Kygo and Thomas Jack stormed into the dance music world in 2013, introducing the then-emerging genre, tropical house, to the masses on their way to superstardom. The genre was an instant success, as it offered an element of live instrumentation alongside sun-soaked melodies reminiscent of warm summer days that was markedly missing from dance music, which was appealing to everyone from the most loyal, underground house head to the casual EDM fan looking to scratch the surface of the genre.
However, even as the genre has continued to gain steam through the years, crossing over into mainstream pop music and more, tropical house’s biggest detractors point towards a lack of innovative sounds and forward-thinking ideas that has led to a creative stagnancy as the genre’s biggest pitfall, and even tropical house figureheads like Thomas Jack have shown a willingness to diversify their sound into styles not bound by traditional “tropical house” boundaries. These shortcomings have resulted in many considering tropical house as “just another” EDM fad – until now.
Enter Felix Jaehn, the German wunderkind, who has ushered in the era of melodic house, a new sub-genre with all of the melody and live instruments that we’ve come to love from tropical house, underlined with a traditional four-on-the-floor beat that gives it a distinct groove. One of the biggest obstacles that tropical house faced in dance music was its vibe-y personality that didn’t seem to fit at a festival, but melodic house has eliminated this issue entirely by delivering the groove of a typical house track with infectious vocals and catchy melodies that make for easy listening elsewhere. No one knows how to navigate this new world of vocal-driven, groove-ridden tropical house quite like Felix Jaehn, who has proved his ability with a slew of chart-topping originals and remixes, like his globally-recognized take of OMI’s “Cheerleader” or his stand-out original, “Ain’t Nobody,” before and after signing with Universal Music.
At 21-years-old, Felix Jaehn is uniquely positioned to dominate the melodic house genre for years to come. The talented producer / DJ has showcased a tremendous ability for crafting uplifting melodies that are bolstered by his handpicked vocalists, like Jasmine Thompson and Polina. With the backing of a powerhouse imprint like Ultra Music, the sky is the limit for this record-setting youngster, and 2016 is his first step to showing the world why.
