Vancouver-based electronic dance music producer Vanic, whose given name is Jesse Hughes, first drew notice through an array of widely praised remixes, one of which reimagined machineheart’s 2015 track “Circles,” before issuing his own material shaped by trap and house. After the debut release “Samurai,” he secured his initial chart placement in 2017 via the Top 40 single “Too Soon.”
Hughes started piano lessons at age three yet soon tired of classical boundaries, experimenting instead with jazz and ragtime while absorbing metal and happy hardcore. During high school his interest shifted toward electronic sounds, prompting him to create his own productions. He began with remixes of familiar songs and unveiled his first Vanic track, a version of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” in 2012. Momentum built from 2014 reworkings of Birdy’s “Skinny Love” and machineheart’s “Circles,” both of which accumulated millions of streams. Although Hughes enrolled in business studies at Simon Fraser University, he left the program to concentrate on music and accumulated funds for a personal studio. Additional widely circulated remixes for Lana Del Rey, Chvrches, Major Lazer, and the Chainsmokers followed, leading Vanic to sign with Sony’s Disruptor Records in 2016. That March saw the arrival of his first original track, “Samurai,” while Good Things, a compilation of standout remixes, appeared later that year. Vanic opened 2017 with two new singles: the January release “Too Soon,” featuring Maty Noyes and reaching the U.S. Dance chart’s Top 40, and June’s “Staring at the Sun” with Clara Mae.
In 2019 he continued issuing joint singles alongside Olivia Noelle (“Good on Me”), Saint Sinner and Wifisfuneral (“Forever Down”), Gloria Kim (“Save Yourself”), and Jocelyn Alice (“Cannonball”).
