2025 was a strong year for Junior Simba. Tracks like Holly, Promises, and Trapped in Silence helped establish his name within the global scene while showing a producer capable of balancing emotional depth with club energy. With that momentum behind him, the artist now looks set on making 2026 even bigger, beginning with the release of his new single, Don’t Say You Love Me, out today via Headroom Records.
Created alongside Wayward, Don’t Say You Love Me blends UK garage rhythms with soft electronic textures and soulful vocal lines. The track moves with a warm, immersive energy that feels equally suited to the dance floor and to more introspective moments. At its heart lies a familiar tension: the gap between what people say and what they truly mean.
That blend of intimacy and club energy reflects Simba’s wider musical story. Raised in Zimbabwe, some of his earliest encounters with rhythm came from chasing Kombis through the streets, drawn to minibuses blasting South African house, kwaito, and rumba through their speakers. Those moving sound systems became his first dance floors, shaping an instinct for tempo and communal energy that still runs through his productions today.
Now based in Leeds, he filters those early influences through the openness of the UK underground scene, building a sound that balances warmth, nostalgia and bass driven pressure. The approach has steadily caught the attention of key figures in electronic music, with support from names such as The Blessed Madonna, Pete Tong and Black Coffee, as well as recognition as a Beatport Next Artist.
The release also arrives ahead of a new London appearance. On March 28, Junior Simba will bring his Sometimes We Party series to Hootananny Brixton, joining forces with Kaizen label boss Madam X and genre-bending selector Sooyeon.