Above & Beyond — Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004
Trance · 2h 00m · analysed 19 Aug 2026 · source: soundcloud.com
Public mix analysis — no affiliation or endorsement. This report measures a publicly available recording hosted on soundcloud.com. The scores are produced by SOONOS and do not imply any partnership with, or approval by, Above & Beyond.
In short
Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004 by Above & Beyond scores 89/100 in the SOONOS analysis (festival ready). The strongest dimension is IDENTITY (95/100) and the weakest is SURPRISE (87/100).
The DJ's ability to maintain a consistent emotional narrative while executing flawless technical blends is a hallmark of professional mastery.
Key takeaways
What worked
- Emotional storytelling
- Technical precision
- Harmonic awareness
What weakened the set
- Long static loops (6×) — Sections sitting on the same loop without layering, EQ moves or tension shifts (10:00, 14:00, 21:00, 26:00, 30:00, 34:00). Long loops kill dancefloor momentum.
What to try next
- Continue to use long, harmonic blends to maintain the hypnotic state.
- Ensure the energy continues to climb steadily to avoid plateaus in the second hour.
- Maintain the high quality of vocal/spoken word integration.
- Study the harmonic layering in the 37-minute transition as a reference for melodic blending.
Timestamped insights
Each moment below is tagged with how it was produced: “measured” comes from the DSP pass on the audio, “listening” comes from the multi-agent listening pass.
Seamless transition from the intro bed into the first main track.
Smooth handover of the low-end frequencies on the phrase change.
A masterfully executed blend where the incoming track's melody emerges naturally from the outgoing atmosphere.
The transition is used as a narrative tool, building tension through filtering before dropping into the new track.
A masterfully executed transition where the incoming track's pads emerge naturally from the outgoing atmosphere.
About this trance set
Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004 is a trance DJ set by Above & Beyond, running 2h 00m. It was measured by the SOONOS multi-agent engine and scores 89/100 overall — festival ready.
The engine files this performance as “Promising”.
The DJ's ability to maintain a consistent emotional narrative while executing flawless technical blends is a hallmark of professional mastery.
How the score breaks down
SOONOS scores this set across 5 weighted categories. The strongest is IDENTITY at 95/100; the weakest is SURPRISE at 87/100.
Analysis coverage for this file is 100% — the share of the set the engine could measure with full confidence.
Energy and structure
The energy curve was sampled at 46 points, moving between 20 and 95 on the SOONOS energy scale — a wide dynamic range across the set.
5 transitions were detected and scored individually.
Beat-grid measurement (DSP) reports 547.6 grid breaks per hour, with a median beat offset of 22 ms.
How this score is built
Measured layer (DSP): the audio file is analysed directly — beat grid, tempo stability, loudness and energy. These values are measurements, not opinions.
Listening layer: a multi-agent pass reads musical intent — programming, storytelling, coherence and crowd effect. This layer interprets, it does not measure.
Fusion and ceilings: the two layers are merged, and the measured layer always wins on execution. When the DSP hears an execution problem, it caps the final score even if the listening layer is positive.
Measured coverage for this file is 100% of the set.
Full SOONOS analysis
The DJ's ability to maintain a consistent emotional narrative while executing flawless technical blends is a hallmark of professional mastery.
The 8 dimensions
Not available — the 8-dimension profile was not measured for this set.
Score breakdown
TECHNIQUE
How well did you execute?
25%88
TECHNIQUE
How well did you execute?
STORYTELLING
Did the mix go somewhere?
25%93
STORYTELLING
Did the mix go somewhere?
ENERGY
Did you control the room?
20%91
ENERGY
Did you control the room?
SURPRISE
Did you remain unpredictable?
15%87
SURPRISE
Did you remain unpredictable?
IDENTITY
Did the mix sound like you?
15%95
IDENTITY
Did the mix sound like you?
Energy arc
Transitions analysed (5)
Long harmonic blend with vocal layering
Seamless transition from the intro bed into the first main track.
EQ-based progressive blend
Smooth handover of the low-end frequencies on the phrase change.
Long 64-bar EQ blend
A masterfully executed blend where the incoming track's melody emerges naturally from the outgoing atmosphere.
Harmonic layering with high-pass filter sweep
The transition is used as a narrative tool, building tension through filtering before dropping into the new track.
Long harmonic blend with EQ sculpting
A masterfully executed transition where the incoming track's pads emerge naturally from the outgoing atmosphere.
Technical subscores
89
EQ balance
94
Beat alignment
89
Energy control
96
Tempo stability
87
Loudness control
94
Musical coherence
97
Harmonic compatibility
91
Transition cleanliness
Measured (DSP)
22 ms
Beat-grid drift (median)
Typical gap between the two tracks' beats while they play together. Lower is tighter.
184 ms
Drift p95
Worst-case drift: 95% of the set stays tighter than this value.
7,187
Boundaries detected
Points where the audio changes track or section.
0
Hard cuts / h
Abrupt track changes per hour, with no blend between the two records.
47
Clipping events
Moments where the recording hits the ceiling and distorts.
42
Level jumps
Sudden volume steps between tracks.
Measurement confidence 100% · analysed on the full audio.
Recurring patterns
Long static loops (6×)
Sections sitting on the same loop without layering, EQ moves or tension shifts (10:00, 14:00, 21:00, 26:00, 30:00, 34:00). Long loops kill dancefloor momentum.
What SOONOS heard
- Emotional storytelling
- Technical precision
- Harmonic awareness
Timeline
- 0:45The 'Essential' Hook
- 5:30Emotional Peak (Spoken Word)
- 18:45Euphoric Peak
- 21:30Dynamic Breakdown
- 28:45Melodic Synthesis
Coaching notes
- Continue to use long, harmonic blends to maintain the hypnotic state.
- Ensure the energy continues to climb steadily to avoid plateaus in the second hour.
- Maintain the high quality of vocal/spoken word integration.
- Study the harmonic layering in the 37-minute transition as a reference for melodic blending.
- Observe how the DJ uses white noise and filter sweeps to signal energy shifts without breaking the groove.
- Maintain the patient pacing; it is what allows the emotional moments to land with such impact.
Curious how your own set scores?
Methodology and limitations
This report is produced automatically from the published recording. It measures what is present in the audio file: a bad source encoding, a partial upload or a heavily processed broadcast version can change the measured values. Nothing here reflects the room, the crowd or the night itself.
Read the full SOONOS methodology →Questions about this analysis
- What score does Above & Beyond's Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004 get?
- Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004 scores 89/100 in the SOONOS Mix Database (festival ready), based on audio measurement plus multi-agent listening.
- How long is Above & Beyond Radio 1 Essential Mix Of The Year 2004?
- The analysed recording runs 2h 00m.
- Which part of the mix scores best?
- IDENTITY is the strongest category at 95/100, while SURPRISE is the lowest at 87/100.
- How is this score calculated?
- SOONOS measures the audio with a DSP pass (beat grid, loudness, tempo, energy) and runs a multi-agent listening pass on top. Measured axes always override the listening layer, so an execution issue heard in the file caps the final score.
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Test how a set like this one would land in a club, a beach club or a festival.
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