Sammy Virji, the 28-year-old producer from Witney, Oxfordshire, has taken his joyful blend of UK garage and bassline from Newcastle nightclubs to global stages. In June, he shut down New York's Times Square with a set announcing his new album Same Day Cleaning, followed by headlining his first North American stadium show. 'It didn't feel real, I was freaking out,' he recalls.
Virji's rise accelerated after a viral set at DJ Mag's HQ and a debut at Coachella's second-largest stage in April, where he mixed Radiohead's 'Everything in Its Right Place' with his 2023 track 'If U Need It' to tens of thousands of singing fans. 'I was nervous, but I converted that into excitement,' he says.
His sound blends the swinging drums and chopped vocals of 1990s UK garage with the four-to-the-floor rhythm of bassline, plus elements of house, dubstep, grime, and MC styling. This formula has bridged the UK underground with American EDM, filling a gap where original UK garage never took off. Four Tet notes: 'There seems to be a huge crowd ready to experience UK garage and bassline for the first time.'
Virji's father, trombonist Fayyaz, played on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and introduced him to production software. After early 'bad dubstep' and a teenage obsession with bassline, Virji released his debut album Spice Up My Life in 2020. Collaborations with Flava D, Skrillex, Giggs, and Skepta followed, though he remains bashful: 'I've gone past what I always wanted to achieve.'
Dan Snaith (Caribou) describes Virji's tracks as 'a hybrid of heavy-sounding and joyous'. Virji himself believes in optimism: 'It's very important, especially now.' With his energetic sets and technical mastery, he represents a fresh wave of UK dance music conquering the world.
