Sam aka SMR, thanks for your time speaking to us. What do you think it takes to break out of the UK underground scene right now?
Hello! Thank you for having me. I think, right now, to break out of the underground scene you have to be extremely resilient and have something unique about you and your artistic vision. There’s a lot of amazing young talent coming out of the UK at the minute, and it can be so easy to get caught up in all the noise of what’s happening in the scene. The most important thing is staying true to yourself and not following trends. By doing that, you can create something special that you’ll always be proud of.

You’ve only been producing music for just over a year, what do you see as your biggest goals for the next 12 months?
I started producing in 2024, but because I was in my final year of university, I never really had the time to fully learn the craft. Once I graduated in 2025, I decided to go all in, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve already achieved some of my biggest goals by releasing on Reckless Records (DYEN’s label), playing for Teletech, and now releasing on Teletech. To have done that so quickly is something I never expected, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. Over the next 12 months, I just want to keep improving as a producer and make music that I genuinely love. From a gig perspective, I’d love to play Hidden in Manchester and Galvanisers in Glasgow, as it’s one of the most iconic venues in my city. Hopefully, that’s something I can achieve over the next year, and it’s a huge source of motivation for me.

We read that you studied acting at university, was this something you always wanted to do as a career? What made you change your mind about acting to DJ’ing?
I’ve been acting since I was very young, and I always had a huge passion for it. But as I got older and started attending raves, I became obsessed with the culture and the music. After graduating last year, I had to make the difficult decision to fully commit to either acting or DJing and producing. In my heart, it just felt right to pursue music. I live and breathe hard techno in a way I never did with acting. I’ve never regretted that decision. Seeing my tracks being played to thousands of people and getting the chance to perform in front of big crowds gives me a feeling I never experienced on stage as an actor. It’s something that’s very hard to replicate. That being said, you never know what the future holds. Acting will always be something I’m passionate about, so maybe one day I’ll return to it. Right now, though, my full focus is on DJing and producing, and I’m excited to see where that journey takes me.

Both career paths are hard to break into and involve a lot of rejection. How do you deal with rejection?
As I mentioned earlier, you have to be incredibly resilient in this scene, and the same applies to acting. I’ve experienced rejection from a young age, so it’s never been something that’s affected me too much. It was drilled into me early on that you have to keep showing up, keep working hard, and keep improving your craft every single day. Eventually, opportunities will come if you stay consistent. I believe it’s exactly the same in DJing and producing.

You track ‘Love Will Always Be Enough’ was the breakthrough track, and now you are releasing on Teletech on the 10th July. Can you talk about how this EP is relevant to your heritage and hometown?
It’s a huge honour to release on Teletech. I’ve been attending their events as a raver for the past four years, and I always dreamed of releasing on their label one day. Now that it’s finally happening, it’s a real full-circle moment for me, and I couldn’t think of a better home for these tracks. ‘Gabber From Glasgow’ has become a bit of a Scottish anthem because it pays homage to Glasgow’s MC culture. It’s something that so many of us grew up listening to, and I’m incredibly proud to have done the rework justice while putting my own spin on it.

Given the release title ‘Gabber From Glasgow’ is this a genre that you have been playing, or have focused on when it comes to DJ’ing too?
In my sets, I don’t confine myself to one genre. I love playing everything from hard techno and gabber all the way through to rawstyle. There is something really special about gabber, though. Whenever I drop a few gabber tracks in my sets, the crowd absolutely goes crazy every single time. Standing behind the decks and watching that reaction is one of the best feelings you can have as a DJ.

Finally, what does SMR stand for or mean?
On paper, SMR is simply my initials. But I guess the real question is: what do I stand for? I stand for staying true to yourself and playing the music that you genuinely love. There are a million and one trends every day, and it’s easy to get caught up chasing them. But if you stay true to yourself and your own sound, you’ll find so much more fulfilment in what you’re building, and I think people connect with that authenticity too.