HE.SHE.THEY. announce debut VA compilation spotlighting six years at the forefront of the global underground

Today, HE.SHE.THEY. announce their debut VA compilation, charting some of the label’s most vital club cuts and standout artists from across six years at the forefront of global club culture. Launching with new single ‘Realise It’ from SYREETA and Lucas Alexander on 25th June, built around a reimagined Skepta vocal sample, the full compilation lands later this year via HE.SHE.THEY

For their debut VA compilation, HE.SHE.THEY. bring together the artists, sounds and club culture that have shaped the platform over the last six years. Featuring 23 artists from across the wider HE.SHE.THEY. universe including Catz 'n Dogz, Cakes da Killa, Radio Slave, LSDXOXO, GusGus, CC:DISCO!, Chloé Robinson, DJ ADHD, Nikki Nair, Huxley, SYREETA, Lucas Alexander, Maya Jane Coles, Alinka and Giulia Tess alongside a new wave of talent, the project captures the breadth of the label’s sound; from high-energy house and peak-time techno through to UK-rooted club music and emotionally charged electronic cuts.

HE.SHE.THEY. add:

“This VA is a celebration of some of our favourite sonic moments from across the label’s first one hundred releases over the past six years. HE.SHE.THEY. was always about releasing a diverse range of genres, styles and of course people. To blend both achingly cool underground club tracks whilst also highlighting the records we felt deserved recognition for being the sort of crossover records we would like to see triumph. A demonstration of the breadth of our team's taste and vision and to also give kudos to some of our earlier releases who didn’t get the time on the dance floor they deserved as we navigated the pandemic as an industry. Giving some artists their first release, alongside established artists and hearing the impact of releasing with HE.SHE.THEY. has made to many burgeoning artists’ confidence and career prospects has only reinforced our love and dedication for this project”

Across six years, independently-owned HE.SHE.THEY. has championed diversity and inclusion in electronic music, building on values long rooted in underground dance culture. Founded by Sophia Kearney and Steven Braines in response to a feeling that dance music’s founding principles - shaped by Black, queer and underground communities - were being lost amid the commercial explosion of global club culture, HE.SHE.THEY. set out to reconnect a new generation of ravers with the scene’s long-standing spirit of openness, freedom and self-expression.

Since then, the platform has evolved from underground club concept into globally recognised event series and record label, touring more than 26 countries and 60 cities while championing both internationally respected artists and emerging talent. Alongside hosting some of electronic music’s most vital names across its events, HE.SHE.THEY. has built one of the scene’s most progressive rosters, earning nominations at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards for Best Label in 2023 and Best Club Event in 2024, before winning Best Record Label at the inaugural FEMMY Awards in 2025.

Arriving as HE.SHE.THEY.’s landmark 100th release, ‘Realise It’ from SYREETA and Lucas Alexander marks a major milestone in the label’s evolution. Built around a reimagined Skepta vocal sample, the driving house cut channels the raw energy of UK soundsystem culture into a slick, peak-time club weapon loaded with rolling low-end pressure, punchy percussion and warped late-night textures. Blending chunky house grooves, restless rave energy and crisp vocal chops, ‘Realise It’ lands as an explosive meeting point between both artists’ worlds.

SYREETA adds:

“Jumping in the studio with Lucas was a lot of fun, and bringing our different sounds together happened really naturally. We bonded over our love for Skepta, with me being a regular at Skepta’s Más Tiempo parties and Lucas being the first promoter in Cardiff to book him in his early grime days, so there was already a genuine connection to that culture and energy. Parts of an interview Skepta did really resonated with us both, and the moment we revisited them, we knew we had to work it into the record somehow. That spark eventually became ‘Realise It’.

Lucas Alexander says:

“I’ve wanted to get in the studio with Syreeta for a long long time, a two day session at W1 Studios resulted in a number of tracks but this was the standout. ‘Realise It’ flips a Skepta vocal into a sharp reminder that if they don’t already get house music, they will eventually realise it.”

A HE.SHE.THEY. resident and one of the underground’s most vital selectors, SYREETA has become a standout presence across global club culture. Having released her debut single ‘Renni Bes’ through HE.SHE.THEY., ‘Realise It’ leading the label’s debut VA marks a fitting full-circle moment. Following multiple award nominations, being named Carl Cox’s DJ/Producer of 2024 and winning Beatport’s People’s Choice Award 2024, she delivered her debut BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2025. With releases across Nervous Records, Sound International, Crosstown Rebels and HE.SHE.THEY., alongside standout back-to-back sets with Green Velvet, Benny Rodrigues, OMOLOKO, Skepta, Loco Dice and Cinthie, her blend of rolling basslines, melodic grooves and infectious club energy has made her a defining presence within today’s underground.

That momentum has taken her from Ibiza institutions DC-10 and UNVRS to festival stages including Glastonbury, Coachella, Kappa FuturFestival and Lost Village.

For Cardiff-based Lucas Alexander, ‘Realise It’ continues a run of productions merging house, garage and minimal through glitched-out club tracks rooted in UK soundsystem culture. Drawing from a kaleidoscope of influences including grime, jungle and UKG, his warped rhythms and chopped vocal-led productions have earned support from artists including Enzo Siragusa, Interplanetary Criminal, Burnski, Saoirse and Skream. With releases across Armada Music, Defected Records, Dungeon Meat, Nervous Records and previous outings on HE.SHE.THEY. alongside his own imprint Rarebit Records, Lucas continues to carve out a distinct space within UK-rooted club music.

Arriving later this year, the debut HE.SHE.THEY. VA is set to be a blistering tour de force of razor-sharp talent, cutting-edge club music and the progressive energy that continues to define the platform, with ‘Realise It’ offering an early taste of the remixes, collaborations and club cuts still to come.