Turning Points: Nautica (UK)

For Nautica, the journey has been built through patience, instinct and years spent refining their sound rather than chasing quick moments. Josh Lewis and Caolan Savage have quietly developed into one of the UK house scene’s most consistent groove-led acts, with releases across 8bit, Solid Grooves and PIV alongside appearances at DC-10, fabric and The Warehouse Project.

Their latest release, the ‘Do Anything’ EP on 8bit, continues that evolution. Built around flow, subtle tension and understated energy, the project reflects a duo now fully comfortable in their identity. Looking back though, there are a handful of moments that clearly shaped how they arrived here.

The first came in Liverpool back in 2017.

After meeting at university, the pair started producing together under the Nautica alias while slowly building relationships across the local electronic scene.

“We spent months in the studio while also building our network across the local music scene, trying to put ourselves in the best position possible to get gigs,” they explain. “We were constantly sending unreleased music to promoters and DJs around the area to help us stand out.”

That persistence eventually led to a breakthrough through Liverpool party Lovebeat, who offered Nautica the warm-up slot supporting Ejeca.

“This was the first ever poster we’d seen with our artist name on it,” they say. “It really marked the beginning of the journey for us.”

Two years later came a moment that dramatically accelerated things.

In 2019, Michael Bibi invited Nautica onto the Liverpool date of his Solid Grooves UK tour after already supporting several of their productions.

“At the time, Michael was playing a number of our tracks and was a huge inspiration for us,” they say.

The momentum quickly snowballed from there. Shortly after the show, Nautica signed an EP to Solid Grooves, which arrived just a month later.

“We had DJ support fly in from all across the world and had our first ever BBC Radio 1 play,” they explain. “The EP gained recognition from some of the biggest artists across the globe and it started a busy year of touring for the rest of 2019.”

But Ibiza still sat firmly in the background as a long-term goal.

After experiencing Paradise at DC-10 for the first time in 2019, the duo left the island determined to eventually return as artists themselves.

Three years later, that ambition became reality.

“After visiting Ibiza for the first time in 2019 and going to Paradise at DC-10, we set ourselves the goal to play there one day,” they explain. “In 2022, we were invited to play for Solid Grooves.”

What followed remains one of the defining memories of their career so far.

“We had a villa full of all our mates that flew out to come and support us. The room started completely empty and then filled up so quickly that night. The atmosphere was insane and it was a moment we’ll never forget.”

By 2023, Nautica were ready to create something fully their own.

That became TYDE.

The duo launched the label and event brand in Liverpool before introducing the imprint’s debut release later that year through a remix of 95 North’s ‘Let Yourself Go’.

“We launched the label with a remix of 95 North ‘Let Yourself Go’ which has achieved over 1M streams and gained huge support,” they say.

Since then, TYDE has become far more than simply a release platform. It has allowed Nautica to curate nights around the artists and sounds that genuinely inspire them.

“We have since had the pleasure of being able to host events and book some of our favourite DJs across the scene including artists such as Josh Baker, Nick Curly, Josh Butler and so many more.”

Another major turning point followed in 2025 through their relationship with 8bit.

The release of the ‘Sway’ EP marked a subtle shift back towards deeper, more underground territory after a run of slightly more commercially leaning releases.

“At the time of making the EP, we wanted to create a number of records that had a bit more of an underground feel to them,” they explain.

The breakthrough idea arrived unexpectedly while digging through YouTube samples.

“After digging through samples on YouTube we found the vocal for ‘Sway’, the lead track, and created some more rolling and deeper drums.”

The response quickly became overwhelming.

“The record was a massive step forward for us as we had support videos flying in from all over the world.”

Soon artists including Jamie Jones, Franky Rizardo, Marco Carola and Hot Since 82 were regularly playing the record in their sets.

That progression naturally feeds into where Nautica now find themselves with the ‘Do Anything’ EP.

Across four tracks, the project leans fully into groove, movement and long-form dancefloor energy rather than obvious peaks or theatrics. In many ways, it feels like the clearest reflection yet of everything they’ve learned across the last decade.