George Smeddles Talks South Records, His Latest EP, Future Plans & More

George Smeddles has swiftly ascended into the global music scene, crafting a distinct style of house music that blends garage, Motown, jazz, soul, and funk influences. Since his breakout in 2018 with ‘Shake Your Body,’ he has maintained momentum with hits like ‘Start The Party,’ dominating Beatport in 2019. Establishing his ‘South’ label in 2022 and collaborating with industry giants like Darius Syrossian solidified his status, evidenced by chart-toppers like ‘Back In The Dance’ and remixes including Indeep’s ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life.’ Alongside studio work, Smeddles headlines prestigious venues and festivals worldwide, with releases on labels like PIV and Meta in 2023. 

Following the well-received first part of his ‘For The Music’ EP, London’s George Smeddles marks his second release of 2024, returning with the second and final part of the release on his South Records imprint, delivering a generous serving of upfront House music flavours in the process. 

We’re delighted to welcome George to Data Transmission for an all-encompassing chat about music, his career, the label and much more. Let’s dive in. 

Hey George, thanks for joining us. You’ve been in the US over the last couple of weeks; what did you do on your trip?

Hey guys, Yes, it was such a great tour; what didn’t I do?

All seven gigs were amazing, met up with friends, met lots of new ones, loads of good food, I actually did the whole tour sober so I was up in the mornings doing lots of stuff too which was new for me.. was invited to my first basketball game in San Fransisco (Warriors are now my team) haha

And plenty more. So all-round, a Great trip!

You’re about to release the second and final part of your ‘For The Music’ EP. What can you tell us about that?

Yes, it was a really fun release to make, and it’s been just as fun to put out and watch everyone else playing all the tracks!

Why did you decide to split the release into two parts?

I feel the market is extremely saturated right now, and I have lots of big singles I’m putting out this year. So this was an EP for the underground househeads & I felt six was too much to put out at once. Splitting it over two weeks gives each release time to breathe a bit.

What are your favourite tracks from the overall EP?

Hooky really gets the room fired up & I’ve been able to play it in any set. It’s one of the oldest on the EP, other than Phone the Sax; I think that one is about four years old!

Something Funky has been a big one in my sets; I originally sang the vocal myself just as a reference as it came to mind when I was putting the track together, but after trying some different styles, my vocal seemed to work the best, even though I couldn’t stand hearing it at the start. When I saw it getting played by the likes of Chez Damier & Joseph Capriati, I thought maybe it was ok to put it out as it is!

What have you got lined up for South Records over the rest of 2024?

We have some mega releases lined up! I have EPs & Remixes from Chez Damier, Jansons, Rooleh, Ruze, Ed Nine, Duncan Thomas, & lots of original records by myself to come out too!

What artists are you really into at the minute?

There are a lot of artists I’m feeling right now; luckily, most of them are coming on South in some way, so you will see everyone whose sounds I’m digging will be featured on the label & showcases we are about to start – feeling very blessed to be able to be working with so many talented people right now!

How do you disconnect from music and take downtime?

This year, there isn’t much downtime. The last few years I had downtime between studio & DJing, But for me this year is about taking things to the next level, I have the best music I’ve ever had under my belt & now is the time to release it all!

Lastly, what can we expect from you over the coming months?

So, you can expect lots of original music and a lot of music coming on South, too. I will also be launching my new alias, ‘Late Nite City.’ That project is three years in the making, so I’m super excited for everyone to hear what we’ve been doing!

George Smeddles’ ‘For The Music Pt. 2’ is available to download/stream here via South Records. George joins us on the Data Transmission stage at Hidden Festival on Saturday 29th June alongside Alisha, Detlef, Josh Butler, Late Replies, Loz Seka, Samuel Morgan, MiddleGround, Cizzla, Crib & Kez and our Data Transmission Remix Competition Winner CHANNE for all the information check out the Hidden Festival announcement and Get Tickets From Skiddle!