Badger sits down with us to talk about his journey to being regarded as one of the UK’s most dynamic names in electronic music.

Exploding onto the TikTok radar in 2022, Producer and DJ Badger — born Alex Goodger-Marsh — has quickly established himself as a leading force in the UK electronic dance music scene. Amassing over 3.5 million Spotify listeners and a devoted fanbase, the 27-year-old’s rise began with the release of a snippet from his UK garage remix of The Vengaboys’ 1998 anthem ‘We Like To Party!’ The track became the catalyst for a meteoric ascent, with Badger’s online presence growing twentyfold in just 12 months.

 

Since that first viral moment, Badger’s success has been cemented by hits like his edit of Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘These Words’, which topped TikTok trends, reached #22 on the UK Top 40, and earned him a silver record for surpassing 100 million Spotify streams in August 2024. “I absolutely wouldn’t be where I’m at now without treating social media like a part-time job for the last year and a half. It’s been an integral cog in my music and has changed my life,” he says.

 

Badger recalls September 2022 as the moment he started taking social media seriously, feeling the pressure to succeed in an industry where it’s a vital tool. “I felt the pressure of the ticking clock,” he admits. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram allowed him to break the artist-fan barrier with playful, unfiltered content, often featuring his parents or his comedic alter ego, ‘Uncle Badge’. “Most of my content looks as if a friend has just banged it into the group chat,” he laughs.

His musical journey began at six, inspired by his dad’s passion for music. “My Dad was always spinning records and bought me an MP3 player where the only function was shuffle, and I remember putting headphones on in the hallway of our house and thinking it was just crazy,” he recalls. Both his parents played pivotal roles in shaping his career. “My Dad gave me the passion for and obsession with music, and the ability to understand it, but then my Mum gave me the drive and focus to make that passion into a business.”

 

At nine, he picked up a guitar and later joined angsty bands inspired by 2010s sleazy groups. “Somewhere in between that grunge, power-chordsy indie sound,” he says. His love for dance music began at 16 after his first clubbing experience. “The first club I went to was Volks in Brighton at 17 with a fake ID, where I heard jump up and bassline for the first time. That’s where the obsession started.”

 

Today, Badger’s background and his constant experimentation have shaped his distinctive musical style. “Indie-garage” is how he describes it, a term coined by bass-house DJ AC Slater, who was the first to sign him to Night Bass Records. Even now, he continues to push musical boundaries, mentioning plans for his first-ever piano lesson after our chat.

 

Sitting opposite me, clean-shaven except for a moustache that could belong on an Aussie beach alongside a mullet, he embodies an artist whose sound and identity have evolved for over a decade. His journey is marked through aliases like Marsh, Guj, and Goodger before settling on Badger during his third year at university. The name stems from his childhood nickname ‘Goodger’, which he adapted by swapping ‘good’ for ‘bad’. “I identified that mixing garage was something I wanted to do for a long time, and so I wanted to have a good backstory to go with the name,” he explains.

Despite adopting a stage name, Badger insists it doesn’t come with an artificial persona. “It’s just an exaggerated version of who I am,” he says. “I think it’s hard to keep up if you have a persona that’s really different to who you are.” This authenticity carries into his shows, where he prioritises engaging with fans over maintaining distance. “To walk around and have complete strangers gassed to see me and have a chat is such a blessing, and never something that I’d shy away from.”

 

“Connecting with fans reminds me that I’m doing enough, that what I’m doing is working and having a positive effect on a lot of people,” he reflects. However, he also highlights the undulation of being an artist, particularly the contrast between the highs of touring and returning to everyday life. “There’s a very extreme contrast. Going from hundreds of people shouting my name to waking up the next day alone in a hotel room is quite the rollercoaster.”

 

With his infectious energy and playful authenticity, it’s no wonder Badger has built such a loyal fanbase. Last week, he marked 100k Instagram followers with a free party at a hotspot in his hometown, Brighton. True to form, he mingled with fans outside before his set, snapping selfies and sharing conversation. Shortly after, he handed out 100 free pints, spelling “100” on the benches, and distributed paper badger masks. It was less of a gig and more a love letter to the people who made it happen.

 

Social media also plays a significant role in his creativity. While his videos often feature his parents or “Uncle Badge,” many of his musical ideas stem from inspiration found online. “They’re one of the few silver linings of doom scrolling,” he admits. These ideas range from a bass-heavy track sampling the BBC News Theme to lines taken from comedians like Marty Miller and Missy McIntosh. “I’ll see something I love or I know other people would love that makes me chuck my phone to the other side of the room and jump on my laptop. It has to hit me on an emotional level.”

 

Whilst acknowledging the role social media has played in his growth, he remains acutely aware of its addictive nature and the toll it can take on mental health, particularly when it comes to an artist tying their self-worth to online validation. “It’s not really dissimilar to gambling,” he says. “When a video blows up it’s like a dopamine frenzy in your brain and you have a week or two where you feel like you’re on drugs refreshing the likes.”

Badger’s journey hasn’t been without challenges. After dropping out of Bhasvic College in Brighton, where he felt stifled by academic pressure, he thrived in a music diploma at Brighton City College. “Performance was always where the love was, and production I thought was a smart move.” Moving to Bristol in 2016 to undertake a Music Production degree at BIMM, he embraced his creative evolution, launching an SPTV-inspired YouTube channel. “I wanted to just meet people and start shit quickly,” he says. Leaving behind Bristol’s party-heavy lifestyle three years later, he dedicated himself to music and social media. “That’s the difference between being a bedroom DJ and being a touring artist,” he says. “A lot of good things are on the other side of sacrifice, discipline, and consistency.”

 

At the end of our conversation, Badger pauses to take a FaceTime call from his manager, who’s shopping in London for a safari-themed outfit for his upcoming 2025 UK tour, In the Wild. “So it’ll be Badger in the wild,” he smirks. “I think stuffing me in some leopard print shorts will go down well. It’ll be good if they’re a bit too small but as long as they don’t break when I’m wearing them.”

 

Looking ahead, Badger is preparing for a packed schedule. He’ll fly to Australia and New Zealand to play shows before returning to the UK for festival season and the commencing of his 2025 UK tour. Simultaneously, he’s working on new tracks under a deal with Warner Bros. Despite his impressive calendar, he remains humble. “It’s all very surreal, and doesn’t really feel like it’s me when I talk about it.” He pauses, adding, “I don’t think imposter syndrome ever really goes away. It’s good to be critical, not to beat yourself up but to find the space in between that, always questioning yourself and striving to want to be better and do more. It’s how you keep growing.”