Fraser Shaw and Riccardo Derio first began producing together in 2018 and two years later they officially emerged as Alex Sonata & TheRio. In 2021, the duo made their debut on the label with ‘Time’, released as part of the Anjunabeats Rising series. In 2022, the Scottish-Italian duo then followed up with a string of trance floor-fillers such as ‘Are We Dreaming’, ‘Cala Luna’, ‘Breath Of The Wild’.
2023 saw the release of ‘Mantra’, which featured on the duo’s 2023 ‘Feels Like Home EP’. The track was supported extensively by Above & Beyond, notably during the trio's headline performances at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and London’s Printworks. The duo also collaborated with trance linchpin Giuseppe Ottaviani and electro-pop vocalist Tishmal on ‘Tears Of The Kingdom’, as well as mixing the hotly-anticipated Anjunabeats Worldwide 11 compilation, which shot to #1 on the US iTunes Dance chart.
Last year, Alex Sonata & TheRio released ‘Halcyon’ alongside Equinøx, which saw radio spins from Armin van Buuren, Farius and Ferry Corsten, as well as support from Kyau & Albert and many more. The duo also remixed Darren Tate & Solarstone’s ‘A Long Way From Home’, featuring vocals from Julie Scott.
Alex Sonata & TheRio kicked off the year strong with an official cover of iconic 2000s electro track ‘The Drill’, followed up with a collaboration with Elevven on ‘Blue Java’; both tracks originally being debuted at Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy 600 in Mexico City in front of 12,000 fans. The singles have since gained support from dance music’s biggest names such as Tiësto and David Guetta.
Fast stamping themselves as one of trance’s most consistent names, Alex Sonata & TheRio return to Anjunabeats with their first EP since 2023. ‘Crescendo EP’ continues the duo’s recent run of form with a three-track showing of their trademark club-friendly sound.
