Stepping out: GLXY enter a new chapter.

Words by Halogenix

Around January of 2026 i got a whatsapp from Jon GLXY, something that i was very used to as the two of us had built up quite a rapport over the years of sharing new Larry June tunes, Alchemist beats, resto-mod porsche pics on IG or cringey DnB memes. So when i read the message 'fancy dropping a GLXY EP on GG??' I had to do a double take. It's not often an extablished act seeks new ventures, especially going from a bohemoth like Shogun to a small outfit like GG. We jumped on the phone with Tom and discussed the proposition; the Shogun term was up, and the prospect of new challenges was on the horizon. When setting up the label i had my own internal ambitions of acts that i'd love to sign, GLXY were top of my list.

I was very straight up with them; the way i run my label is about curation and artistic expression. I offered them my ears, my eyes and my time. What came out of the next 6 months was for me, some of their finest work. Building on their well found identity and style, but adding new twists and turns, taking it darker and flexing their diversity. It's the beginning of what i hope to be a long and fruitful journey together, so i felt it was only right to sit down with them both and have a chat about their debut EP on the label, NO ID.

This EP feels like a deliberate departure from what people might consider to be your signature sound. How important is pushing your own limits to you as artists?

Tom: If you flick through our back cat, you will quickly notice that most of the stuff we release is an evolution of the previous project in a way. Yes, we’ve always come back to our soulful side time and time again because that is a big part of who we are as artists and where our influences lie. But, we’ve always pushed to experiment with different moods and sounds. Nowadays as an artist, versatility is such an important factor, and for us as a duo relatively deep into our journey,  it keeps things new and exciting. 

Jon: I think this is probably true for the title track, but the reality is we actually have loads of clubby tunes and ideas that just never get released so it feels good to actually see one through to completion. I think the rest of the EP feels like a natural evolution of the upfront liquid / garage tinged sound we’ve been pushing for a while now. Ultimately though if 2 releases sound exactly the same then we’re standing still and not really taking advantage of what it is to be an artist.

You were with Shogun for a long time, how has the move felt so far?

T: We have loved being with Shogun and we have so many close mates and great memories from our time there. When we signed with Shogun, the sound and the direction of the label perfectly aligned with us as artist, and I think the same thing is true now we are working with Gemini Gemini.

J: Feels good to me, had an absolutely amazing 8/9 years with Shogun and we’re part of that family forever. But like with the creative side of things its important to keep pushing forward and challenging ourselves.

GLXY on Gemini seems like a natural fit. What does the ideal label and artist relationship look like to you now?

T:  The more I think about answering this the more I change my mind. With the way the scene / industry currently is, things can get very business-like and serious, which I personally find a bit suffocating to the creative process. So based on that I think the answer is quite clear, it’s all about the music and good energy, the rest comes naturally. 

J: I’d say it should be a pretty simple relationship, the label facilitates the artists vision, the artist delivers what they deem to be art thats true to themselves. And then together they can work out the best way to present that to the world.

You both hold full-time jobs outside the project. How does that shape the way you move through the industry?

T: Put simply, for me it keeps the music and the artistry in the guise of a hobby. For us, I think has paid dividends in allowing experimentation and periods of hyper focused creativity. Obviously sometimes it can be a juggling act, but when we’re both on it during those periods of writing, we undoubtedly create our best work. Similar to previous answers, this helps us keep a music first approach. 

J: I think it’s a blessing in disguise, we’ve spoken on it a few times but its not any less true. It gives you one foot in “the real world” and almost creates a nice level of detachment from the less important things.

Technology, politics, culture all feel like they’re in flux. Does any of that find its way into your music?

T: To be honest, when open my laptop and start producing, the music is all I think about. With a busy day job and young family, I weirdly use production like I do exercise, and really see it as a way to switch off and lift mood / settle anxieties.

J: naturally as artists you channel whatever you’re feeling at the time, and at the moment we’re in very uncertain times so in someways, yes. There’s also the dawn of AI use in creative outlets, we’ve tried out the tools to see what they can offer but I think for now we’re pretty content with the old way of making music.

You said this represents a new chapter in your journey. Is the end goal mapped out, or are you finding it as you go? In any good story there’s always a protagonist and an antagonist, who or what would those both be in this chapter

T: We’ve never really had an end goal, we just love writing and releasing whatever music we’re feeling at the time. Historically, we’ve loved the balance of working on short form releases, EPs, singles etc, then when the feeling strikes we’ll comment to an LP or full album project. That feeling hasn’t struck again just yet…

NO ID samples Ben UFO talking about the lost ritual of hunting down tracks, and there's been talk lately of producers going back to gatekeeping. Would the scene be as vibrant if knowledge was harder to come by?

T: First of all huge shouts to Ben UFO, the use of this sample in the first instance was almost born out of jealousy of not being able to see him more regularly. What he brings to DJing that really resonates with me is his crazy variety of selections across genre during a short set, with pleasingly slow mixing. Based on that, I don’t think the scene would be as vibrant if knowledge was harder to come by, there needs to be more books in the library…

J: I think there’s 2 versions of this answer. On the one hand that drive we had when we were younger to discover, and find the thing we’d been looking for was at times super rewarding, and that in turn, helped build a passion for the music and the art. With so much music being released things can feel a little oversaturated at times which means that music doesn’t get the room to breathe and we’re probably getting less “classics”. On the other hand, passing down knowledge from generation to generation is also how we evolve as a race so in that respect, gatekeeping doesn’t help push things forward. Its a complex discussion!

Follow GLXY: Bandcamp | Instagram | Soundcloud

Buy/Stream the NO ID EP here: https://glxy.bandcamp.com/album/no-id-ep