How Aussie DJ & Producer Sonny Fodera Mounted A Global House Music Takeover
Australian superstar DJ/producer Sonny Fodera is still stunned that his 2024 breakthrough single Somedays with Irish singer Jazzy and UK stalwart DOD received a prestigious BRIT Awards nomination for 'Song Of The Year' alongside The Beatles, Charli xcx and Dua Lipa.
"I was buzzing – like I couldn't believe it, really!" he admits.
At the ceremony, Fodera was "hanging out" with Chase & Status and Stormzy – themselves nominated for BACKBONE – and enjoying the glitz.
The streaming phenomenon momentarily fancied that he'd won – and panicked. "I just had that sickly feeling," Fodera laughs.
As the comedian host Jack Whitehall circled his table, the DJ peeked at DOD in alarm. "He came right up to us and the camera was on me. I was like, 'Nah…' – and I started freaking out. I was like, 'Oh my God, I don't even have a speech.'"
In fact, Charli xcx collected the statuette for her Billie Eilish duet, Guess. But Fodera had the kudos as the sole independent contender.
Fodera is Zooming from London, his base since 2013 – a high-tech home studio illuminated by retro neon pink lights. The house music star, his goatee impeccably groomed, is decked out in all-black with a baseball cap and neckchain.
He has a full calendar. Indeed, Fodera is balancing the second season of a Pacha Ibiza residency on Monday evenings with gigs everywhere else. Yet, somehow, he appears refreshed.
"I've just come back now and now I've got a couple of days off and I go to Belfast – I'm doing a thing in Belfast to, I think, 20,000 people. It's my own festival – it's with Belsonic. Then I've got Ibiza on Monday again." Fodera's only time off is on Wednesdays and Thursdays. "So, yeah, my schedule is just mental." To boot, the private guy has a young family.
Curiously, he speaks with an English inflection.
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Today Fodera is hailed by industry-types as a "global EDM export," but the descriptor is reductive. Regardless, he has pursued a serpentine career.
The DJ/producer came up in Tarndanya/Adelaide, a city with a rich electronic music legacy. In the '90s, DJ HMC, the 'Godfather Of Australian Techno' (and an honorary Detroiter), scored an international hit with Phreakin' on Dirty House – a subsidiary of the city's Juice Records.
Fodera briefly cut techno himself with Jorge Watts as The Subjekts, the pair performing a live set locally at the 2009 Stereosonic.
Picking up guitar in childhood, Fodera had gigged in garage bands. The teen then latched onto hip hop, flipping beats. Fodera switched to house after an epiphany – he'd witnessed Chicago's DJ Derrick Carter at Tarndanya/Adelaide club institution Electric Circus.
Still, to this day, Fodera vibes to rap. "I've been listening to the new Drake stuff – I really like that," he enthuses. "I love all the old school stuff as well – like A Tribe Called Quest… I guess they don't really call it 'hip hop' anymore, do they? But, yeah, more rap."
A rising star in the jacking house movement, Fodera had a lucky break in 2009 when he released The Beatdown EP via Drop Music, the record label run by English duo Inland Knights.
It transpires that Fodera was globetrotting from the get-go. He temporarily lived in Inland Knights' hometown of Nottingham before relocating to Birmingham (it helped that his mother is English and the roamer has a dual passport).
Fodera subsequently returned to Australia, settling in Naarm/Melbourne for two years. He held a residency at Prahran's onesixone. "I used to play at Revolver all the time; did my own nights at Revolver."
A house traditionalist, Fodera had credible co-signs from pioneering figures in Chicago – one of the first Gene Farris.
Farris commissioned the prodigy to remix his 2011 Dance Warriors with Russoul – issued on Cajual Records, its honcho the mythic Curtis Jones, known to house heads by his Cajmere monicker and to ravers as the techno Green Velvet, Fodera using the handles interchangeably. ("I keep saying it's two different people – 'cause he pretty much is!")
Fodera had formative experiences visiting the Windy City. "It was pretty mental," he recalls. "I used to stay at Gene's house… work on music. Green Velvet/Cajmere, I used to hang out with him a lot. I stayed at his house as well in Chicago. When I was travelling, we'd work on music. I guess we just kind of clicked, really.
"I remember one time Gene Farris booked me in Chicago – it was a Thursday night in Chicago, it was a club called evilOlive – and I swear, the people that came out to that show, I was shocked.
"It was like Gene Farris, Green Velvet/Cajmere… What's his name? Oh God! Ron Carroll, the singer. Paul Johnson – Paul Johnson was there. It was insane – and this is on a Thursday night in Chicago. I was like, 'All these producers [are] coming to see me play.' I was probably 24 or 25 at the time."
Fodera's productions were blowing up on Traxsource, an underground dance music platform floated in the mid-2000s, sparking curiosity in the wider Chicago fraternity. "I was very heavily influenced by that Chicago house sound – like sampling, jazz, and hip hop and stuff like that – and that really resonated with them…
"They were just fans of my music."
Fodera would issue two albums through Cajual – his debut Moving Forward released in 2013, the same year he premiered at Coachella. Fodera even recorded with Jones' associate Dajae, famously the voice of 1992's classic Brighter Days. "Cajmere was like a mentor to me."
He learnt much about "technique" from the Chi-town crew. "It wasn't really like, 'Oh, this is what you've gotta do,' it was more like kind of just watching what they did, anyway. But they work really hard… And they just have such passion for the music."
Fodera reconnected with Farris for 2015's club heater We Work It. This past June, he was slated for the festival Beyond Wonderland Chicago and played an afterparty with Farris. "It was really good to see him," Fodera says. "You know, it had been about 10 years since we've probably hung out."
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In the meantime, Fodera was courted by Defected Records' Simon Dunmore – who propelled his permanent move to London, despite reservations about the UK capital being "an insanely big city and so expensive." It meant that he'd languish in the Balearic Islands.
"I got signed to Defected and Simon Dunmore, who was the head then, he's now sold it, but he was like, 'Look, we'd love to have you in London. We'll get you some shows, we'll get you on an Ibiza residency…' And I was like, 'Yep.' I packed my bags and just went! When a label owner like that is giving you a little push in that direction, especially with the Ibiza thing, it was just a kind of no-brainer… It definitely changed everything."
In 2016 the dynamo aired a volume in Defected's In The House mix series, followed by his third album, Frequently Flying.
Dunmore was into the track Putting It Down off Moving Forward and so Fodera solicited US Broadway veteran Yasmeen to recut it for Frequently Flying as Caught Up – epitomising his sleek new groovy style with radio-friendly toplines.
That growing profile led to him remixing Calvin Harris' 2018 UK chart-topper Promises alongside Sam Smith.
Fodera had been impressed by how the Chicago players remained staunchly independent and determined to establish a label. Back in Australia, he'd conceived Beatdown Music – Frankie Knuckles, the 'Godfather Of House' notably championing its releases.
However, in 2017, Fodera instituted his current stable, Solotoko, promoting it with parties.
Post-Defected, Fodera linked with another Midwestern legend – Detroit deep houser Marc "MK" Kinchen, himself a protégé of Inner City's Kevin Saunderson in the late '80s.
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Fodera selected their 2019 crossover anthem One Night (featuring Persian-British vocalist Raphaella) to be the lead single from his fifth foray, Wide Awake, of 2021.
He had previously remixed Kinchen's vintage Burning. "Me and him, we go way back now. He's definitely been an inspiration in terms of production... I've learnt a lot from him, being in the studio with him. He's a very talented producer, for sure."
Fodera has had monumental gigs in Britain. In March 2025, he made history playing the largest-ever UK show for a DJ at Manchester's Co-op Live to 20,000 punters (Fodera lately announced his next arena run in early 2027).
What's more, he's inaugurating his own branded festivals – introducing Somedays Festival in Malta last April. Fodera "personally curated" the bill with names like New Jersey don Kerri Chandler.
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During an eventful June, Fodera presented his sixth album, can we do it all again? – five years in the pipeline.
The project is home to a succession of singles – the first, Asking, another collab with Kinchen and spotlighting longtime vocal cohort Clementine Douglas, materialising back in mid-2023. It was a UK Top 10 hit (oddly, Fodera broached '90s trancer Tiësto to remix it).
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The LP, which landed in the UK Top 20, also takes in Fodera's now signature Somedays. "It's a very special track to me because I was there from the ground up with it," he recollects.
"Me, Jazzy and Clementine Douglas started writing the original version in Ladbroke Grove in London and then we kind of got it to a level and then we got DOD on the record – and it just absolutely took off. I played it first – [as] first track – at my 'Ally Pally' [Alexandra Palace] show in London [in March 2024] and everyone was like, 'New track, Sonny Fodera' on TikTok and Instagram and stuff."
Somedays proved "a slowburner" that "started blowing up the next year," becoming a European summer anthem. "It got Top Five in the UK and then everyone was like, 'Yay, it's just been nominated for a BRIT.'"
Additionally, Somedays attracted two ARIA noms, including for 'Song Of The Year'.
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Ironically, the album's aerial pinnacle, Only Thing That Matters, featuring HAYLA, is among seemingly few non-singles.
"It's actually one of my favourites," Fodera discloses. "I've been playing that, especially in my bigger festival sets, for about three years."
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Since Moving Forward, Fodera's emotive sound has evolved into something slicker – yet adrenalised – as he's embraced songcraft over club fare.
Possibly, can we do it all again? is a house album with a pop sensibility – or a pop album with an underground house heritage. Staggeringly, RAYE is identified in the liner notes as a contributor.
"I still really love the music I make," Fodera maintains. "I'm not trying to do it for charts or radio plays or anything like that. It's never been about that. I just love good music. I think maybe being in London has changed how I work with people as well.
"I'm doing more proper in-studio sessions at some of the best studios in London with some of the best writers and singers – and I think that can just naturally change your sound."
Fodera feels that his art is more authentic with less reliance on sampling. "Now I am pretty much 100 per cent original – like everything I'm making is my music or with the writers that I'm working with or it's our music.
"There's no samples, we're not having to go and clear anything – and I really like that. I like creating something new that's original.
"There's nothing wrong with sampling. I think sampling is such a big part of dance and electronic music. But I feel like that's definitely been a main part of why my sound has probably become a bit more 'mainstream', 'cause it's more 'writing' – and especially working with people like RAYE… She wrote Let Me Be In Your Arms – like the topline for that – and Libianca [a Cameroonian-American artist and former contestant on The Voice] actually re-cut it.
"But that's a perfect example," he explains. "She's a global pop star. To even be sent a vocal from a writer or a singer like her is just such an amazing thing. And I guess that's kind of just the direction it's gone in."
In 2026 Fodera is leading a takeover of the international electronic dance scene by Australian DJs – and his ascent parallels that of fellow hit machine Dom Dolla.
The pair have had many exchanges: Fodera remixed Dolla's 2019 club smash Take It and Dolla remixed One Night, plus the duo teamed up for 2020's tech-house track Moving Blind. In the interim, the pals joined forces for a pre-pandemic US tour.
In 2022, Fodera sold out two nights at Brixton Academy, with Dolla special guest on the first. He jokes about them forming an Aussie supergroup to rival Swedish House Mafia with FISHER.
But Fodera is uncertain if he and Dolla will make more music together – particularly as Dolla's focus is the US market and his typically Europe's.
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"Me and Dom, we still chat a bit – but he's so busy," Fodera shares. "But we have spoken about it. I saw he played Moving Blind in one of his sets – I think in Ibiza recently he played it. We're good mates. I'd love to do something with him again – he's an incredible artist and producer. But, yeah, let's see, let's see. You never know.
"I think also FISHER I'd love to do something with. I love Fish. He's just a legend! But I saw him – we both played this BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend thing recently – and we were chatting about potentially doing a little remix swap, which could be cool."
Fodera is keen to watch who will blow up next, praising Dean Turley – the Naarm/Melbourne identity busting out with the catchy Actin' Tough. "He's definitely popping."
He rates, too, the entertaining CYRIL, who remixed his ARIA gold Think About Us (with singer/songwriter Poppy Baskcomb and the lowkey DOD co-producing). "He's got such a vibe," Fodera raves.
"He's a lovely guy. I think he's definitely on the way, for sure… I saw he played Mainstage [at July's] Tomorrowland [in Belgium]. It looked really busy – and [there were] so many Aussies there with the flags. I was like, 'Yeah, go CYRIL!'"
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Fodera has dabbled in production for other acts. Nottingham MC Bru-C guested on Wide Awake (Next 2 U with Sinéad Harnett) and Fodera helmed his bassline banger Say No More.
"He's quite big here," the DJ observes. "He's actually quite popping in Australia and New Zealand as well."
Nevertheless, Fodera is hesitant about chasing opportunities behind the mixing desk. "I don't know – I just feel like I don't get the time because of my crazy schedule as a DJ."
He pauses. "To be honest, though, I'm actually probably gonna take some time out at the end of the year, so you never know – I might start producing for some other artists."
There is an artist Fodera would gladly assist: Douglas, who launched her solo career with Riddles and, listed in the 2025 NME100, is emerging as a bona fide pop icon. "I'd love to do something for Clementine Douglas – I think doing some bits for her solo project would be sick."
As Solotoko's boss, Fodera has had coups. "We signed one of John Summit's first records [2019's tech-house Bass Go] – that was actually with Gene Farris," he relates.
"You know, James Hype – his first #1 on Beatport [2021's Disconnected with Tita Lau]. We had [Brazilian DJ/producer] Vintage Culture – they're still on [Solotoko], obviously. We have Vintage Culture."
Fodera pulled away from A&Ring to concentrate on can we do it all again?, but is "still signing up-and-coming artists," he reveals. "We'll probably get back into it heavily now, after this is done – 'cause this project has been so much work!
"But it's hard as well – like so many artists just wanna do their own thing now. It's fair enough. I wanted to do the same thing. I think every DJ that's kind of doing well has got their own label, their own brand, now. So it's like fair play. It is what it is."
Fodera is restless. He's already airing fresh music – reuniting with Becky Hill, two-time winner of the BRITs' 'British Dance Act', for Say Something (Fodera had produced her single Never Be Alone).
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The super-DJ returns to Oz annually. Recently closing Creamfields – the UK festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary at the Daresbury Estate in Cheshire, stacked with Antipodean talent – Fodera will embark on his latest national homecoming headline tour, triple j a co-presenter. And he's "levelled up the venues."
Fodera was here at the same time last year – the tour nearly cancelled because of a respiratory ailment. "I thought it was pneumonia. I was in hospital I think the week before.
"It was absolutely mental. But then, as soon as I got to Australia, I pulled out of it. It was like, 'I'm back!' I started breathing again. It was crazy. It was probably the London air."
Mind, Fodera wishes that he could visit biannually. "It's hard," he begins, "'cause I can only really take out two weekends usually for it."
But the trips are grounding. "I love coming back," Fodera rhapsodises. "It's always nice to especially go back to Adelaide as well and go to those little restaurants that are still there… It's nostalgic, isn't it? And, you know, [I] see my mum, my sister, my nieces and nephews; go to some of the places I used to spend a lot of time as a kid… I love coming back. I do, I do."
Tickets to Sonny Fodera's upcoming Australian tour are on sale now.
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Sonny Fodera
can we do it all again? Australian Tour 2026
Thursday, October 15th – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Friday, October 16th – PICA, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, October 17th – Ice Cream Factory, Perth, WA
Saturday, October 24th – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW
dlvr.it
