Neumonic swung by to chat about the funniest moments in his career, his upcoming EP, and how sobriety has shaped his creativity.
Neumonic is widely known as a trailblazer for UK Garage, creating sounds that are forward-thinking as much as they are rooted in culture. Although UKG is a specialty, he can’t be put into one box. Drawing from a wide range of influences, Neumonic’s music reaches beyond any single genre, offering a perspective that challenges boundaries and widens the territory of musical exploration.
Last year, Neumonic continued his upward ascent to the top with many noteworthy performances. His infectious sounds took over well-loved festival stages, including Elements, Lightning in a Bottle, and The Untz. Now, with a new year ahead, he’s set to bring that same high-energy momentum, and then some. The rollout to kick off the new year started with an astounding rumble as Mary Droppinz and Neumonic dropped “What?” off of his upcoming EP. This track is a perfect blend of playful and serious banger tied up nicely in a bow, and the creative chemistry between the two is addictive to say the least.
With new music on the horizon and a busy festival season growing nearer, we thought it would be the perfect time to pick Neumonic’s brain. We dropped in about his upcoming EP, how sobriety shaped his creativity, the funniest experiences he’s had in his career, and more! Check out his exclusive mix on Soundcloud and read on to learn more about the fast-rising newcomer taking the scene by storm.
Stream EDMID Guest Mix || Neumonic on SoundCloud:
Hey Neumonic, thanks for talking with us today! Let’s jump right in with your first release, “What?,” off of your upcoming EP with Mary Droppinz. Can you walk us through the behind-the-scenes banter that led to the playful lyrics?
This track with Mary Droppinz is very fun and was a playful idea we made on the road during our last Colorado shows. The playful lyrics come from a tweet she made that upset the toxic Twitter people, and it was sort of a clap back to them and the toxic nature of that platform. That was the original idea, and then we just kept adding more playful lyrics over the months, and it was a very funny development of a track. It has really been going off when we drop it.
Is “What?” a good indicator of the direction the rest of the EP will be like? What hints can you give fans about what they can expect next?
The rest of the EP actually brings together all my favorite styles and has something for everyone. There is a dubstep track, a dark, demonic UKG track, and a Drum & Bass VIP to close the EP out. I truly brought together everything on this one, and it made sense as a multi-genre artist releasing on the iconic bass music label Deadbeats. I wanted to give this bass audience a taste of everything they should expect from my DJ sets and future productions. The 2-step garage influence is prevalent throughout the release, but genre-wise, this one hits every aspect of my project!
Although you weren’t born in the UK, your music has brought a lot of positive attention to the UKG scene. What led you to start creating your own rude boy sound in the first place?
I’ve always been very obsessed with UK culture and UK music, but after a long London trip eight years ago to dive into their music scene, I came back truly wanting to help bring those sounds to the American audience. Back then, the closest outlet in America was Night Bass, but I really pushed to get the American Bass scene into the style. The sound design and heavy bass are right up their alley, and they just had to get open to a more groovy drum-forward music. I started this project to push that sound, and at first, no one really got it, but it has been very rewarding to watch this whole movement happen and see bassheads, especially, opening up and getting down to this danceable, fun music.
Last year, you took your project all across the States with packed crowds at massive festivals like Infrasound and Submersion. Are there any stops you’re looking forward to the most in 2026?
On the 2026 festival front, I am very excited for Coachella (Do LaB Stage) and The Untz Festival this year. These are like the opposite vibes of each other, and I love to see how versatile my project can be and fit in different places.
Coachella will be special for me as it was the first festival I ever went to in 2015, and it will be wild to actually play it myself. The Untz Festival always feels like home every year and is always one of my favorite weekends of the year. It is filled with literally all of my friends, and Untz was the first bass festival to truly let me showcase this UKG sound in such a big way.
I would absolutely love to play Infrasound or Submersion again; both of those were so much fun, but I won’t know that until later this year. I also have my biggest show yet at Red Rocks this summer, but I can’t share the details just yet!
The Untz is about to celebrate its ten-year anniversary. You’ll be doing not just a b2b, but a b3b with snuffy and clearcast. How do you guys plan to work three insanely loaded USBs into one set?
B2Bs are truly my favorite part about DJing, and I honestly couldn’t tell you how we plan to slam all our loaded USB’s in, and that is the fun part for me. Last year’s B2B with Mary Droppinz at The Untz, we had no plan, and listening back, it was crazy how many genres and ideas we crammed into one hour.
I’m obsessed with so many different kinds of music and love to bounce off the other DJs’ ideas and songs live and treat it like a puzzle. This B3B will be an elaborate one, and I can’t wait to see what we get up to. In the end, I am always just playing the crowd and trying to showcase new sounds to the audience they haven’t heard of. The Untz Festival is always fun to push the bassheads into dancing to new genres that wouldn’t typically be played there.
Anyone would agree that you have an impressive remix catalogue. What has been your favorite remix you’ve worked on, and why?
My favorites are probably my remix for Dread MC and Duckworthsound’s “The Pump” and also the recent remix for ZOF’s “Same Thing.” Both of these came together so quickly for me and were just those remixes that, right when I heard the song, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. My remix for “The Pump” goes crazy live, and it was insane to watch Knife Party drop it on their headline set at UKF Drumsheds. That lineup was so stacked that I almost flew out to it, and then to have the headliner play my track was insane and really solidified that my sound is going in the direction I love so much.
My remix for ZOF, which I actually made over two years ago and did not think was ever going to see the light of day, but I am thrilled it finally came out. This one really showcases a completely different side of my project that I love so much, and I don’t get to show off enough. I love the pretty sad boy future garage sound, but don’t play it live, it is basically all I listen to in my own time. I’m obsessed with how this remix came out and have gotten a lot of love on it, more of the chilled out vibes coming soon!
You recently posted online about being seven years sober. Congrats, that’s an amazing milestone! Looking back, how has sobriety positively shaped your creative journey, and what would you say to someone considering choosing the path of sobriety themselves?
Sobriety is really what made me lock into my project and take it seriously. I’ve always been obsessed with electronic music and the scene; however, I didn’t have the drive to really do my own project until I got sober and wanted healthy outputs for creativity. It has also really shaped the music I enjoy these days and changed a lot of ways in which I interact with the scene.
When I got sober, I really got less into repetitive house and techno music and realized I needed more energy and fun factor in my music to have as much fun on the dancefloor. This really translated into me creatively pushing toward dance forward, energetic music instead of repetitive background music for partying. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s just personally what I wanted to bring to the scene and what I found myself enjoying once sobriety began.
For anyone considering the path of sobriety themselves, I would say to just dive in and realize that you can have fun and do all the same things sober. That is what I found out after getting 30 days sober on Holy Ship and experiencing a full festival vacation sober that I planned in the opposite mindset. It’s been very refreshing to be fully present in the moment and not get lost in the alcohol and drugs that are so prevalent in the music scene. I couldn’t do what I do now if I were not sober, and that makes it easy for me to keep the sobriety going!
And one just for fun, what’s the weirdest or funniest experience you’ve had during your music career?
The funniest experience from my music career has probably been the overall theme of impromptu Neumonic sets at too many festivals to count. I never take any of it for granted, and it has been some of my most memorable times, but after the fact, friends and fans going “yeah, that is a Neumonic thing to happen” is quite hilarious.
Last summer I was thrown on the Thunder stage at Lightning In A Bottle in between Subtronic and Bou after some industry drama and the festival wanting to keep the music going. A few months later, I also filled in for Bakey on a boat at Outlook Croatia and went B2B with Cesco and Sam Binga. The year before I filled in for The Librarian at Texas Eclipse when she didn’t make it, and the year before that I filled in for Bambii on the Thunder stage when she couldn’t make it.
It seems to be an ongoing meme of the DJ who brings his USB “in case the headliner doesn’t make it,” but it actually keeps working out for me. Sometimes in this industry, you have to be in the right place at the right time, and I’m not going to question it, as it keeps happening to me. [Laughs]
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