Ed Steele & Anna Speedy – Feature Interview – Zone Magazine Issue 052 –

Photos By Ella & Max Steele, Roo & Peter Chadwick

From humble beginnings on belt-driven turntables in the mid-90s to commanding crowds with his signature sound, UK artist Ed Steele’s journey has been deeply intertwined with the evolution of dance music. A label favourite at Sprout since his debut release in 2019, Ed’s intricate, detail-oriented sound has garnered widespread support and signings to Einmusika, ICONYC and Mango Alley. Based in the UK, Anna Speedy (Ed’s partner) is a new voice in the underground, with an interesting history.

Simon Huxtable sat down with them to find out about their new release, balancing life and the intricacies of the modern artist.

Hi, Ed and Anna, thanks for taking the time to chat today. How are you both?

Really well, thanks, Simon. How are you?

We’re here to chat about your new single ‘Don’t Leave Me’, but hopefully we can wander off on a few tangents too. Let’s start there. Ed, tell us about your history with Sprout…

Ed: Of course. It actually started in fairly classic fashion. I saw D-Nox & Beckers playing at Noisily Festival back in 2018, had one of those “right, I need to up my game” moments, and decided to send D-Nox a track of mine called ‘Your Move’ a few months later.

I fully expected it to disappear into the void, as these things often do, but, somewhat miraculously, he signed it to a compilation album that came out in 2019. That was my first proper step into the Sprout world.

From there, things grew naturally. I released my album in 2020 on Sprout, and Chris and I have worked together ever since on a range of projects, both with Sprout and across a few other labels. So, what started as an entirely optimistic email has turned into a long-running collaboration… so I am very glad I actually sent that message back in 2019!

What changes have you seen since that compilation, and do you have any predictions for the future?

Honestly, Simon, I’m probably the worst person to ask if you’re after a sweeping state-of-the- industry analysis. I tend to keep my head down and focus on making music rather than tracking what everyone else is up to, so any “expert insight” might be a bit optimistic.

That said, the biggest shift is obvious: music production is more accessible than ever. The barriers to entry have all but disappeared, which is a great thing. More people can create, experiment, and release music without needing a studio the size of a small country.

The other major change is the rise of social media: videos, reels, constant content… Essentially, an entire parallel career alongside the music itself. It’s something I’ve never really embraced. I’m still quite happy in my little bubble of just making tracks.

As for the future?! I suspect it’ll lean even further in that direction: more content, faster cycles, shorter attention spans. But I’ll probably still be doing the same thing, making music I enjoy, and if Chris (D-Nox) is happy to sign it and play it, that feels like a pretty good outcome to me.[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]Anna, this is your first time releasing a dance track, I understand, but you have a long backstory in music. Tell us about being a music teacher, and how you’ve brought that knowledge to ‘Don’t Leave Me’.

I’ve never just been a music teacher. That’s only one thread of a much bigger journey. I’ve always had a connection to my own musical interests alongside teaching. While at university – studying Music – I was playing in bands and lending vocals to dance tracks, so performing has been part of my life since I was five, starting out playing classical violin solos in school concerts and swinging through everything from indie to opera and folk to electronic.

Teaching actually sharpened that versatility. Being in the classroom kept me musically open; I wasn’t stuck in one lane. Students would bring in influences I might never have explored on my own, pushing into genres and styles that challenged me to think differently. That constant exchange kept my ears fresh and my instincts flexible.

Bringing all of that into my work with Ed, there’s a real blend of discipline and freedom. The technical grounding from years of learning and teaching, but also that curiosity and willingness to cross genres. It feels like a natural point where everything I’ve done so far collides on the dancefloor.

Collaborations can have their ups and downs, but you’re also life partners. How has your deeper connection influenced the music making process?

Anna: I’m definitely the music theory nerd in the partnership. I’m the one questioning whether something actually makes sense harmonically. Ed’s much more instinct-driven, which I secretly envy. He’ll go with what feels right in the moment, whereas I’ve had to consciously unlearn that urge to over-analyse and just trust what I’m hearing.

Coming from a classical background, my natural instinct is to layer, build, and complicate, but dance music has taught me the power of restraint. Sometimes it’s about what you don’t add. Stripping things back has probably been one of the biggest creative shifts for me.

Our setups reflect that divide as well. I need a piano in front of me, that’s how I map everything out, work through chord voicings, and figure out where melodies should sit. Ed, on the other hand, is deep into the sonics; texture, weight, how everything hits in the mix. He’s thinking about how it translates to a system, I’m thinking about why it works musically.

What’s interesting is that the process isn’t always this perfectly blended collaboration from the start. We’ve realised that ideas tend to come from one of us first: a chord progression, a vocal hook, a groove, and then it becomes a shared process later on, as we shape it together. That’s where the real crossover happens, where instinct meets structure and everything locks into place.

Given it’s a new collaboration, will you make more music together? What are your goals/target labels?

Definitely, this is just the beginning for us. The biggest challenge isn’t the ideas, it’s finding the time. We’re juggling work, parenting, and creativity, and that balance can be intense, but it also makes the time we do get in the studio feel really focused and intentional. For now, it’s about building momentum, carving out our identity as a collaboration, and making records that feel honest to both of us.

Another partnership is on remix duties, the in-form D-Nox and André Moret. Ed, how do you find it when other people remix your tracks? And Anna, how was the experience the first time round?

Ed: It’s fascinating to hear how someone else interprets your track. You spend so long inside a piece of music that you almost stop hearing it objectively. What D-Nox and André Moret did was really highlight elements we might not have pushed as far ourselves. They found their own emotional and rhythmic angle and built something new from it.

Anna: For me, being the first time experiencing that process, it was a bit surreal in the best way. You hand over something that feels quite personal, and then it comes back transformed. Familiar, but also completely reimagined. It made me appreciate how many different directions a single track can take, depending on who’s behind it.

Promoting music has changed in the last decade. How are you both with social media?

Honestly… awful. We’re much more at home in the studio than on social media. It’s a completely different skill set, and one we’re still figuring out. We’ve genuinely considered outsourcing it to our teenage kids; they’d probably do a far better job than us! They actually understand how it all works, whereas we’re still second-guessing what to post and when.

That said, we know it’s part of the process now, and we’re trying to find a way to approach it that still feels natural. For us, it’s about sharing the music and the journey without overthinking it too much, even if we’re a bit behind the curve.

Music these days can feel very fleeting. Do you have any thoughts on your musical legacy and how you’ll be satisfied with your output? What metrics define your back catalogue?

It’s a strange one, because everything does move so fast now. Tracks can have a moment and then disappear just as quickly. I don’t think we’re approaching it thinking about “legacy” in a big, grand sense. For us, it’s more about whether the music actually connects with people, even if that’s in a smaller, more lasting way.

Success isn’t just numbers or streams. Of course, it’s great when a track gets support or reaches people, but the real measure is whether it holds up over time, whether someone still wants to come back to it, play it out, or attach a memory to it.

I think we’ll feel satisfied if we build a catalogue that feels honest and consistent. Music that reflects where we were at that moment, rather than chasing trends. If a handful of tracks stick with people and find their way onto dance floors or into someone’s personal soundtrack, that’s enough.

It’s been a blast meeting you both and chatting about my favourite subject, music. Let’s end on your summer ahead. Tell us about any gigs, festivals, and party plans?

Ed: We are heading to Gottwood Festival and might play a set there, Anna may even sing, but it’s likely to be a spontaneous decision on the day. My daughter has expressed some interest in DJing, so it might be way more fun to get her to DJ or to have a father/daughter B2B; that would be a very proud moment for me! Other than that, who knows, we are open to ideas…