POP

Jonas Blue: ‘I was going to succeed in music or die trying’

The DJ tells Will Hodgkinson about the journey from his dad’s garage to global hitmaker
Jonas Blue started out with music software given away with Coco Pops
Jonas Blue started out with music software given away with Coco Pops
PHIL KNOTT

Take the Central Line to Fairlop, on a stretch of the Underground so deep into Greater London that horses gambol in fields alongside the tracks, and down a suburban cul-de-sac a few streets away from the station is a converted garage. Inside this tiny space is the headquarters of 28-year-old Jonas Blue, the globetrotting DJ, in-demand producer and songwriter, nominee for best single and best video at this year’s Brit Awards for his hit song Mama — and proud owner of a studio at the end of his parents’ drive.

“I built it with my dad,” says Jonas Blue, real name Guy Robin, as we sip tea amid the synthesizers and gold discs lining walls where you would expect to find auto parts and cans