Bushbaby is coming off his biggest summer yet.
Since May, the English producer and DJ has been on a jet-setting five-month tour of the UK, Europe, and North America, where—as sounds imported from Britain continue to crash into the dance scene on this side of the Atlantic—his steppy, shuffled grooves, rolling drums, and chugging basslines are connecting with Stateside and global audiences as strongly as ever.
When the Brighton-based artist, born Harry Bushby, meets EDM Maniac some 20 minutes after playing to a Labor Day crowd at Chicago’s ARC Music Festival, he’s 22 gigs into the 30-show run, his second lengthy international tour in as many years—preceded by the breakthrough success of his sophomore album, EVERY TIME, and marked by major appearances at UK festivals like Boomtown and Parklife, as well as debuts at EDC Las Vegas and for Circoloco at DC-10 Ibiza.
But while he’s traveled far from his home on England’s South Coast, he’s only seen more familiar faces, as one of many fellow British producers of his sound and echelon who have crossed the pond for North American festival breakthroughs amid an ongoing global crossover between house music and UK garage.
Folding in a multitude of influences, from UKG and bassline to minimal house and hip-hop, Bushbaby’s signature sound sits at the heart of that crossover, and was right at home on ARC’s 2026 lineup, which, like many of the 13 North American events on his 2026 calendar, leaned as heavily into the sounds of the UK as ever.
“The house scene has bled into the garage scene, and the garage scene has bled into the house scene,” Bushbaby explains from his trailer greenroom at the festival in Union Park. “You’ve got house DJs that have come from that world that are playing garage and speed garage tunes, and then you’ve got garage producers like myself that are playing more housey tunes.”
After his ARC debut, we sat down with the artist to discuss UKG’s North American renaissance, his global breakthrough with “Pumpin Jumpin,” the art of the warm-up, his iconic producer tag, and what he’s gearing up for next.
EDM Maniac: You got into town last night and played ARC this evening. How does it feel to be here in Chicago, and how are you feeling about the set?
Bushbaby: I feel really, really good about the set. I don’t know what to expect when it comes to festival sets. I was playing a little bit early, but people showed up. It was good energy. I feel like the last time I played in Chicago was a pretty good indicator of how good it was going to be, because it was pretty good last time. I’m happy with how it went and happy to be back.
EDM Maniac: Any particular moments from this set that stand out to you most?
Bushbaby: Probably my last tune. I played “Back To Funk,” which is my latest tune, as my last song, and people were just vibing to it. I feel like I built the set really nice to that moment. I tried to take it easy at the start, and then build up because I was playing quite early.
EDM Maniac: You’re also playing the ARC After Dark afterparty at Serum. How are you building that set differently from the one at the festival?
Bushbaby: I think when it comes to afterparty sets, you have to take into account the time that you’re going to be playing as well. Obviously, with this set, I was playing slightly earlier. It’s in the day. It’s quite warm. People are still warming up. They’re getting drinks. They’re meeting their friends. They’re loosening up.
By the time it gets to the afterparty, I feel like you can go in a bit more, with a bit more energy. You don’t have to warm people up as much because they’re already ready to go. I’m actually really looking forward to the afterparty. The last couple of sets I’ve played have been quite early in the day, so I’m excited to play a club set again for two hours. I think of it as people being like clay. Once they’re warm, they’re more viscous, I guess, and you can mold them. They’re more up for whatever. They just kind of follow your lead, and you can really take people on more of a journey, I think, especially when you’ve got two hours or longer.
EDM Maniac: You’ve been releasing music as Bushbaby for over a decade, but things have exploded over the last year or so. Your second album EVERY TIME was a breakthrough statement last year, and featured “Pumpin Jumpin,” one of your biggest tracks to date. What has that project meant to you and your journey?
Bushbaby: I was always hesitant to call it an album. I always called it a mixtape until very recently, because I didn’t want to put the title of ‘album’ on it. I felt like the word had so much weight behind it.
I put a lot of work into it, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know, there was just a part of me that held back. Maybe a self-confidence thing, being like “this isn’t good enough to call it an album.” Now that a bit of time has passed, I kind of call it an album. I guess that is the main part of the journey—that now I can look back on it and be like, “Yeah, that’s a pretty solid album.” I’m proud of it now.
I think part of what plays into that is that to me, at the time, it didn’t feel very cohesive because a lot of the tracks are very different. But now, that’s almost a strength because a lot of the tracks are very different. There’s a lot of different tunes on there, but it does kind of follow a bit of an arc. It tells a story, and it kind of shows all sides of me up until that point. I think there’s always been such a different range of influences in my music, and it was good to be able to show it in that album.
EDM Maniac: What was your perception of the project’s potential before its release, and how did you gauge the reception afterward?
Bushbaby: I really didn’t know what any of the tunes were going to do before we put it out. We had “Shake and Slide.” That was on the album and had come out earlier in the year, and that had done quite well. But “Pumpin Jumpin” came out just before the album came out, and it didn’t really start popping off fully until the album had come out.
I think having “Pumpin Jumpin” do so well upon the launch really helped carry the album a lot, and I don’t know how well the rest of the album would have done without it. I think it would still do quite well, but “Pumpin Jumpin” definitely did a lot of the heavy lifting on there. I think that tune allowed people to hear it and then go back and listen to the album and be like, “OK, let’s listen to what else he’s got.” It’s crazy when you have a big tune like that. I feel like people will then end up going and listening back to your other tunes as well, and then they hopefully become a fan. It’s cool.
EDM Maniac: A lot of those new fans have caught you on your international run this summer. Earlier this week, you shared an Instagram post showing the difference in attendance between your performances at Leeds Festival in 2025 and at Reading Festival in 2026. What has it been like to see that growth on the festival circuit this year?
Bushbaby: That was crazy because when I got to Reading, I was sure it was going to be like Leeds the year before. I got nothing to say about that apart from it’s just really, really cool, and it was a really cool moment.
I didn’t want to avenge the situation that happened last year or whatever, but I definitely did have a bit of a thing about it. I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about it, being like “I need this set to do well,” and yeah, it came together, so I’m super happy about it.
EDM Maniac: Let’s talk about your producer tag. The album is named after it. But where did “Hold tight Bushbaby every time” originally come from?
Bushbaby: So Bru-C is a rapper from the UK who did a lot of stuff in the scene that I was in, in like 2017, 2018, which was more of the UK-based bassline kind of scene. He did a lot of stuff with Skepsis when Skepsis was doing a lot of bassline. Did a lot of stuff with Zero, who’s obviously smashing it now. And did a lot of solo stuff as well and had massive hits.
It was like 2017, and I was doing a sound clash against another crew, and we made these special unreleased dubs of our own tunes, and we’d get rappers to rap on them. You’d diss the other crew. He basically recorded a vocal for that and then said, “Hold tight Bushbaby every time.”
I was using that full tag for a while, and then I was like, “What if I just cut it down to every time?” It kind of just stuck from there, really. Even now, sometimes I don’t even use the full “every time.” I just do the “e-.” I liked the thought of having a tag that didn’t actually say my name in it. Like, “How much can I cut it down and people still recognize it?”
EDM Maniac: UK garage and UK house styles have a strong presence on this year’s ARC lineup and have been gaining traction in the U.S. lately. What does it mean to you to see your scene represented on this side of the pond, and what’s it like to be one of the artists paving that trail?
Bushbaby: It’s really cool to come to another country and see people that you know from home, that you came up with a few years ago. You link up in another country, and it’s like “Oh, I haven’t seen you in ages.” It’s great for the UK scene that it’s going worldwide, but even selfishly, just as a person, it’s so cool that I get to see my friends in another country and link up with them.
On a wider note, it’s cool to see it branching over here. I think there’s so many scenes that have come from the UK that have never really made it into the States. Bassline was one that never really made it over here. I think it was because the bass house scene was really big here, and still is quite big here. Bass house was like bassline’s older brother in a way. It was like that on steroids, so I think America was like, “We don’t need bassline. We’ve got the heaviest shit you can get right here.”
Bassline never made it outside the UK. But house and the sort of UK kind of house has crossed over really well. It’s crossed over in Australia. It’s crossed over all over the world. It’s just sick to see. It should go as far as it can go, and everyone should hear it. The house scene has bled into the garage scene, and the garage scene has bled into the house scene. You’ve got house DJs that have come from that world that are playing garage and speed garage tunes, and then you’ve got garage producers like myself that are playing more housey tunes. It’s like meeting in the middle, and I feel like that kind of needed to happen as well for it to really take off worldwide. Having that amalgamation makes it more accessible I think.
EDM Maniac: In what ways have you noticed UK artists support each other as those sounds have made the jump?
Bushbaby: Sammy Virji is a friend of mine from years ago when we started out. We went back-to-back in 2018 in London, and then shortly after that, he had this crazy rise. And even though he had blown up, he was still doing bits. He’d shout me out on radio and be like, “This is a really good tune from someone that I know.” He did it for “Untitled Emo Organ Banger.” He shouted it out on [BBC] Radio 1 and said it was one of his favorite tunes.
For me, he’s one of the guys that deserves it most, because I felt for a long time that he was super underrated. Obviously, now he’s gone massive, and he’s still bringing people up. He’s been in the studio with a lot of smaller producers, and as far as I’m aware, he doesn’t shy away from going in the studio with someone because of how big their name is or anything like that. He just goes in with who he wants to go in with, so I think that’s quite cool. It’s the same with a lot of the big DJs from the UK.
I think sometimes in the UK we can have this thing about it’s hard to rise sometimes because the space can feel quite limited, because we’re on an island, and we’re quite small, and the opportunities might feel sparse, even though we have a lot of club nights and stuff. I feel like when you come to America, everyone’s so “rah rah rah, go and get it” and they’re really appreciative and supportive, whereas in the UK, I don’t think we have that as much. But I feel like when DJs come from the UK to America, they kind of take on those traits, which is quite cool.
EDM Maniac: When it comes to UK dance scenes, everyone in the States talks about London, Manchester, Bristol. But what is the culture like on the South Coast of England, and where you’re from in Brighton?
Bushbaby: Brighton, the scene has always kind of come in waves, which is ironic because it’s on the sea. When I was 18, it was very much minimal house and minimal tech that was really popping. I think a lot of clubs open and close and open and close constantly in Brighton, and there’s sort of three or four main clubs that hold it down in Brighton. They’re like the same venues, but they might change names or owners or whatever. But it’s like the same four venues really.
So with that comes a strong community of people that know each other, and once you’ve got your foot in the door, it’s fairly easy to maneuver around those clubs and work your way up and get in with the right people. That being said, it is a very big student city, so you’re kind of reliant on those students going out to club nights and spending their money and buying tickets, which is hard, obviously. With COVID, it was hard over that period. I guess my point is that it’s never really been fully stable. We’ve got a couple of festivals that do quite well.
EDM Maniac: Brighton is also home to Southpoint, a label and collective that has been important to your story. Tell us about the relationship and how you’ve been involved.
Bushbaby: Southpoint has been going for over 10 years. I’m managed by Josh [Gunston], who owns Southpoint alongside Jay [McDougall], and the majority of my releases have been through them. I find it really easy to release with them because they give me full creative range over what I can do. The music I want to put out, how I want it to look, the branding. It’s kind of all in my hands.
They’ve always been a very easy partner to work with, and they were there from the start. My first releases as Bushbaby were with them. I think it’s cool as well because when they were starting out, they had just got out of university. It was a small thing. I was a nobody. I hadn’t really had any music out. It’s kind of grown from the grassroots to now, and it’s always been alongside them. I’ve done stuff on major labels, but they’ve always been there as the backbone.
EDM Maniac: On your three single releases this year, “Back To Funk,” “Strong Rhyme,” and “Picking Up The Pace,” you’ve fused your foundations in garage and bassline with other sounds rising out of the house scene. Tell us about your stylistic intention with those tracks.
Bushbaby: With “Back To Funk,” “Strong Rhyme,” “Pumpin Jumpin,” “Shake and Slide,” I feel like they’re all in the same sort of taste range. My view of that was always like I wanted to take what people like Chris Stussy were doing—Chris Stassy now—with the synths and really melodic stuff, and those kind of really cool basses, those chordy basses, and mix it with a more garage-y bassy kind of vibe. That was what I wanted to make my own recipe.
There’s a lot of other people that are doing it as well. It’s not just me, but that’s kind of what I wanted to do. That was the main thinking behind that. To keep the atmospherics and the melodicness of that music, which I love so much, but mix it with these dark, rolling, bassy speed garage wobbles, and Reese basses and stuff like that.
EDM Maniac: What’s next in the release pipeline?
Bushbaby: The next single I’ve got coming out is one that I’ve been teasing online. I won’t say the name of it right now, but it’s an organy kind of tune. “Move Something” is definitely going to be in the pipeline. I think it’s difficult when you’ve got songs where you’ve sampled older vocals, because you end up having to get them cleared through copyright, so it always takes a little bit longer.
But I am looking to do a release in September, and then I’m looking to do an EP with Southpoint towards the end of the year. Then I’m going to probably do another EP next year as well.
EDM Maniac: What’s the vibe of the EP shaping up to be?
Bushbaby: The EP on Southpoint will be more of a specialist club-focused EP. It might be radio-friendly, but it’s going to be more for the clubs. More specialist, more for the clubs, more for the heads.
EDM Maniac: And as we get into the fall, you’ve got a big run of all-night-long shows in the UK. What are you most looking forward to on the live front?
Bushbaby: The all-night-long is definitely one. I’m nervous about that, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m actually looking forward to the first two or three hours of the set, just because I really like warming up.
I feel like a lot of the sets I’m doing now are headlines, unless I’m at festivals where I’ll be playing earlier in the day. It’s nice to be able to play in a club and be able to warm up. I’m looking forward to the first two and a half, three hours. Play a bit slower, do longer blends, and build the night out more slowly. Be able to play every part of the night. Do the warm-up, the headline, and the close. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
EDM Maniac: When you see that headline bill where it’s just you playing the night, what does it mean to you as you look back on the life of the project so far?
Bushbaby: I think it’s a good opportunity to explore all of the sounds that I’ve been interested in over the years. There’s definitely a lot of tunes that I could play from the early days that I might not necessarily play in my headline sets now, but I could probably fit in towards the end of the all-night-longs, and just a lot of tunes I like that I never get a chance to play that I can probably fit in.
I’ll have the time to play them. I can choose the right moment to play them. I feel like the Bushbaby journey has been long and winding, and I think that’ll be reflected in the all-night-longs.
Featured image courtesy: Bushbaby.