Jonas Blue is the dance/pop production project of Guy Robin, a UK DJ who has spent his over-decade long career taking his talents to clubs all over the world.
Blue made a splash in 2015 with his remix of Tracy Chapman’s smash-hit “Fast Car,” which featured tropical house beats beneath the country classic. It immediately slotted in second on the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the top 10 for 11 weeks.
Next came a slew of singles, including a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, before he released his debut album, Blue, in 2018. He built anticipation for the full-length release with ten singles, which featured boyband voices from Liam Payne to Joe Jonas. “By Your Side” with RAYE sits on the track list as a bouncy, piano-based club track that simultaneously invites pulsing and crying on the dance floor. He kept crowds alive with consistent collaborations and singles throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s.
But in 2024, things went dark for Blue. On social media at least. He wiped his entire Instagram feed, then took time to look within himself and at his career before starting something new. Blue looked back to the origins of his musical methodology, to his tweenage self, whose curiosity and craftsmanship launched him to the sonic stardom he sits in today.
Blue set out to combine the harsher electronic dance music he first had a knack for, with the pop sounds he’d spent the bulk of his career building. He wanted to keep lyrics and writing at the center, but innovate the dance scene he felt was lacking depth. Now, Blue is touring the world again, at venues new to him and his dedicated fandom, whilst working on tracks with labels that have remained faithful in his production and vision. Blue is bringing the truest version of him to the world, they just have to be ready to dance with him.
Jonas Blue sat down with PAPER to discuss his rebrand, touring the world and the future of his sensual sounds at his upcoming Ibiza residency.
You’re nearing the end of your North American tour. How did it go?
It’s been incredibly fun. This new era I’m in has been so cool to explore in both the music and the live performances. I’ve been doing shows at lots of new clubs, where some incredibly legendary DJs have played over the last few years. Vegas was super fun. New York was last weekend, where I played a rooftop party that I’ve been wanting to play for a few years. It was fun to play there again. I caught up with myself after the weekend. It’s been a lot of travel and a lot of shows.
Can you speak about your rebrand? You wiped your Instagram and started fresh. What does that mean for you and your music? What’s inspiring the new sound?
I’ve been making music for a long time. People know me for Jonas Blue, but taking it back to when I was 11 years old, I was making music under my real name, Guy Robin. I was signed to various record labels. I was signed to a UK dance music label called Defected back when I was 18. I later returned to them and we released music together last year. What prompted the rebrand was that people had seen what Jonas Blue had been over the past decade, musically, but for me it got to a point where I felt like I’d reached everything I’d wanted to do. With that name and project. So in 2024, I looked within. I thought about what it would be to blend my dance music roots from my early career with the pop sound of Jonas Blue.
I’m also associated with a completely different group of people now. I wanted to fuse everything I’ve learnt in my career. I didn’t want to change the name Jonas Blue, because I think it represents such global pop and dance music sounds. I just wanted to rebrand a bit so that’s what I did. People have been really receptive so far.
That makes me think about how unifying those genres can be. How do you stand out as an individual within a genre that can be so uniform sonically and artistically?
It’s interesting. My strong point is writing great pop songs. There’s not many well-written songs in dance music. There’s so much sampling and remixing. I want to use my knowledge to write pop songs and fuse them into dance music, which creates a sound that stands the test of time. I’ve made it very clear that moving forward, it has to be about the song. The song has to work within dance music. Good songs prevail and stand the test of time.
Absolutely. How has the audience reaction felt through the change? In these different venues, with this different music, what is the crowd looking like?
There’s a dedicated fanbase that follows around the world, even at these newer venues. The one thing that fans tell me when they come up to me is “We used to listen to your music in high school.” Now they’re old enough to go to clubs. They weren’t old enough and now they are. They’re hearing me in a different environment. They’ve stuck with me on this journey. It shows me that fans are willing to go down this new road with me.
I love that. I think having a dedicated fanbase means having creative liberty as an artist. What are the other motivators that let you know you can pivot like this in your career?
Experience and time. I’m not in my teenage years anymore. I got to a point where I just wanted to make the best music possible in a world where so much music sounds throwaway. I might only release two songs a year, but I know there’s craftsmanship in the song and production.
I’m wondering, within the maybe overcrowded dance music scene, who are the peers you look to as inspiration? Or who do you consider boundary-pushing?
Someone who’s always been an idol to me is Calvin Harris. His career has spanned three decades. That doesn’t happen often. He’s maintained a name and brand, and it’s not only new but nostalgic. I want that for myself. There’s also a duo from the Netherlands called Another. I love what they’re doing, and the crowd they play to is incredibly cool and creative.
Taking a slight pivot, how do you keep balance between your consistent touring and your outside life? What grounds you?
As fun as touring is, it’s also work for me. When I’m on the road, there can’t be afterparties. I’m there to provide a service and do a good job. So that’s a tradition whilst I’m touring. I try to remind myself to have a young mentality. So many of my peers are young. This is my twentieth year making music. I need to keep that mentality. Being sober and healthy, with that young mentality, is what lets me do it every weekend.
There’s so many ways to be an artist. That’s really inspiring. So what’s next? I know your Japan tour is coming up, what else is exciting you about Jonas Blue?
Well, I have a single called “Girl” coming out. It’ll be with Defected Records. This has been a label I’ve been with since I was 18. The inspiration behind the track is songs from the 2000s. There’s a lack of fun songs within dance music and I wanted to create that kind of emotion and nostalgia with this track. That’s coming next month. I also have a few collaborations coming this year with some other big DJs. And we’re on track to sell out the Japan tour in June. Then I go to Bali and then there’s a residency in Ibiza in August and September. Every Wednesday, it’s called “Senses.” It’s a play on all your natural senses. I’m super excited. There’s so much to look forward to.
Photography by Vika Petlakh
