Meet the Northampton DJ, 26, who secured his big break after decade of hard work

Tommy Phillips took up producing music as a hobby 12 years ago when he was a student at Thomas Becket Catholic School.

Though he went on to study sports at Moulton College and to work in the construction industry, Tommy continued to work on his DJing and producing to make his dream a reality.

Tommy secured his first paid job at the age of 16, when he was making beats for rappers to utilise for their own songs. It was five years later, aged 21, when he began producing and performing house music to crowds of his own.

18 months ago, Tommy quit his construction job to take on music full-time. Despite only playing one gig a month, his house music was gradually starting to be signed to labels globally.

Tommy told the Chronicle & Echo he gave himself no excuse to fail, and he is now performing at least once a week to his own audiences and touring globally.

The most exciting development is that Tommy is releasing the official remix of Deadmau5’s song ‘I Remember’, which he praised as one of the most iconic of its genre from the early 2000s.

Tommy created the remix last year and as well as playing the edit on his own tour, he sent it to friends in the industry who played it to 5,000 people in Ibiza.

Videos of the remix went viral on TikTok and many labels began reaching out to Tommy to see if he had any plans to release the song.

“I didn’t make it to release it, I did it for fun,” said Tommy, who let the videos continue to go viral on TikTok before he began working with electronic producer Deadmau5 a few weeks ago.

When asked how it feels to have received this response to his remix, Tommy said: “I’m buzzing and pinching myself. I feel like I’ve won the music lottery – this is the stuff that happens in dreams. It’s unreal.”

Not only will Deadmau5 be releasing Tommy’s song as the official remix of I Remember, he has signed to a management company – which he says has “changed his life already”.

“They manage some of the biggest names in underground house music,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Tommy was born and raised in Northampton, and he wanted to share the simple message to not give up on your dreams.

He said: “I’m so glad I stuck it out when times were hard financially. This was the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Tommy is already touring South America twice a year, and he wants to take his tours worldwide. He would also love to give back to talented individuals in the same way he has been recognised.

For more information on Tommy Phillips and to check out his work, visit his Instagram page here.