In-Reach × Sully &#8211; Interview

IR: You’re regularly described as a luminary of modern jungle, but how do you actually think about your own position in the scene? Is that a label that sits comfortably?

Sully: Not for me to say, really. I just crack on with the writing and mixing, as long as I’m afforded the time to do that I’m happy. It’s nice to get some words of encouragement along the way, but you can’t let that stuff become the motivation.

IR: Jungle has had waves of revival, but your work always feels like it’s pushing forward rather than looking back. What keeps you future-facing when the nostalgia pull in this genre is so strong?

Sully: If you only look to the past it’s pretty restrictive. You’re trapped by what’s been done, and half the fun for me is finding new techniques. Or at least stuff that’s new to me. I start each project with an idea of getting a bit lost, and usually I manage that easily enough. Then it’s a job of getting back to somewhere that fits a club or a soundsystem. That first stage isn’t really doable if you’re only working with pre-existing ideas. You’re always going to end up somewhere familiar, and the potential for discovery is a big part of the fun.

IR: ‘Model Collapse’ launched fabric’s revived FABRICLIVE label, which was a significant moment for both you and the label. What did it mean to be the first artist release back?

Sully: I’ve had some unforgettable nights at fabric, so the club itself has made a real impact on me. And the FABRICLIVE mix series has such a strong history, so it’s great to be a part of that story. Clubs come and go, especially in London, so I’m really happy to see an organisation like fabric find new strides after so many years.

IR: The track ended up in the UK Singles Chart Top 40. Did that crossover surprise you, or did you feel the weight of it when you were making it?

Sully: The sales chart, yeah. Obviously the vast majority of the industry is now streaming, but the fact that more obscure acts can be up there with pop stars when it comes to people actually handing over their hard-earned cash says a lot about the passion of the underground. I’d managed the lofty heights of number 39 before, so I knew it was doable, but I also know it’s got to land well to get there. With that record, as with most, it was a case of falling in and out of love with it during the writing process. This one definitely had its highs and lows.

IR: Basic Rhythm’s remix came from him wanting a version that worked in his own sets, almost a personal dubplate that became public. How does it feel hearing someone you respect reinterpret your work for their own needs?

Sully: It’s a great kind of conversation, hearing someone else bounce off your ideas and take them somewhere else. Sometimes things end up in places you don’t quite get, which is interesting. You realise how subjective creative work is, even when it’s your own. I don’t always agree with Basic Rhythm, but I’m consistently interested by his vision, so collaborating like that brings things into focus nicely.

Photo credit: Lola & Pani

IR: He’s spoken about how the tradition of producer dubplates has largely disappeared from DNB culture. Do you share that feeling, and is there something lost there?

Sully: He’s had a much longer history in DNB than me. I’ve been more on the periphery until the last five or ten years, so I don’t have as strong a sense of how things have changed. I’m a few years junior, and dubstep was the real movement during my younger years, but dubplates were a massive thing then. Cutting houses were a real hub, and we don’t really have an equivalent anymore. Edits and bootlegs are all over the place, but that’s different, isn’t it? It’s less personal. I’m sure that’s linked to the loss of real physical spaces like cutting houses. I do still hear the odd special though, voicings with shout-outs and all that. Would love to hear more of it.

IR: ‘Proof’ came directly out of long conversations with Basic Rhythm about how you use breakbeats. What was he challenging you on?

Sully: The crux of it was to stop using drums that were recorded fifty years ago, haha. It was obviously a key part of what I was doing at the time, and it’s probably what most people associate me with. But I think he could hear the ideas separate to that, my approach independent of the stylistic thing. That was appealing, to shed something that had started to feel necessary, and see how I fared without it.

IR: You’ve described building drum patterns from the ground up on ‘Proof’ rather than working with chopped loops. Why had you moved away from that approach, and what did it feel like to go back?

Sully: There’s a flexibility that a chopped breakbeat allows that’s hard to get with programmed drums. The classics are really forgiving with extreme editing and syncopation. I’ve tried to work out why that is with limited success. There’s something about those recordings: an implied heaviness, but played with a deftness that lets you get silly with the chopping and rearranging while keeping a flow. There’s a tonal thing too. The harmonics of each kit piece seem to gel with each other and the room they were recorded in, which makes them pretty special as instruments. You can treat them more like a tabla than a 909. I had my fun with all that, but I started to feel limited by it, which is why I began looking at other ways of working at the same tempo. It’s good to get a fresh perspective, new possibilities. I’ve got quite into synthesising drums from scratch, and it feels like I’m only just scratching the surface.

IR: You’ve released across FABRICLIVE, Rupture, Keysound, Astrophonica and more, each with its own identity. How do you decide where a record belongs?

Sully: I definitely work better this way round. Labels will often ask for a commitment that you then write to, but I much prefer freewheeling and fielding it out once I know what the thing is. Most of the labels I work with I’ll end up staying in touch with, made some good mates through that process. To be honest, the social aspect is one of the main draws these days. Releasing music independently has never been easier, but that shared investment in something adds a lot to the process. Over the years I’ve developed a taste for what tune might appeal to what label. Couldn’t really say more than that, it’s a gut feeling.

IR: What does the rest of 2026 look like for you?

Sully: I’ve just signed off a single with a label I’ve not worked with before. Did a few events with them last year and was really into those, so it felt like a slightly different area but a good fit. I think it’ll be more experimentation in the studio, getting deeper into synthesis, so with a bit of luck following releases will be making use of that. I definitely want to open things up more. Summer is looking pretty busy too. I’ve got my own event, Pressure, at the start of May, then a string of festivals, clubs and day parties here and across Europe. So any new weirdness will be getting a good road test.

IR: For anyone coming to your music for the first time through this release, what’s the one record you’d point them towards first?

Sully: Would have to be the Swandive EP. Four tunes, a fair bit of variety, but it’s pretty to the point.

IR: Thanks for sitting down with us, Sully. Between the FABRICLIVE milestone, the chart action, and everything brewing in the studio, it’s clear there’s plenty more to come. We’re looking forward to it.

Proof is out 24th April on FABRICLIVE. Follow Sully for updates on Pressure and what’s next. Check out some useful links below

Header Photo Credit: Szymon Kawecki

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