I nonetheless vividly bear in mind once I heard the tune that will without end information my journey into the world of digital dance music.
It was someday within the winter of 2010 once I was driving house from work, listening to BPM on SiriusXM Radio. As I drove down acquainted streets again to my house, an unfamiliar but uplifting monitor began, and the melody all of us would study to cherish kicked in. I used to be immediately hooked.
As you will have guessed, the monitor was Avicii “Levels.” I didn’t realize it on the time, nevertheless it finally kickstarted my deep love for progressive home music.
The style at the moment dominated the mainstage, with visionaries like Avicii, Alesso, Swedish Home Mafia and Martin Garrix pushing its boundaries by way of hovering sounds that made us really feel, made us join—that made us, us. Nevertheless, many would argue that model of uplifting progressive home took a backseat to different sub-genres since its golden period of the early- to mid-2010s.
The query stays: The place did it go?
The stateside EDM increase after 2010 noticed sub-genres creating and spreading like wildfire as listeners’ tastes developed, serving to propel rave tradition into the mainstream. However the ebook of progressive started to assemble mud on the shelf for roughly a decade as genres like bass home, lure and future bass swelled.
However as issues sometimes do in life, historical past finds a approach of repeating itself. Nowadays, it could really feel like progressive home is “back,” nevertheless it by no means left—and it is beginning to recapture the identical pageant glory.
Look no additional than Audien and his “Progressive House Never Died” sequence, which is starting to evolve right into a full-fledged motion. The famend producer, who’s gearing as much as launch his first album in six years, has constantly preserved and flown the flag of progressive home as one among its key trendy voices.
“Progressive house was my first love,” Audien tells EDM.com. “It’s the genre that made me fall in love with dance music in the first place.”
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“There’s just a level of emotion in progressive house that’s hard to find elsewhere,” Audien continues. “The melodies, the build, the release—it’s music that actually feels something. I think a lot of people still crave that connection, even if they don’t always know how to put it into words. That’s why I’ve stuck with it all these years. It’s timeless.”
Many different influential digital artists are following Audien’s lead. After a large efficiency on the inaugural EDC Thailand pageant in January, The Chainsmokers mentioned they’re “quadrupling down on progressive house” and channeling the euphoric roots of their early sound.
The identical goes for the legendary Swedish Home Mafia, whose current single, “Wait So Lengthy,” is fueling rumors of a brand new album harkening again to their classic progressive home sound.
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There isn’t any query progressive home has come off the bookshelf. The mud has been dismissed and the plenty are all studying once more. However why the resurgence?
One core cause, in fact, is nostalgia. A lot of right now’s younger stars grew up listening to progressive home legends, and similar to us, the style transports them proper again to the early days of their journey.
Now so greater than ever, the EDM neighborhood thrives on kinship, and progressive home represents a dream all of us share: to attach over a shared love of the music that first impressed us.
For Audien, it is vital to pay homage to that golden period whereas pushing the style ahead in sudden, future-facing methods.
“For me it’s about staying rooted in what made those early records special—emotional chords, strong songwriting, real storytelling—while giving it a modern lens,” he explains. “I’m constantly experimenting with new sounds, working with different vocalists, and trying things that feel fresh. There’s definitely a fine line between nostalgia and evolution, but that’s what keeps it exciting. I want to honor the past without getting stuck in it.”
