Supercharged by “My Humps,” his massive collaboration with Lee Foss, released in October 2021, Joshwa has steadily infiltrated the North American dance scene over the past few years. Since 2017, the London-based producer has scored releases on internationally acclaimed dance/electronic labels such as Pete Tong‘s FFRR Records, Repopulate Mars, Spinnin’ Deep, and Sonny Fodera‘s Solotoko imprint, among others.

On August 13, the UK tastemaker took his turn tending decks at The Saguaro in Palm Springs, as one of many illustrious acts billed for Splash House 2022. After electrifying a jam-packed poolside audience on Saturday, Joshwa sat down with Dancing Astronaut to discuss recent developments in his burgeoning career. Read the exclusive Q&A below.

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You just put out a remix of Snakehips’ “All Around The World.” How did this come to fruition?

Joshwa: “I’ve always been a fan of Snakehips. They hit me up a couple of times [to remix] some previous releases, but they didn’t end up being the right tracks for it, and then they hit us up with this new one…The rap vocal on it is really cool. I feel like a lot of the stuff I’ve been making at the moment has sort of that grime/rap feel to it, so I was basically like, ‘fuck yeah, I want to work with this.’ I was really pleased with how it came out, although I did forget to play it today…”

What fired you up most about playing Splash House this year?

Joshwa: “The fuckin’ heat! I remember seeing videos of it last year and it looked amazing. When my team asked me if I wanted to play Splash House, I was like, ‘fuck yeah!’ There’s just something different about a day party; they always hit so much harder, I think. It’s a great vibe, everyone’s out there having a swim and stuff. There are some absolute party animals out there just going crazy.”

In general, do you prefer to play a large-scale festival or a more intimate show?

Joshwa: “It’s a bit of a copout, but I love both… I love intimate vibes because you can connect with the crowd really easily, but who doesn’t like a big festival? Like, when I did my EDC debut in Vegas, it was just insane…I literally got on stage and was like, ‘alright, where’s the bucket ’cause I’m going to poo myself.’ It was one of my first sets in the United States. I had done Marquee with Black Book earlier on in the week, then I flew to Denver to play a show, and then I came back for my EDC set. We don’t have anything quite like it in the UK. We’ve got Glastonbury…Parklife maybe? It’s not the same level as EDC.”

You’re gaining massive traction in the US right now, driven largely by the success of ‘My Humps,’ as well as tech-house’s explosion in America. What are your thoughts on the current trajectory of dance music?

Joshwa: “Tech-house has always been around… In the UK, there’s a minimal deep-tech wave and you’re seeing that in Ibiza as well, if you go to Solid Grooves, DC10, or see Jamie Jones play. You do get that here, but not as much. I don’t know when the states are going to sort of see that wave, but I feel like the US crowds are quite accepting…I probably could have gone up there and played a variety of house music. I think house will always be around, and I think stuff with more vocals will come into play, but it’ll be interesting to see.”

Did you start DJing or producing first? At what age?

Joshwa: “I started DJing first, when I was like 12 or 13. I bought my first set of decks with money I earned selling sweets in school. They were Gemini CDJs, so I actually had to burn music onto discs and write the tracklists out with the keys and BPMs…Once I got really into it, I realized DJs are actually artists who make their own stuff, and I just got really interested in it.”

What does your show schedule look like for the rest of the year?

Joshwa: “I’ll be playing [Sundown Festival] in Norwich, which will be really cool. But most of my stuff’s in the US and Canada. Then I’ll be playing in Florida, so like Jacksonville, Gainesville…I’ve played in Tampa before at Sunset Music Festival, which was dope. I’m looking forward to it; I love going to new places. The US is huge, so it’s amazing that I’ll get to go and travel. I think it’s worth touching on that I’ll probably slow my release schedule down a bit since it’s been so hectic; I’ve literally been releasing like every month…I may slow it down to focus on making some really cool original stuff, rather than just doing flips and edits. I put out an original track called ‘Kerching’ with JADED, which was really cool. I’d like to focus on some more original sounding stuff, work with talented songwriters, stuff like that.” 

Do you think about starting your own label down the line?

Joshwa: “I would love to; that’s definitely in my plans. It’s just getting to that point where people recognize me and they associate my face with my music. I feel like I’m on a good trajectory, so that’s definitely in the cards.”

Who is your dream collaboration?

Joshwa: “I’ve always wanted to do one with [John] Summit ‘cause I think the track we’d make would be absolutely killer. We’ve played together a couple of times; we went back-to-back for a bit at the EDC campgrounds afterparty which was dope. But, I’ve always looked up to Patrick Topping as well, so a track with Topping would be unbelievable. He doesn’t seem to do many collaborations, so it might be out of the question…There are so many artists I want to work with; that’s the beauty of the scene. You can work with whoever you want, basically.”

Featured image: Joshwa/Facebook

Tags: Black Book Records, Jamie Jones, joshwa, Miracles, my humps, Solotoko, splash house

Categories: Features