We are currently in the middle of a fascinating era of cross-pollination that is happening in electronic music, where the DNA of UK Garage is blending into everything from progressive house and disco, trance and even flashes of Eurodance. We have acts like Sammy Virji, ATRIP, KETTAMA, Y U QT, and more who are leading this crossover. Among them is London’s very own Smokey Bubblin’ B who stands as one of the formative figures actively championing this space. From the many directions UK garage is branching into, Smokey has been steadily architecting the distinct UKG meets tech house hybrid lane over the past few years.
That evolution is especially clear in Smokey Bubblin’ B’s 2025 standouts like ‘Temptation’, and ‘Magnetic;’ and the 2026 version of it can be seen in his latest release alongside house music heavyweight, Ozzie Guven on Peggy Gou’s Gudu Records label.
The two-track release sees Smokey pushing UKG into a more refined, warehouse-ready sound. Alongside garage and tech house, you can also hear elements of breakbeat and classic house woven into the tunes, which allows his tracks to bridge the gap between different dancefloor demographics.
Smokey Bubblin’ B has also drawn consistent support from names like Fred again.., Peggy Gou, Michael Bibi, Chris Stussy, Jamie Jones, and Patrick Topping; names that are central to global dance music ecosystem. This is not a typical endorsement list for a UKG producer, but most importantly, what it shows is that his music genuinely lands in rooms that matter the most.
Smokey Bubblin’ B is the ideal example of a producer who is fluent in his heritage but still possesses the creative curiosity to expand beyond it. So, just after his release on Gudu Records, which marked yet another water-shed moment in his adventurous undertakings, we sat down with him to understand the process of this evolution, how it all came together, and how he plans to push the sound further.
The entire UK garage–meets–house and tech space has been a fascinating spectacle; something that names like ATRIP, KETTAMA, Sammy Virji, and yourself are all pushing. How has the past year been for you, and was there a moment where you felt like 2025 was truly your year?
The last 12 months have been really busy, probably the busiest period I’ve ever had, which has been amazing. It feels like things have just kept going from strength to strength. I think this whole hybrid sound has really grown through tech house DJs, because a lot of them clearly have a real love for garage and know how to bring those influences into their productions. A speed garage track can now sit in a tech house set and work just as well as a rolling tech house record.
How did your journey with UK garage begin, and when did you realise, ‘Okay, this is my sound’?
When I first started DJing, I was playing almost exclusively UK Garage, and I was pretty narrow-minded in that sense. I loved other styles of music, don’t get me wrong, but UK Garage was all I really wanted to hear or play. Then I made a remix for myself and for a club set I was doing at Ministry of Sound, and it ended up going down really well. So, I put a clip of it on my socials, and Michael Bibi messaged me saying, ‘I really like this; can you send it over?’ At the time, I remember thinking, “He’s a tech house guy. Why would he want a speed garage-style track?” But he played it at Printworks the very next day, and the clips just went viral. That completely changed my perspective. It made me realize I’d been sending my music to the wrong people. That was really my entry point into that world; all thanks to Michael, really. Since then, I’ve just naturally found my place in that space, and honestly, I’m loving every minute of it.”
I’m just going to take a step back for a moment. Before you got into UK Garage, was house the first sound you connected with, or was it something else entirely? What were you really into before UKG became your thing?
I’d have to go way back, really. My whole journey into music started with my dad. He played lot of disco records at home, and that’s where I first fell in love with dance music. From there, it naturally evolved into house and disco house, and then eventually into garage as things got a little faster. In a way, it’s all come full circle now, especially because the BPMs aren’t too far apart from where I’m at today. But yeah, it all really started with my dad playing records around the house. Then he got me a turntable, I found another one, picked up a basic mixer, and that was it. Ever since then, I’ve been mixing every single day.”
Speaking of that early phase, once you started DJing, was there a local community, platform, or scene around you that really gave you the push to take it more seriously?
Yeah, for me it was all about pirate radio. I was quite shy growing up, so my dad, who’s also really into music, would actually send my demos out for me. I was never really the type to put myself out there like that. So, my entry point was through the pirate radio scene, and that really became my platform. I played on a few stations, and it just helped me build things step by step to where I am today.
Going back to 2025; it was obviously a huge year for you, especially with ‘Temptation’ breaking into the dance music charts, and then came that viral moment from the Circoloco Brazil set when Dua Lipa was captured vibing to it. What did that feel like for you in real time, and when did it really hit you how big it had become?
It was a surreal moment because Chris Stussy had already been playing the track for a little while, and the clip you mentioned, surfaced maybe a week and a half or two weeks before the release. Honestly, it was the kind of content you could never pay for. It felt incredibly organic, and then everything just started blowing up from there. We ended up putting together a montage of all the clips, and that went viral too. It was surreal, especially seeing big DJs playing it, but also watching other major artists genuinely enjoy it and dance to it. Seeing people connect with your music like that is honestly an unreal feeling.
You’ve also had strong support from peers like Sammy Virji and Michael Bibi. What does it feel like to have that kind of backing from names you’ve looked up to, especially as you’re building your journey?
It’s amazing, honestly. I still get excited whenever I see clips of those DJs playing my music. It still feels a bit surreal because when you send tracks out, you always wonder, with so much music floating around these days, are they even going to download it, let alone actually play it? So, when they do, it’s an unbelievable feeling; and like you mentioned, artists like Sammy Virji and Michael Bibi are two very different kinds of DJs, but they both still play my music. That’s what makes it even crazier to me, that it can genuinely cross over into both worlds.
Like you said, you’ve got support coming from both sides; someone like Sammy Virji, who’s so rooted in UKG, and someone like Michael Bibi from the tech house world. Since your sound now seems to sit comfortably in both spaces, how does that open things up for you creatively? Does it give you more freedom to experiment when you’re making music?
I don’t really overthink it, to be honest. If I get an idea in my head, I just need to get it down. I never really go into a session thinking, ‘I’m going to make a garage track today’ or ‘I’m going to make a tech house track today.’ It’s more like a big melting pot of influences. I pull samples from all over the place, often really obscure stuff, and then deploy them into something that feels like me. So, I’m not really trying to fit into one lane when I’m making music; whatever comes out, comes out. And honestly, 90% of it probably isn’t very good, but I’m happy with the stuff that does end up getting released.
Do you have any key influences? artists or sounds you naturally look to when you’re making music?
I always go back to producers like Jeremy Sylvester and Grant Nelson, they’re probably my two biggest influences. What I love is that they both move so naturally between house and garage, and it’s great to see that sound having a real resurgence now. I’m massively inspired by the ’90s, and practically I’m obsessed with that era. I collect a lot of vinyl, and when I sample, I like to keep things pretty raw. I don’t want to over-process it. I want that crunch and texture from the record because that’s what gives it character and authenticity.
You’ve mentioned how much the ’90s influence your sound, and right now it really does feel like a lot of those classic sounds are coming back into club music. How do you feel about that revival, especially now when there’s so much music out there all the time?
I love it, if I’m being honest. That’s how new scenes and new sounds are created, by taking elements from one world and bringing them into another. When different influences come together in one track, that’s usually where something fresh happens. I think it’s great that so many people are looking back for inspiration, but at the same time, maybe 25 years from now people will be looking at what we’re making today and trying to emulate that. So personally, I think it is exciting.
Now that we’re into 2026, how has the year been for you so far in terms of shows and music? And what are you most excited about in the months ahead?
Yeah, it’s been a solid start, to be fair. Like I said, last year was probably my busiest year so far, and I’m hoping this one tops it. I’ve got some great shows and festivals lined up, plus a few new tours in different territories. There’s also plenty of new music on the way, some of it is not confirmed just yet, but there are a few exciting label releases and collaborations in the works.
In terms of shows, I’m playing in Ibiza this year, Cyprus, Ireland, Jersey, and a bunch of other places as well. We’re also planning my first US tour, which I’m really excited about, and I should be heading back to Australia later in the year too. So yeah, it’s shaping up to be a very busy year, but in the best possible way
You’ve also just released on Peggy Gou’s label. How did that opportunity feel for you, and how happy are you with how the project came together creatively?
It was really fun making those tracks with Ozzie Guven. We spent a couple of days in the studio together, and the whole process felt natural. I’d already built a bit of a relationship with Peggy, so I sent her the first track, ‘Go With The Flow,’ and she got back to me within about half an hour saying she really liked it and wanted to put it out on Gudu.
For me, that was a huge moment. I spoke to Ozzie about it and he was equally excited. Since then, it’s been a great experience, and Peggy’s been incredibly supportive. She’s been playing my music for a while now and has had me on some great shows, like Drumsheds and others. So, to have the backing of someone of her stature has been massive.
We’ve also seen you DJ with a Crystal Palace top on. With them winning the FA Cup last year, what was that moment like for you? And does football ever influence your mood or energy when it comes to your music or DJing?
I think it’s really inspiring, to be honest. I’ve always seen myself a bit as an underdog, so moments like that definitely resonate with me. Going into that FA Cup final, everyone expected Man City to just walk it, like it would be a straightforward win for them, so to see Palace do what they did was massive.
Obviously, football is a team sport on a huge scale, and while music is different, I still relate to that mentality. It reminds you that if you really believe in something and put everything into it, you can achieve things people might not expect. That kind of energy definitely inspires me. I’m also really into documentaries, especially music documentaries and stories about people who came from nothing and built something huge. That underdog narrative always speaks to me, so yeah, I definitely connect with that a lot.
Coming back to the music, tracks like ‘Poison’ and ‘Young’ World have gone on to rack up some really strong numbers. Did you expect them to resonate on that kind of scale, or did that success take you by surprise a little?
‘Poison’ kind of came out of nowhere. There was a viral clip on TikTok that really catapulted it, especially around that breakdown and the vocal moment that everyone now knows. Once that started taking off, I did have a feeling it might end up doing something big.
But ‘Young World’ was a completely different story. I honestly had no idea that one would connect the way it did. My publisher brought me the project because they publish Ador, who did the vocals, and they said, ‘We’ve got some acapellas here, do you want to try something with them?’ So, I gave it a go, finished ‘Young World’ and sent it back. Everything was planned out and scheduled for release, but for the first couple of months it was doing pretty modest numbers, maybe two or three hundred streams a day. Then, out of nowhere, it just exploded. We couldn’t really figure out how or why. It never hit any major editorial playlists either, it was all completely organic. And now it’s my biggest streaming track to date. When I was making it as well, it was like, yeah this is cool, this is fun. But had zero idea that it was going to do what it did.
It’s funny how those serendipitous moments happen; you put a track out with some expectations, but sometimes it’s the one you least expect that ends up blowing up. Does that still feel surreal when it happens?
It’s strange because you always think, ‘This is the one, this is the track that’s going to blow up,’ and then sometimes it just doesn’t land the way you expect. More often than not, it’s the ones where you think, ‘Yeah, this one’s cool, I had fun making it,’ that end up taking off. You just never really know what’s going to resonate with people. If it hits, it hits, I don’t think there’s an exact science to it.
It feels like you’re at a really exciting point creatively right now, with so much room to experiment. Looking ahead, is there a particular sonic direction or new influence you’re keen to bring more into your music?
I feel like I’ve already started moving in that direction, to be honest. I’ve been making a few more speed garage-leaning tracks lately, but they’ve got a lot more soul in them, more chords, more pads, and a bit more emotion overall. That’s probably the main shift for me. And sonically, my BPMs have definitely crept up as well. I used to sit around 127, but now I’m probably working more in the 130 to 135 range. So yeah, there’s definitely been an evolution in terms of energy and pace too.
As this sound starts reaching a more mainstream audience, how do you make sure your music still feels fresh and true to you as a producer?
That’s a tough one, because once you’ve had a hit, there’s always the temptation to chase that same feeling again. But for me, it really just comes back to making what feels natural in the studio. I think the moment you start trying to force the same formula over and over, people can sense that, and they get bored pretty quickly.
A good example is someone like Fred again.. He just makes what he genuinely feels, and people connect with that because it feels real. I think that authenticity is what lasts. If you keep trying to remake the same track again and again, it rarely works
Looking ahead, what are the next 12 months shaping up to look like for you? What’s the main focus, and what can people expect from you over the coming year?
I’ve probably got around five releases planned at the moment, and there’ll definitely be more. I’ve also been working on a few collaborations; I’ve been in the studio with Darius Syrossian, Mikey Sebastian, MC Vapour, and a few others, so there’s a nice mix of people across both the tech house and garage worlds. Even when I’m out DJing, those conversations are constantly happening. I was playing on Saturday and already chatting with other DJs about getting in the studio together, so things are moving pretty quickly on the production side.
And on the DJing front, it’s looking really strong as well. The main thing for me is just to keep pushing forward and make every set feel a little different, a bit less predictable, a bit more surprising. I always want to play a few things people won’t see coming. I’m also really excited to be playing in a lot of new places and different territories this year.
Is there another style or genre you’ve been exploring alongside your current sound? Or are you mainly focused on refining and pushing what you’re already building right now?
My main focus is still very much house and garage, that’s the core of what I make. But I also love jungle. I’ve made a few jungle bits in the past, and it’s honestly so much fun to produce. Sometimes I’ll just drop everything and make something in that lane for the enjoyment of it. I haven’t released any jungle in a little while, but I genuinely love making it.
What excites you most about where you are right now in your journey?
It’s really the whole thing; to be honest, it just feels like there’s a real buzz around everything at the moment, and that’s probably what excites me most. I feel incredibly lucky that I get to play these kinds of shows regularly, travel to different countries, and share my music with people. I still have moments where I’m halfway through a flight thinking, ‘This is mad, I can’t believe this is actually my job.’ It’s something I’ve worked towards for a long time, so being able to do it full-time now is a huge blessing.
And just to close on a reflective note — if you could go back to when you were first starting out, what would you tell your younger self?
Probably to be more open-minded with music, but also, more than anything, to be more confident and more outgoing. Those would be the two big ones. When I look back now, I kind of kick myself over some of the situations where I was too shy to speak to someone or even just ask a question. Because the truth is, 99% of the time, when you reach out to a peer or someone you look up to, they’re just another human being. The worst they can really say is no. I’ve honestly never had many bad experiences doing that. So yeah, if I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to trust myself a bit more and have the confidence to just go for it.
