Contributing WriterJulian Fox is steadily carving out a distinct identity for both himself as a producer and his For Fox Sake label, blending the raw, underground energy of classic tech house with catchy hooks, driving grooves and a more contemporary dancefloor feel.
With 2026 marking a year of finding greater clarity in the label’s sound and artistic direction, his latest release, “You Gotta,” captures that evolution through its stripped-back vocal, old-school organ groove and infectious energy. Alongside the release, Julian has also stepped up for the latest Music Is 4 Lovers Lovecast, putting together a mix that reflects the sound and energy behind For Fox Sake.
We caught up with Julian to talk about the label’s evolution, his approach to production, the story behind “You Gotta,” and what’s next for For Fox Sake.
How has 2026 been so far for you and for For Fox Sake?
I think it’s been an amazing year in terms of learning and really finding the direction I want to take the label. Especially stylistically, both with the sound and the overall artistic vision. Everything has become much more consistent between releases.
I think I also understand much better now what I actually want For Fox Sake to represent. The main thing I’m still learning is how to communicate what we’re building and bring people into that world. Making the music and creating the ideas comes quite naturally to me, but showing people the bigger picture behind it is still something I’m figuring out.
What’s the story behind “You Gotta” and how did it come together?
I was listening to a lot of new releases this year and loved hearing that old-school organ house sound coming back. That was actually the first element I started with, and the track developed from there.
For me, the track also represents taking your chance. “You Gotta” do it, whatever that thing is. When an opportunity comes, you have to take it and make it yours. I like when a track can have a very simple idea behind it without needing to explain everything to the listener.
You’ve stripped the vocal right back to just the title phrase — what made you want to use voice that way instead of telling more of a story?
I think keeping it simple actually makes the message stronger. You’re not watering it down, and at the same time you’re giving the listener space to interpret it in their own way.
The phrase can mean completely different things depending on who is listening. And honestly, repeating “You Gotta” is just super catchy.
How would you describe the sound you’ve built for For Fox Sake, and how does this release fit into that?
I think it’s a developing version of the tech house I grew up with. I love the old-school tech house from when I started DJing around 2016, but I also really like where the genre is going now with more musical elements, faster energy and cleaner drums.
I try to combine that slightly muddy, underground feeling I started with, with a newer kind of energy that can still connect with someone who isn’t necessarily listening to underground club music every weekend. I don’t want the music to lose that club feeling, but I also don’t think underground music has to be difficult to enjoy.
“You Gotta” fits really naturally into that idea for me.
What does “underground vibes with catchy dancefloor hooks” mean to you in practice when you’re in the studio? How do you balance the two?
That’s basically exactly what I mean. You need the hard-hitting drums, a driving kick and, for me, those snappy claps that immediately make you want to move your shoulders.
But you also need to give your head something to follow. A catchy synth, bassline or vocal that makes the track enjoyable even if you’re not standing on a dancefloor in Ibiza.
For me, the best club tracks have something you remember afterwards. It can still be dark, repetitive and underground, but there should be one element that stays in your head.
How do you know when a track like this is finished, and when it’s ready to sit atop everything else on the label? Do you have anyone you go to for feedback?
A track is never really finished. There’s always something I could change, but if I thought like that forever, I would never release anything.
I try to get it to a version I’m genuinely happy playing out, and then stop overthinking it. Playing a track is probably one of the best tests because sometimes something that sounds perfect when you’ve been sitting in front of Logic for hours feels completely different when you hear it in a proper room.
I also think feedback is useful, especially from people whose ears and taste you trust, but you can’t ask too many people either. At some point you start changing things because somebody else would have made the track differently, rather than because the track actually needs it.
Working on something for too long can sometimes make it worse. At some point you have to let the track leave the nest or it can never fly.
What gear do you use to produce? What is your studio setup like?
I’m a lifelong Logic Pro X user. I’m so comfortable with it now and know my way around it so well that I don’t really see a reason to switch. The simplicity of it works perfectly with my creative process.
My actual setup might be one of the least consistent of any producer. A lot of the time I’m genuinely producing on my AirPods Pro. I know that sounds strange, but I’ve used AirPods since the first pair came out and listen to them for hours every day, whether that’s music, videos or just everyday listening, so I know their sound profile incredibly well.
I think knowing whatever you’re listening on is more important than having the most expensive setup in the world. When I’m actually producing in the studio, though, I use Genelec monitors.
What’s it like running the label alongside your own productions? Does one inform the other?
Producing is my dream and my comfort zone. Having the label is really just a way of sharing that excitement with other people and letting others dream with me.
At the same time, running the label definitely influences how I make music because I’m not only thinking about one individual track anymore. I’m also thinking about how releases sit next to each other and what kind of world we’re building around them.
It takes a lot of pressure away creatively as well. I still release music on other labels, but if I make something I love and another label doesn’t want it, that’s completely fine. I can still give the track the release I think it deserves through For Fox Sake.
There’s something very freeing about being able to say, “Okay, they don’t want it. Fine, I’ll release it myself.” It lets me make music without constantly thinking about whether somebody else is going to approve it.
What advice would you give to a young producer wanting to start a label?
Produce, produce, produce. It doesn’t matter if anyone hears every track you make. You make music because you love music, not because you need everyone else to love it.
I’d also say listen to as much music as possible, regardless of genre. Some of the best ideas come from hearing something completely different and reimagining it in your own sound. If you only listen to whatever is currently popular inside your exact genre, eventually everyone starts making the same thing.
And if you want to start a label, just start. You don’t need everything figured out from day one. Make the Instagram, get your friends involved, throw your own parties and don’t be scared to share what you’re passionate about.
The identity will develop naturally as you keep doing it. For Fox Sake definitely looks and sounds more defined now than it did when I started, and I think that’s completely normal.
What’s next for you and for For Fox Sake?
Honestly, I don’t fully know yet, and I think that’s part of what makes it exciting. I still have so much music I want to share, and I feel like we’re only really starting to figure out what For Fox Sake can become.
I haven’t even properly started releasing my fully self-written tracks yet, as a lot of what I’ve released so far has been built around samples. Some of my favourite music I’ve made is actually the stuff that’s still sitting unreleased.
So I don’t have some huge master plan I can reveal, but there’s a lot more music coming, and I think the sound and the label are only going to become clearer with every release.
Julian Fox’ new track “You Gotta” is out now on For Fox Sake
grab it here
Follow:
Julian Fox
For Fox Sake