Nitromethane

Nitromethane is used in the amination of 3,4-methylenedioxy-phenyl-2-propanone, which is a precursor of MDMA, used instead of the heavily watched methylamine in order to avoid detection by the authorities. As such was the perfect name for a side project for Above & Beyond's Tony McGuinness (above, foreground) when he's with his brother, the chemically clever Liam (above, on orange Lilo). The McGuinness brothers have been in bands together for years and started spending the odd night knocking up dance tracks. "Time To Die" came out of one such session in 1999.

The McGuinness brothers have been in bands together for years and started spending the odd night knocking up dance tracks. "Time To Die" came out of one such session in 1999.

Whilst searching for samples for his Yamaha sampler, Liam came across a young student called Jono Grant who was selling custom made CD's on the web, after a stint making synth sounds for Yamaha. Liam bought one of Jono's CD's and got a demo CD through the post. Impressed by what he heard, he asked Jono to remix the tune he'd been working on with Tony and help engineer the two mixes the brothers had done. Jono agreed, and for the sessions brought along his new chum Paavo, sowing the seeds for Above & Beyond.

The original white label vinyl promos from 1999 had three mixes, Tony's original mix (effectively the first Above & Beyond collaboration), Liam's "Merlin's Mixture" and an Anjunabeats Remix. Caned by Graham Gold and others, the track was lost for years before Captivating Sounds decided to sign it in 2001, two years after getting the promo! The record's new lease of life came courtecy of the weird but wonderful Seraque Remix: it may sound like an anthem today, but few could get their head around it at first. Armin was the first to get it, then Paul Van Dyk (who tried to sign it to Vandit) and then, once Anjunabeats licenced it back for the UK last year, Judge Jules (six weeks in a row on his Radio 1 show)

The follow up to Time To Die is called Religion. Like its predecessor, it was hatched one dark night years ago, played once on Radio 1 by William Orbit ("I love this record Tony") and gets the odd spin in A&B DJ sets. Featuring a cheeky Madonna sample it has been turned down twice by the great lady, but we're still hopeful she'll see the light.