Vanic

Jesse Hughes (born May 6, 1989), known professionally as Vanic, is a Canadian DJ and producer, based in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Early life

A metal enthusiast when he was in middle school, Hughes developed an interest in hardstyle and later in musical production. He played piano at the age of four. Hughes gained recognition for remixing songs for artists like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lana Del Rey and Birdy. He told Forbes "Family and personal issues came up in my life that made me re-evaluate my goals and direction. I decided that I might as well spend my youth trying for something really cool and different, something I was passionate about. And music was the obvious choice, it's been one of the biggest parts of my life..." Hughes, who studied business, dropped out of Simon Fraser University in an effort to pursue a successful musical career.

Career

In 2014, he was featured on the song "Circles" by Machineheart, which received over a million streams in two weeks. In 2016, he signed a deal with Disruptor Records, a joint venture of Sony Music and Adam Alpert. He said "Adam and Disruptor were the right fit. Everything they do seems to be spot on, and they're really good people to work with." He released his debut single "Samurai" via the label. On January 20, 2017, he released the song "Too Soon" featuring Maty Noyes. According to Nielsen Music, the song received 740,000 streams in the United States and sold 1,000 downloads in its first tracking week. It debuted on the Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart at 40th. His song "Staring at the Sun" was also released via Disruptor and featured Clara Mae. The song became his third single to be released on the label.