GLXY return to Shogun Audio with their sophomore LP, Form, Focus.
Ten years since their first release as a duo, and five years on from their expansive debut album, Research & Development, this project narrows the scope towards a more defined, concentrated expression of the GLXY sound.
Known to explore all sorts of styles and even drift to lower tempos, Jon and Tom lean fully into liquid drum & bass this time. But within those confines, they pack-in plenty of variety and influence across the 11 tracks.
They draw on the legacy of the label with tracks like ‘Teze’ – rich with a Perez-esque approach to keys and samples. They channel their love for UK garage – weaving the bouncy grooves and chopped vocals into 174 bpm on tracks like ‘What You Gave To Me’. And they supply beats for a talented cast of vocalists – Eljé being a particular highlight as she pairs up with Duskee for a laid back listen on ‘Settle’. ‘Entanged’ also must be mentioned here – one of drum & bass’ best vocalists in Charli Brix gives an angelic chorus, contrasted by Jords delivering pure punch on every word.
The production is tight, and vocal appearances are plentiful – but this feels by no means commercial. Form, Focus is a clear, confident, mature presentation of the GLXY sound – a sound Jon and Tom have been cultivating their whole career, and one that is shaping the direction of modern liquid.
UKF caught up with the duo to talk about the making of the album, how their process has evolved over the last decade, and what’s next for one of the most consistent acts in drum & bass…
How’s your summer been – outside of writing the album? Have you had a good run of shows?
Tom: Well mine’s been a bit different to Jon’s. I had a daughter in the middle of June, so it’s been pretty full-on – but amazing. Thankfully most of the album was written before she arrived. I haven’t really been playing or writing much since – my time’s been taken up by a tiny human – but it’s been incredible. My first gig back was a back-to-back with Particle at Boomtown, which was a wild one to return with, but such a good show.
Jon: Yeah for me, it’s been good! Similar in that I haven’t written much lately either. I bought a flat in August – we actually handed in the album three days before I completed on the flat, so that was a big week. Since then I’ve mostly been buying furniture and trying to sort out the space. Shows have been great though; we had a really busy first half of the year with tours, and over summer I went to Bali for a festival and played Boomtown too. The plan is to build a nice studio in the new place eventually… once I’ve recovered from spending all my money on furniture.
What’s your studio setup like at the moment? Do you usually work in the same place, or separately?
Jon: We’re actually a bit different in that sense. I live in London and Tom’s out in the sticks, and we both work full-time jobs – and now Tom’s also a dad – so meeting up regularly is basically impossible.
Tom: Because of our schedules, and just how creativity works in general, it’s actually better that we can write when we have time and feel inspired. If we booked in limited studio sessions, we’d be relying on both of us being in the right headspace at the same time – which isn’t always realistic.
Do you each have certain roles when it comes to writing music – or is it more fluid?
Jon: A little bit, yeah. I’d say Tom’s definitely stronger when it comes to drums and percussion, and I probably lean more toward the musical side of things – chords, melodies, that kind of stuff. It works well, actually. Sometimes I’ll send over an idea that’s more melodic, and Tom will flip it into something that hits harder rhythmically.
Tom: Yeah, exactly. We’ve been working together for years now, so we know what plays to our strengths. We must be close to having released around a hundred GLXY tracks now, which is mad when you think about it. After that many, you definitely learn what works and what doesn’t.
A hundred is mad. It’s been around ten years since your first single too I believe…
Jon: Yeah, that’s probably about right. We actually did a ‘10 Years of GLXY’ event at Fabric earlier this year, so that checks out.
Tom: Yeah, releasing the album around the same time definitely looks intentional, but it’s actually kind of unrelated. The album was already in the works – we didn’t plan for it to land exactly in our tenth year. We knew we wanted to do something to mark the milestone, which ended up being the Fabric show, but the album was just bubbling along in the background anyway. Pure coincidence that it lined up that way.
Jon: Over the past few years, we’ve released quite a lot of music – I think three or four EPs on Shogun – which was exactly what we needed at that time. After the first album, we took about a year off from writing, not intentionally, it just happened. So we made a conscious decision to rebuild some momentum and put out consistent music, which we both really enjoyed.
Tom: Yeah, and then naturally we got that itch again to work on something more cohesive and musical – something that felt like a full body of work.
So you felt like it was time for another LP?
Jon: Definitely. It’s been five years since the last one, which feels like the right gap. Realistically, I think we’ve only got the energy to make an album every five years anyway. And in today’s world, where the payoff for albums isn’t what it used to be, you really have to be intentional about it.
This is a common thread. Albums don’t hold the same weight they used to – they come and go so fast. So why’d you make another one now?
Jon: Artistic expression. That’s always been the main reason for us. Years ago, an album might have made more commercial sense, but we’ve never really been driven by that side of things. It’s more about doing what feels right creatively at that point in time.
Tom: Yeah, and I think the style of music we’ve gone for on this album really lends itself to a longer format. The EPs we’ve released in the last few years had some tracks in a similar vein, but they also had club-focused, heavier tunes mixed in. With this project, we wanted to lean fully into the more soulful, musical side of what we do – and that kind of sound just works better in album form.
It gives you space to explore more detail and depth – to work with vocalists and MCs, and to make it feel like a complete world rather than a collection of singles. It just made sense for where we’re at creatively.
Do you feel this album is a refinement of Research & Development? Were there things you wanted to evolve or improve on?
Jon: Definitely. I think we’ve naturally just become better at writing music over the last five years – probably more technically too, even though that’s never been the main focus. When you do something for long enough, you can’t help but improve. The new record is more focused, which ties directly into the title, Form, Focus.
With the first album, we wanted to cover a wider spectrum – some jungle bits, some downtempo, a mix of sounds. This time, we really honed in on the soulful drum & bass. That’s the main difference.
Tom: Yeah, and Research & Development was actually a very apt name for that first album, in hindsight. We were still early in our musical journey as GLXY, still figuring out what our sound was. Some of those tracks still feel very true to us now, others less so. But with Form, Focus, we’re more confident in our style, what we want to make, and who we want to work with.
The album feels incredibly soulful – and that sound’s really having a moment in the underground right now. Did you find yourselves leaving out a lot of material that didn’t quite fit that vibe?
Jon: We did. The tracklist changed a lot throughout the process. At one point there were a couple of clubbier tracks on there, but we decided to leave those out on purpose – we can always do something with them later. In total, there were probably seventy or eighty sketches, ideas, or full tunes that went into the mix at some stage. It was a big writing period.
Tom: Yeah, and what we ended up with are the eleven that fit together best. Even though the tracklist evolved a lot, there were a few tunes that stuck from the very start – they really formed the backbone of the album. Once those were locked in, it gave us a sense of direction. From there, it was about identifying what was missing and writing specifically to fill those gaps.
I’ve heard Alix Perez and others playing ‘Entangled’ and ‘What You Gave to Me’ for a while now. Were those some of the first tunes that formed the foundation of the album?
Jon: Those are probably the two oldest tracks on the project, actually. They’ve evolved a bit since those early versions, but it really helped having them played out and road-tested. The album as a whole spans about two years of writing – some of those tracks are from the very start, and others were written literally a month before we submitted everything.
Have you been hearing a lot of the album getting played out this summer?
Jon: A bit, yeah – though it’s a weird one because this album isn’t super DJ-friendly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still drum & bass and structured to work in a mix, but a lot of it’s more musical – one drop, no big breakdown, no second drop. It’s more about the piece as a whole.
Tom: There’s a nice balance across the album. Tunes like ‘Entangled’, ‘What You Gave to Me’, and ‘Stoic’ are ones we’ve been playing ourselves, and other DJs have been supporting too. ‘Stoic’ in particular really sums up what we wanted to do with the record – it’s soulful at its core, but it still hits properly in a club.
You’ve dabbled in garage – more so than most drum & bass dabblers. Was there any temptation to include some of that sound on the album?
Jon: For sure. At one point one of the tracks even had a garage second drop, but in the end we just really wanted to make a drum & bass album. Both of us listen to loads of non–drum & bass – I probably listen to more rap and garage than anything else – and we both love DJing it (garage) too. So it would’ve made sense to have a garage tune in there somewhere, but from early on we were set on the idea of making a purely soulful liquid album from start to finish. That was the vision, and we stuck with it.
Tom: And even without a full-on garage tune, that influence is still all over the album – in the chopped-up synths, the swing, the vocal cuts. No token garage tune on this one, but it’s definitely something we’d like to dive into in the future.
There’s a really strong cast of collaborators on the album, especially on the vocal side. Are you quite selective when it comes to who you work with?
Jon: Definitely. From a commercial perspective, vocals obviously help, but that’s never the motivation – we only work with artists whose sound we genuinely love. Some tracks just don’t need a vocal, but when they do, it’s about finding someone who elevates the music rather than ticking a box.
Tom: And this time it came together really naturally. Vocal features can sometimes be the hardest part of an album to lock in, but for Form, Focus it just clicked. Everyone we reached out to connected with the instrumentals straight away, so it felt organic rather than forced. Credit to Shogun too for linking us with some amazing artists – Eljé in particular absolutely nailed her track. She’s more from the house, garage, and neo-soul world, which is exactly the kind of energy we love bringing into drum & bass.
Were the vocals recorded in person?
Jon: Yeah mostly, which made a huge difference. I think everything except the DRS track was done in the studio together, which meant we could bounce ideas in real time instead of doing that endless back-and-forth.
On ‘Entangled’ with Jords for example – we decided on the spot to switch from a half-time flow to double-time, which totally changed the tune. Or the Duskee and Verbz track (‘Flight Therapy’) – the whole back-to-back concept came out of the session naturally. You just can’t plan moments like that remotely.
Okay, last question on the album – was there any tune in the process that nearly broke you, or was especially difficult to finish?
Jon: Not so much creatively, but definitely from a mixing standpoint. That’s always the toughest bit.
Tom: There were a couple of tracks that didn’t make the final LP that we must’ve done twenty versions of. We both really wanted them to work, but there comes a point where you’ve gone through so many iterations that it’s obvious you just need to park it, haha.
Jon: Yeah – the ones that broke us are probably the ones that aren’t on the album. There are a few that are really close to being there, and maybe in six months one of us will reopen the project and nail it in a single session. That’s just how it goes sometimes.
Tom: One of those is a tune called ‘Clear Cache’. LSB’s been playing it out a lot, played it on his Space Age mix – I think he’s got version four in his sets, but on our Dropbox we’re up to version fifteen or something ridiculous. And honestly, version four probably sounds better than version fifteen! It’s just one of those things.
Jon, let’s talk about the Amen Brother podcast for a second. You get to speak with loads of influential people in the scene – does that inspire you creatively or give you new ideas?
Jon: Probably indirectly, yeah. It’s not like those chats feed directly into our music, but things definitely seep in subconsciously. When we spoke with Halogenix, for example, he’d just released a really soulful project of his own – and seeing someone we respect do that gave us reassurance to follow our own instincts, even if it’s not the most commercially obvious move. Hearing artists open up about the less glamorous side of things – the doubts, the creative blocks, the uncertainty – is also validating. It reminds you that everyone goes through the same cycles of questioning what they’re doing, or where the scene’s headed.
There’s always this ongoing conversation in drum & bass about the ‘state of the scene’ and artistic integrity. Talking to people about it reminds us that we’ve chosen our lane and we’re happy in it. It might sound a bit boomery at times when people debate those things, but ultimately, we’re just focused on doing what feels right for us.
You touch on this a lot in the podcast, but what do you see as the biggest challenge for artists like yourselves in drum & bass right now? Especially when it comes to balancing commercial appeal with staying true to your sound.
Jon: Honestly, we’re quite lucky. Because we both have full-time jobs, we’re not relying on music financially – which takes a lot of pressure off. Life’s expensive, and I totally get why artists who do this full-time might feel pushed down a certain path just to stay afloat. For us, it means we can make decisions purely based on what feels right creatively, not what’s going to pay the bills.
Of course, it’s always nice to play more shows – that’s what every artist wants. And gigs and popular releases go hand in hand. The challenge is getting exposure without compromising your sound.
Tom: The tricky element as well, with the soulful or deeper side of drum & bass, you really have to be in it for the long game. It takes time to build your sound and cut through – to make tunes that hit in clubs and DJ sets. That can be tough for new artists, and it’s easy to lose confidence when you’re not breaking through quickly. Being a duo definitely helps – if one of us is stuck, the other can pick things up and keep the momentum going.
Jon: The other big thing is how much social media shapes things now. Virality is currency – clips of DJs double-dropping bangers get all the attention. Liquid doesn’t translate like that; you can’t really capture the best of a soulful set in a 10-second reel. If we posted a carousel of us playing ten liquid tracks at a festival, it just wouldn’t have the same impact – even if the crowd’s loving it in the moment. It’s just not algorithm-friendly.
That can start to affect creative decisions over time.
Jon: For sure. If you’re full-time, you might start leaning toward more upfront, high-energy tunes or adjust your DJ sets for those viral ‘moments’. We’ve made some heavier club tracks too – just so we’ve got our own tunes that work in those sections of our sets.
Tom: The DJ side of GLXY is quite different from the LP side. If someone came to one of our shows expecting the full Form, Focus album front to back, they’d probably be surprised. Our sets are more club-oriented – but we always make space for the soulful tunes that represent us. It’s about finding that balance.
Jon: It’s all about context. A set at a night like The North Quarter at Phonox will go off with liquid all night. But at a big festival like Boomtown, you need to adapt. The best DJs make anything work – that’s the art of it. We just try to find creative ways to make our sound connect with whatever crowd we’re in front of.
Any artists or labels you think are really popping off in this world?
Jon: Yeah, a few actually. Alfie Channell’s been smashing it – his stuff’s so tight, really refined. I’m not sure you’d still call him a newcomer, but he’s still early in his journey. His EP on The North Quarter last year was wicked. Jamie Xeonz is another one – he’s been around a while but feels like he’s really bubbling now. He just dropped a tune (‘Wanna Know’) on The North Quarter that’s right in that garagey, soulful lane we love.
Azotix too – he’s a bit more versatile and makes heavier bits as well, but his liquid tracks are really strong. We’re actually working on something with him at the moment. And En:vy as well – again, not a newcomer anymore, but I’ve got so much time for his tunes. They’re always in our sets.
Tom: Definitely. What’s cool about all of them is that they’ve got a sound that’s instantly recognisable.
Do you feel like you’ve found that with this album – a sound that’s distinctly GLXY?
Jon: Yeah, I think we’ve been there for a couple of years now. The GLXY sound’s changed over different eras, but this era – with that funky, garage-infused, soulful aesthetic – feels like undoubtedly us. Tracks like ‘What You Gave Me’, ‘Love Chaos’, and ‘Stoic’ really capture that blend. Obviously we’ve been influenced by others along the way, but that sound feels like home for us.
Think we’ve covered enough ‘state of the scene’ chat?
Jon: Haha – I’ve got loads mate. Listen to the podcast!
But yeah, it’s an interesting time right now. I can’t tell if the bubble’s bursting a bit. There are a few factors at play, but the biggest one’s definitely the cost of living.
Running events is so expensive now, and if you’re 22 or 23 – especially in London – it’s nearly impossible to go out regularly or travel to festivals abroad. I’m not surprised things aren’t selling out. If there were more support for grassroots promoters, maybe smaller, affordable nights could thrive again. But that would require everyone – artists, agents, venues – to accept smaller fees, and I’m not sure how realistic that is.
Tom: Yeah, I kind of feel a bit weirdly detached from drum & bass these days because I don’t go out as much. Most of my connection to the scene is through the music we get sent. But you can feel that financial squeeze – and it does feed into what’s getting made and released. There’s more commercial stuff around, which is fine, there’s still loads of creativity in that, but it’d be great to see the grassroots side spark up again. That’s usually when you get those new, leftfield sounds coming through.
Jon: Music has always been an escape from day-to-day life. People still need that outlet. Seeing venues like Corsica Studios close is worrying though – the government doesn’t seem to have any interest in supporting nightlife.
Tom: Yeah, and summer’s become so dominated by day festivals in London that clubs really struggle to compete. Then in winter, they’re trying to claw back revenue by booking the biggest names possible – so you lose some of that diversity in lineups.
That’s why nights like The North Quarter at Phonox are so important – it’s underground, varied, and proper. You’ll hear drum & bass but also other styles that don’t usually get that platform. The energy at those nights is always wicked.
Totally. Gemini Gemini, Must Make Music – these boutique labels are running sick nights that give hope for sure.
Tom: For us, those intimate 400–500-cap nights – label showcases with a few friends on the lineup – those are the best memories. They’re just harder to pull off financially right now. Our ‘10 Years of GLXY’ night at Fabric Room 2 felt like that – smaller room, huge sound, amazing vibe. There’s still a real appetite for those kinds of nights. It just takes a bit of bravery from promoters to make them happen.
So what’s next now that the album’s done? Any plans for a tour or new music?
Jon: Yeah, we’re planning a small album launch towards the end of the month – details still to come.
From a production side, we’ve just been taking a few weeks off. It’s been non-stop, so the break’s been needed. But I’m already itching to get back in the studio. After our first album we took a long break – partly because of lockdown – and it definitely slowed us down. This time we want to keep the momentum going. We’ve already got ideas brewing for next year.
Tom: Yeah, and we’re excited to bring the album to life visually too. The artwork and visual identity have been a big focus, and that’ll all come together when we launch at the end of October. It’ll be nice to see the full picture out in the world.
Can’t wait for people to hear the album properly!
