my lucky number, and it’s a number that seems to pop up in many different situations throughout my life.”

Favourite Anjunabeats record?

Bandēs: “‘Walter White’ by Above & Beyond.”

Lørean: “It’s really hard to pick just one, so I’ll have to name a few: Bart Claessen - ‘Elf', Above & Beyond pres. OceanLab - 'Sirens of the Sea', Mat Zo - ‘Superman' and Andrew Bayer - 'If It Were You, We'd Never Leave'. They’ve all shaped my appreciation for melodic electronic music in different ways.”

SQU4RE: “One of my all-time favourite tracks on Anjunabeats is definitely ‘Magitek’ by Andrew Bayer.”

As a producer, which artists are the biggest influence?

Bandēs: “I’d say Above & Beyond, Yotto, and Justice.”

Lørean: “When I was younger and just starting out as a producer, ARTY had a huge influence on me. These days, I’m particularly drawn to Burial, Overmono, BICEP, Bonobo, Joy Orbison, Flume and SOPHIE. I’ve always felt a strong connection to the UK electronic scene, although plenty of artists from elsewhere have influenced me too.”

SQU4RE: “Among the artists who have had the biggest influence on my sound are Daft Punk, Justice, Gesaffelstein, Nine Inch Nails, Eric Prydz and Armin van Buuren, just to name a few.”

How does it feel to be on a Rising release?

Bandēs: “I’ve been listening to Anjunabeats since I was a kid. Joining the label is literally a dream come true.”

Lørean: “I’ve managed to achieve a dream I’ve had since childhood. When I was a teenager, I used to listen to TATW and ABGT on repeat and imagine how amazing it would be to be part of Anjunabeats one day. I’m really happy to be here, and proud that I kept working towards something I’d dreamed about for so long.”

SQU4RE: “Joining Anjunabeats has been a goal of mine ever since I discovered the Rising series, so I’m really happy to have become part of the family with this EP.”

What's next?

Bandēs: “In 2027, I’ll be releasing a solo EP on Anjunabeats, plus a remix of an Anjunabeats classic. Hopefully there will be plenty of shows too!”

Lørean: “I want to keep pushing my sound forward, experimenting with new ideas and exploring different sides of electronic music without limiting myself to one genre. And of course, there’s plenty more music to come.”

SQU4RE: “At the moment, I’m spending a lot of time locked away in the studio, experimenting with new ideas… There’s definitely something brewing!”