Release number three from Huxley’s Dumb Safari and the label head himself returns to action, this time in collaboration with old friend and fellow dancefloor deviant, Wouter S.

For a relationship built upon honesty and respect – “if I make something shit he tells me it’s shit, and vice versa.” – its a suprise to learn that this is the very first collaboration from the Dutch / UK pairing.

Featuring the vocal licks of Chicago Hustle, exhorting the benefits of belief and hard work, ‘Since’ is an electronic bump-a-thon that grooves and grinds its way, lead by its clean, heavy and incredibly persistant bassline.

With Dumb Safari being a home for artists and producers to come together and get creative, it is only fitting that Huxley & Wouter S unveil their debut collaboration on the platform. With two more locked and loaded for later this year, we can’t wait for their next instalment.

You can now listen to the full premiere of ‘Since’ exclusively on When We Dip while reading the great interview we had with Huxley. Enjoy!

WWD: Hello Huxley, Welcome to When We Dip. You’ve recently launched a new label, Dumb Safari. Tell us a little about it and your plans for the project?

Having already run a couple of labels with some other people in the past ten or so years and them having to close for whatever reason, I took a bit of a break from the label game and focused on trying to fit on other labels. I thought that was the better route to take, but actually it boxed into the corner that I think a lot of producers get to when they aren’t the newest new toy anymore or are a bit lost in the fog when it comes to where they sit in the scene. But, after a few years I yearned to do my own thing again. It took about two years to get the design right, and the direction I wanted to take, as well as the kind of artists I wanted to work with. I so excited by how the first three have gone and now I’m super excited to see what the future holds. We’ve got a bunch of great people onboard and we’re really focusing on up ’n coming talent, people like Uncle Knows, Carlos Curmi and RN ISMO and a few more too!

WWD: You latest single, ’Since’, is a collaborations with Dutch producer Wouter S. How did the hook up come about and what makes the collaboration a success?

Wouter and I have known each other for about ten years. We met at some festival in The Netherlands (I can’t even remember which) and we’ve been tight ever since! We have spent many an event shooting the shit and played b2b with each other tons of time. Over covid, or maybe just before we started swapping stems over the internet and building a little portfolio of music, but tbh it just sat there while we worked out what to do with it. With the birth of Dumb Safari it made sense to finally take some of these tunes from personal IDs to fully fledged singles. This track started from Wouter who sent it to me and I wanted to sign it as it was, but I wanted to do a little edit for my sets which then morphed into the shape it is today. We decided to add our pal, Rogi (Chicago Hustle) on vocals and boom, we have ‘Since’!

WWD: You’ve said it’s a home for new talent. How easy is it to unearth and keep up to date with new artists and producers?

I try to keep my ear to the ground as much as I can. I’m lucky that I’m in a position that a lot of people send me music, but also because of my online and Ibiza retreats I’ve been able to discover some amazing talent. Carlos and RN ISMO who both have releases to come in the next couple of months are perfect examples of this. Carlos worked with me on a different track online in Covid and I met Imso on an Ibiza Retreat I was doing and was massively impressed with both of them!!

WWD: For any aspiring Dumb Safari artist, what are you looking for when A&R’ing for the label and what tips can you give to make your demo stand out from the crowd?

Listen to what we do, foot forward house music. Be it tech/deep or classic house, keep it as a reference, but also if you have something different you can’t find a home for, because a lot of labels have a very thin margin of what they sign, then send it. I’m so up for releasing bangers, but also some left field grooves and things that can be special. I love throwing a curve ball in my own productions, so I’m so here for it for others to try too!

WWD: With your own productions, you confidently sit in both the underground and more mainstream camps, and you’ve recently released music on labels including Toolroom, Shall Not Fade, Ultra 20:20 Vision and more. How easy is it maintain the balance, and when you start a track do you do so with an intention on style and sound or do you always start with a blank canvas?

Yeah, pretty much, always. I normally start off with an inspiration and then I fumble the bag and the tune goes off in its own direction! I try to just keep going with whatever direction it takes (if it’s good) and see where it comes out and fits. I’ve tried to sit there and just make the same track again and again and easily fit in a box, but I just can’t do it. It’s so fucking boring to me. I just want to sit there and make noise and do what the fuck I want. I’m basically on my 20th year in this business in some way, shape or form, and I realise the best music is always the music that you make that means something to you, or if it doesn’t mean anything, at least something that you like

WWD: Whats on your wish list for 2023?

Who knows. This year is a big one for me in lots of ways, who knows where I’ll be this time next year. I don’t really have many other than to build a label and a family that I’m proud of. I want to try and turn DS into something special over the next few years! Lets see how it goes

Release Date: March 17th, 2023. Buy Here

Huxley: Facebook // SoundCloud
Wouter S: Facebook // SoundCloud
Dumb Safari: Facebook