Joshua Mainnie, from edinburgh, based in london, and a trained pianist first. he is direct about how he sees himself.

It kind of annoys me when people call me a DJ.

barry can't swim to rolling stone uk, 27 march 2024

which is fair, because the live show is a six piece band. drums, keys, and a string section of three violins and a cello. at all points east in august 2025 he headlined for ninety minutes with brass, percussion and guest vocalists on top of that. he does play dj sets too, and promoters bill the two separately.

the record that changed things is When Will We Land?, out on ninja tune on 20 october 2023. number twelve on the uk album chart, number one on the scottish, dance and independent charts, and shortlisted for the mercury prize in 2024. english teacher won. he placed third in the bbc's sound of 2025 poll and was nominated for breakthrough artist at the brits in february 2026, where lola young won.

Loner, the second album, came out on 11 july 2025. in march 2026 he curated a Late Night Tales, opening that series' twenty fifth anniversary, and he has his own label, Earths Only Paradise, which launched with a record by o'flynn and took over the whole warehouse project in manchester for a night in november 2025.

in may 2026 he signed to atlantic records uk. Return To Bhibo came first, then Dance Dance Dance! on 24 july, which nme called full french touch. he has also remixed Disclosure, further up this page, plus ben böhmer and diplo.

the australian run in october is three festivals in three days for the same promoter, and he tops all three: overtone on the gold coast on the second, freeform in melbourne on the third, mode in sydney on the fourth.