Take Care — Shy Cookie, The House & Garage Orchestra & Syleena Johnson

After nearly a decade of proving that UK Garage belongs on the biggest stages in Britain, The House & Garage Orchestra have done something nobody saw coming — and it sounds extraordinary.

On Friday 4 September 2025, THGO release Take Care, their first original recording, in collaboration with pioneering producer Shy Cookie and Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter Syleena Johnson. This is not a reimagining of a classic. This is something entirely new — and it marks the beginning of a whole new chapter for one of the UK's most exciting live music projects.

From the Dancefloor to the Studio

Since Ishmael Hamilton and Shy Cookie founded The House & Garage Orchestra in 2016, the project has built its reputation on something the scene had never really seen before: taking the anthems we grew up with and performing them live, with a full orchestra, original vocalists, and the raw energy that made UK Garage so important in the first place. Sold-out shows. Festival stages. Collaborations with the genre's most celebrated artists. THGO proved, time and again, that this music deserves to be heard at scale.

But Take Care signals something different. Rather than looking back, the orchestra is now creating forward.

"We've always believed dance music can carry real emotion," says co-founder Ishmael Hamilton. "Take Care is about looking after one another, finding hope in difficult moments and creating music that genuinely means something. Bringing Syleena's voice into that world elevated the song beyond anything we imagined."

He's not wrong. Syleena Johnson — best known internationally for her Grammy-nominated performance on Kanye West's All Falls Down — brings a depth of soul to this record that feels completely at home within THGO's orchestral world. Her warmth is undeniable. The transatlantic connection between American soul and the unmistakable heartbeat of UK Garage shouldn't work this well on paper. On record, it's seamless.

The People Behind the Record

Produced by Shy Cookie — one of the true architects of the genre, the man behind some of DJ Luck & MC Neat's most iconic moments — Take Care is built on the kind of musicianship that only comes from decades of genuine commitment to the craft.

The song itself was written by Gemma Fox, a MOBO-nominated, Urban Music Award-winning songwriter with over 10 million streams and 128 chart entries to her name. A respected voice across R&B, UK Garage, bassline and grime, Gemma now steps into the role of official songwriter for the orchestra — and if Take Care is any indication of what's coming, the catalogue they're about to build is going to be something special.

The sweeping orchestral strings were arranged by composer Jimmy

Goodwin, whose work spans film, television and live performance. His arrangements give the record a cinematic scale that lifts Take Care well beyond a conventional dance release. This is a record that sounds as at home in a concert hall as it does on a streaming playlist.

"I've always believed the best records stand the test of time because they're built on great songs, real musicianship and honest emotion," Shy Cookie says. "Take Care brings all of those elements together. It honours the roots of UK garage while showing just how far the music can evolve."

"Take Care honours the roots of UK Garage while showing just how far the music can evolve." — Shy Cookie

The Bigger Picture

This release is not just a single — it's the opening chapter of a long-term recording project that will see THGO release a series of original records in the months and years ahead. Alongside that, it marks the beginning of celebrations building towards the THGO 10th Anniversary UK Tour in 2027, when the orchestra will return to stages across the country to celebrate a decade of unforgettable live performance.

The 2027 tour takes in Manchester, Birmingham, Bournemouth, London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, Bristol, and Leeds. Tickets go on general sale from 7th August 2026.

Before that, you can catch THGO live at Tewinbury Festival at Tewinbury Farm on Saturday 12 September 2026, and at THGO Live in Manchester on Saturday 20 February 2027 and Birmingham Institute on Saturday 27 February 2027.

If you've been to a THGO show, you already know what it feels like when this music hits you live. If you haven't — now is the moment to understand why this orchestra exists, and why it matters. Find out more about who we are →

Take Care will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer and all major streaming platforms from Friday 4 September 2026.

See all upcoming THGO events →

Get your tickets for the 2027 Anniversary Tour →

---

Take Care is released on SINA Music / Happy Recordings. Stream it. Share it. See it live.