[House/Deep House] A DJ I Hope Will Visit Japan in 2019: Josh Butler

In 2019, the global dance music mainstream is shifting increasingly toward house, tech house and deep house.

In fact, in Japan too, many dance music connoisseurs may be graduating from the commercial sounds that once symbolized the main stage and shifting toward house, tech house and deep house.

So this time, I'd like to introduce a rising star of house, tech house and deep house: Josh Butler.

Biography

Born in northern England; estimated age 28–29 (I couldn't find an exact figure, but Josh was 25 as of October 6, 2015). Started making tracks at 11.

Josh broke through in earnest in 2012 and has released on Noir, Cajual, Avotre, MTA, MadTech. In recent years, releases have followed on leading labels including Simon Dunmore's prestigious label Defected, Steve Lawler's VIVa, Gorge and Nick Curly's 8bit, Steve Bug's Poker Flat, Jamie Jones's Hot Creations.

In 2015, Josh toured in a special B2B with Bontan. They also released the collaborative track “Live My Life.” On tour, this B2B unit caught the attention of multiple Grammy winner Nile Rodgers, who invited them to warm up on the UK tour.

Clubs played so far include The Warehouse Project Manchester, Mint Club Leeds, Toffler Rotterdam, Chibuku Liverpool, Arches Glasgow, Sankeys Ibiza, and the offers keep coming, including popular festivals such as Miami Music Week and Amsterdam Dance Event.

Josh has also been nominated for the BBC Music Video Award, won the DJ Mag Award 2014, Beatport Award 2014, and enjoys strong support from top players including Joris Voorn, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Kerri Chandler, Carl Cox, who regularly support the tracks and remixes.

Tracks That Influenced Josh Butler

MixMag's “10 TRACKS THAT INFLUENCED JOSH BUTLER (This link was unavailable when checked in October 2026.)” introduced them.

PINK FLOYD ‘Welcome To The Machine’

Josh Butler: My parents are huge fans of Pink Floyd, so I was surround by their music from an early age. ‘Welcome To The Machine’ is a song that still fascinates me. Hearing the swelling synth sounds and mechanical samples were so alien to me when I was younger. Also lyrics such as ‘You’ve been in the pipeline filling in time’ used to baffle me.

RON HAGEN & PASCAL M ‘Take You There’

Josh Butler: I remember first hearing this on a ‘Trance Anthems’ CD from around 2000. I would have been aged 10 or 11 at the time and had just started to discover basic music production software. There’s something about the vocal hook in this track that resonates with me. I feel that three-word phase has had a lot of impact on my style of production over the years. It’s powerful, energetic, thought-provoking… yet so so simple.

TOTAL SCIENCE FEAT. MC CONRAD ‘Soul Patrol’

Josh Butler: I’m a big fan of liquid drum and bass, this track was actually my ringtone for about two years and I’m still not tired of hearing it. For me, Conrad’s voice is the perfect balance between the MC world and deep soulful melodies. That’s what I try and achieve with my more soulful tracks.

NIGHTMARES ON WAX ‘Les Nuits’

Josh Butler: Ibiza chillout CDs were always something I’d buy if I saw them in shops. Nightmares On Wax records were (and still are) some of my favourite things to listen to during my down-time.

KERRI CHANDLER ‘In My System’

Josh Butler: Kerri is a huge influence on me in general, but this is a track that satisfies a lot of my musical tastes. With its beautiful chords, soulful vocal and stripped-back drum grooves, it can suit a lot of environments and situations. I think that’s what creates such a timeless-sounding record.

GROOVE ARMADA ‘Superstylin’

Josh Butler: I remember I was about 12 and my friend bought this on 12-inch. We sat around one turntable on his parents’ hi-fi system playing it over and over again, slowing it down, speeding it up and scratching it back and forth. And to this day it sounds unreal, the bassline in it is untouchable! It has no doubt had some influence on me over the years.

MR LEE ‘Pump Up London’

Josh Butler: I’m sure a lot of people will agree here… a classic acid track with a hip-house/rap vocal such as this. It got me excited from the first time I heard it.

JOCELYN BROWN ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’

Josh Butler: Disco, soul and funk was never really something my parents listened to, however once I discovered it, I never let it go! This track has the ideal combination of all the right ingredients, which makes a classy, timeless pop record. It’s also a direct link to house music. Jocelyn Brown has sung on some of my favourite Masters At Work records, which have been a big inspiration for me.

THREE DRIVES ‘Greece 2000 (Original Mix)’

Josh Butler: Trance was a big part of my entry into dance music. The details that accompany the melody in this track are what make it standout. This was a regular one for me when I bought my first pair of decks, trying to figure out how to beat-match.

TJR FEAT. XAVIER ‘Just Gets Better’

Josh Butler: I used to buy the odd garage compilation CD as a kid and this is a track that always stood out for me. I feel the drum patterns in garage have influenced my outlook on drum programming and getting such swing, even from minimal layers.

Notable Tracks from Recent Years

There are many notable tracks, so I'll introduce a few recent ones.

Josh Butler & Bontan – Call You Back

A collaboration with Bontan, this is good enough to say it will go down in deep house history.

Josh Butler – Doesn’t Work

A track that tech house DJs played en masse from spring into summer 2018.
For me, this is more of an anthem than Fisher's “Losing It”, haha.

Carl Cox – I Want You (Forever) – Josh Butler Remix

Its quality surpasses the original!

Dreamer G – I Got That Feelin (Josh Butler Remix)

Josh has also remixed one of house music's greatest anthems. Fantastic!

Any Plans to Visit Japan?

As of 2019, Josh hasn't visited Japan yet and apparently has no plans at present.

*Incidentally, Josh's B2B partner BONTAN will visit Japan for EDC JAPAN 2019.

Josh Butler is in top form right now and will undoubtedly become a leading name among the new generation of house DJs. I'd love to hear Josh play in Japan soon at Vent or Contact Tokyo!