P: Congrats on your debut single ‘WILD!’, which was released on April 9th! And your EP following up later in September… Looking at your background as a radio presenter and DJ at the BBC, to your work championing an array of artists through your label UTOPIA , what makes 2025 the right time to step into the spotlight as a producer and artist?
J: It’s a lot of things, I think. I’m turning 30 in two weeks, and I started in the music industry really young. I was 18 or 19—my first step was student radio at uni. Then, when I was 19, I did an internship at the BBC with Radio One, where I’m a presenter now.
I started learning to DJ around 18, so I’ve been doing it for a long time. The main bulk of what I’ve been doing has been radio—BBC Introducing, Radio One. That’s always been my main thing, alongside DJing. Through all of that, I’ve found a real passion for championing emerging artists, being that person who connects the dots, elevates people, gives them confidence. That’s a huge part of everything I do and something I’ve carried into UTOPIA—my club night, label, and community platform.
So that’s my background, and I still love doing all of that. But I think, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve always wanted to create art and put things out into the world. For a long time, imposter syndrome held me back—thinking, “I can’t produce, it’s so scary and daunting.” I did a gender report in 2022 about the lack of female representation in UK dance music, especially among producers. And I realized—well, I’m not producing either. So I thought, now I need to.
That’s not the only reason, of course. I just really wanted to push through that barrier and see if I could do this. Time was also a big factor for me. I just never had any time, like, all my time was, as I said, DJing radio, podcast, label, and then I’m still doing all those things, but kind of last year I just, I had a year of just doing what felt good. wasn’t with my management for a whole year, and it was just managing myself. It’s kind of having a bit of a reset. Had my ‘Saturn Returns’ a couple years ago, and honestly, I think I just found my voice, and part of that was this kind of confidence and leaning towards things that felt good.
And one of those things was creating, and I started just by doing some sessions with my friends, just spending a lot of time in Ableton, working with people who make me feel comfortable. And I was just loving it and creating art, whether that’s production or, like writing, like I’m doing spoken word on one track. I’ve also been journaling a lot more–I’m a writer. That’s kind of my first love, writing, but, yeah, just it’s everything, and I love how it makes me feel. So that’s the really long answer, but it’s a very layered answer.
P: I feel like what stands out from what you’ve been saying is this whole aspect of finding your voice. I think when you’re with your finger in so many different pots, it’s hard for you to kind of put yourself in the forefront, and especially with producing having such an astoundingly large void of female representation, POC representation, queer representation. It’s so important to be the one to place your mark there.
You also touched on this briefly, but it deals with a question I had regarding that aspect of being under the siege of imposter syndrome. How did you push yourself out of that? Was it the friends you’re working with? Was it an inner process through journaling? Was it something that you just felt came to you? What was your thinking behind that?
J: For pushing through imposter syndrome and pushing through just hard times, I’ve just learned, probably through, a few years of doing therapy and journaling a lot about my inner child, and she is, in fact, my phone background, this lady. *points to screen*. Yeah, she’s, like, six years old, big hair, fearless as fuck, like I was. So my mom would always say you would just say it like it is. “I like this. I don’t want to do this”, tossing everyone around, just fearlessly being brave and a legend. And I think reconnecting with that side of myself through therapy and also through creating. I think it’s a very child-like state, and you’re curious about sounds, and you’re just especially, like, end of last year, start of the year, when the weather was bad, like, I’d just be in here in this room, like headphones on, spending hours just diving in and creating. Yeah, I think just probably through the process of therapy and getting more confident and overcoming some hard things has enabled me to to push through. But I still have it like where I get, I get very nervous about making music sometimes. I have this joke with my partner that I’m afraid of Ableton, like I’m scared of it, like I’ll look at it and then I’ll just, we’ll just be having this stare-off for ages, because I’m like, Oh, I don’t want to do it because it is intimidating.
So I still struggle with it. And, you know, with other aspects of my career, I’ve definitely felt imposter syndrome, but I think it’s still very new to me as a music maker. Hopefully, in 5-10 years when I’m doing it, as long as everything else, I won’t feel as scared.
My friend said this to me, like, no one else is more worthy of making music than another person, you know, like, we’re all human beings. We all deserve to express ourselves. And when I think about it like that, like I’m just doing it because I feel ready to, and I want to, and I hope people like it, and I’m excited to see, you know, where this takes me, like me in this different lane, like, not just a presenter or a DJ or a curator, I’m actually a creator, and I’m just excited to see where that takes me. But I’ve just loved the process, and I love the music.
P: A lot of the time, you look back on moments when you were scared to do something, and you realize those moments actually gave birth to something beautiful. That fear and discomfort can be really generative. So I’m curious—what’s your angle when it comes to your creative process? Are you someone who works in a structured way, pushing an idea through from start to finish? Or is it more like being a vessel, absorbing everything around you and then channeling it through your younger self, just playing?
J: To be honest, I think I’ve been in vessel mode for the last ten years. I mean, just for my radio show alone, I listen to 500-600 tracks a week that I have to sort through and curate for Radio 1. And then there’s all the digging I do for gigs on weekends—old mixes, Shazaming stuff, you name it. So my taste is super broad, and I guess my musical knowledge is pretty wide, too.
Subconsciously, all of that feeds into what I make. A lot of my tracks are UK bass-influenced—people like Champion, Flava D, Special Request, even Disclosure. When I was 18 or 19, going out, it was all bassy stuff, and that’s really come back around now. But I also love pop. Like, truly love it. My first albums were Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and the Black Eyed Peas’ Elephunk. I’m obsessed with Kim Petras, Azealia Banks—problematic queen, but I love her. I’ve always been into pop.
With the tracks I’m putting out now—like “Wild” and the next one coming—they’ve got that poppy, hooky vocal, but I want them to be fun club tunes. I jokingly coined this genre “UKC”—UK C*nty—but it’s kind of become a thing. It’s girly, country, bassy music. It’s a feeling. I said it as a joke, but people got it. They’re like, “Is this UKC?” and I’m like, “Yes, that is UKC!”
P: Okay, so if an alien landed on Earth and had never heard music before, how would they recognize UKC? What are the flavors?
J: Great question. UKC has that UK bass element—could be a dubby, growling bassline or skippy garage-style hi-hats, maybe a big drop. But then it’s got this feminine, country energy. Think pop diva vocals—maybe even a bit silly, humorous, like lyrics about heels and tiny handbags. It’s fun and full of personality, something you’d hear in a queer club. It’s super current, and honestly, half the tracks in my DJ sets are probably UKC now.
P: It’s giving Azealia Banks energy—c*nty, fun night-on-the-town vibes but with that growly edge. I love it.
J: Exactly! It’s like hands in the air, shouting, “Oh my god, I love this tune,” like, oh my god, I love this tune, like from this Gwen Stefani album from 20 years ago. But also like screw-facing to the bass, because it’s so disgustingly good. Do you know what I mean?
P: I want to hear more about UTOPIA . There’s so much history there—from throwing parties to being an artist and now using it as a platform. You even did a virtual version during COVID. It’s been this space for emerging talent, but now it’s also your musical home. How does that feel?
J: Yeah, it’s wild. I’m so glad it’s evolved this way. I feel like I’ve built a whole world over the past five years. We launched in 2020—well, we were meant to start in April 2020, but then the pandemic hit. So we kicked off with a livestream from my garden, and the first in-person event was a socially distanced sit-down rave at Night Tales in East London. That was in September or October 2020.
People weren’t supposed to stand, but everyone did anyway because they were drunk—dancing and vibing. The lineup was all friends: me, Tisha, Helena Star, Absolute, and Tabasco, who were all friends of mine! I used to throw parties at uni, so being back in the promoter space was great. Then we toured to Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield, and I started my Pikes residency in Ibiza—that’s now in its fourth year. We’ve done events at places like Venue MOT, Dalston Superstore, NT’s Loft… everywhere really.
Recently, we did a label showcase with Defected, and we’ve got an event this Thursday with Keep Hush in Peckham. We’re also planning a Pride party and something bigger for September. UTOPIA ’s always been very queer, vibrant, fab, and a bit silly. We’ve got our resident drag queen, Cassandra, who’s often part of it. It’s just a very fun night.
And now, as a label, we’ve released so much music I’m proud of. My goal is for artists to have a wholesome, supportive experience—get their music out, play UTOPIA events, get radio and DJ support. It’s like a whole ecosystem now. And a lot of them start collaborating with each other, and it’s just a whole thing. I’m really excited to release my own music through it. It feels aligned.
P: It sounds like a true community—a creative nest for all these different parts of what you do. It’s amazing how you balance it all. Speaking of collaborations, your EP (coming in September—congrats!) features some great names: Bullet Tooth, Chicana People. Are these friends? Creative partners? Any surprises during the process?
J: Thank you! Yeah, so last year and this year, I wanted to do sessions with people I already knew or admired—mostly friends—just to learn production faster and feel more comfortable. It’s so daunting! Like, what’s that plugin even doing? Do you know what I mean? EVen just learning those little things has been game-changing.
I feel safe with my collaborators. There’s no pressure. But yeah, sometimes I still get anxious, get in my head. I think that’s imposter syndrome. But I don’t think that’s a rare thing for people to have in sessions.
So for “WILD!,” I started it with Airwolf Paradise, an Australian DJ I met at Warehouse Project. We got in the studio the next week and clicked immediately. He’s so fab–and he’s mixing some of my tracks too. “WILD!” came together fast. The vocals are actually by my partner—we wrote them together, she sang the topline, and I ran it through AI. Then I finished the production and it kind of became “WILD!”.
The next tune started with Bullet Tooth. Again, I brought the idea home and worked on it with my partner. Both of us on the vocals. It’s kind of like “WILD!”, but even sillier—more UKC, if anything.
And the third single which is coming on later, with a different vibe, I made with Chicana People—two friends of mine who make more chill, Bonobo/Four Tet-that’s kind of their lane. That track is really special. It’s kind of about what we were just talking about, about talking to your inner child and reconnecting. And I’m doing spoken word on that tune, and it’s clubby, but emotional, and it is definitely a different lane to these first two tracks, but I’m really excited for that to come up with the EP.
P: That’s beautiful. I mean, just seeing the Ableton interface gives me chills—it’s so overwhelming. But you’re building this whole ecosystem, where everyone’s contributing, helping, supporting. How do you see UTOPIA —and yourself—growing in the next five years? Is there a master plan?
J: There’s always a plan—I’m always five steps, five years ahead in my head.
As an artist, I just want to be seen more as an artist, and be more visible. Just playing out a lot of my own tunes, so you know what the Jaguar sound is like. More collabs, more confidence in production, less imposter syndrome, and just more fun! Like it’s really, really enjoyable already, this has brought a lot to me, and the tracks are not out yet, right? It’s given me a lot of excitement in life, and I’m just excited to just see where that goes.
As for UTOPIA —that’s my legacy. I’m already doing some really cool stuff already: BBC shows, Jaguar Foundation, the Gender Report. But UTOPIA is the platform. It’s the world I inhabit—and now so many others do too. We’ve got a WhatsApp group of 400 artists just sharing and supporting. I want to grow that.
Eventually, I’d love to take UTOPIA global—bring UKC to the States or Europe. Do a tour with me and UTOPIA artists. I’d love for Utopia to reach Defected-level notoriety one day—you know, become the label everyone wants to be on. I want our festival to grow, and eventually have sub-labels for different things, like the radio show. It’s all happening. Honestly, I think the hardest part is behind us now. Coming up to five years, I really feel like people are starting to notice us. We’ve got a few exciting opportunities coming in too. Last year, I worked really hard on building our brand identity and pushing everything forward. I’ve put my whole heart into Utopia—maybe one day it’ll make money too, who knows! But it’s my baby. Five years in, I’m incredibly proud. And I think the next five years are going to be even more exciting and amazing.
P: I love how enthusiastic you are—it’s like I’m living through you just hearing about it! I haven’t even experienced all those moments building this ‘baby,’ this nest, but I still feel the energy. That’s so i nspiring. So now ‘WILD!’ has been released(which is sick!), what can we expect next from Jaguar? Any tour dates, secret projects, hidden scavenger hunts we should be following?
J: Yeah—so debut single out this week, which is wild. I’m hosting IMS in Ibiza with Pete Tong at the end of April, which will be my first big thing of the year. Got a couple of dates at Pikes in Ibiza too, and a few other summer gigs lined up there. My second single drops in June. I’m also heading to the U.S. to play Lightning in a Bottle at the end of May—so exciting!
Honestly, I’m just riding the wave right now. I’ve got some great gigs coming in, and I’m leaning into doing something totally new—something that scares the shit out of me but also excites me. Just seeing where the music takes me.
On the UTOPIA side, we’ve got more releases coming. We’re putting out music from an amazing artist named Sonaku, and another one from a producer called Ghost. So many demos flying around right now! I’m really proud of the artists we’ve worked with—like Lou Ray, Drea, Mel Brown. I feel such a strong connection with the artists we release because they trust me, and I take that seriously. I’ll champion them every step of the way—play their music in my sets, share it everywhere. I genuinely think the music on the label is amazing.
If anyone wants to check it out, you can find us on Instagram at @utopia_worldwide_. We’ve also got a Spotify playlist called 100% UTOPIA. I’m just so passionate about getting these artists heard and elevating them—it means everything to me.
P: That’s amazing—ride the wave! I feel like 2025 is going to be Jaguar’s summer, and Utopia’s summer too. You’ve got the U.S. dates, the tours, the releases. It’s going to be fun, daunting, and exciting—which is exactly how it should be.
J: Right?
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