The story of Melodic Nation, an outlet focused on highlighting new and emerging talents in the melodic house and dance music scenes, began with a deep appreciation for melody-driven dance hits by Swedish House Mafia and Avicii.
The discovery of ‘Gecko’ by Oliver Heldens marked a turning point, not just in the musical tastes of its founder but in the direction of the blog itself. This track, bridging the gap between the deep UK house scene and mainstream EDM, ignited a passion for the emerging sounds of Future House and Tropical House. Through diligent curation and exploration across platforms like Beatport and SoundCloud, the blog began to carve out its niche, supporting the waves of new artists shaping the electronic music landscape.
The outlet has seen remarkable growth from its inception in 2018 as an Instagram page with an irregular posting schedule to a multifaceted platform with a substantial following across social media and streaming services. Yet, its mission remains the same as it has been all along: to spotlight the latest trends while championing upcoming talent in the industry. This commitment to authenticity and a heart-driven approach to music curation has been instrumental in maintaining focus and engagement, even as the platform expands its reach.
We had a chance to sit down with Melodic Nation’s founder, Adam Fidler, to chat about the past, present, and future of such a necessary outlet for artist growth and development.
Follow Their Spotify Profile Here For Access To All Of Their Playlists
Reflecting on the early days of your outlet, how did your personal experiences with tracks like ‘Gecko’ by Oliver Heldens and ‘On Trees And Birds And Fire’ influence the blog’s direction?
My first introduction to dance music was from 2010 to 2012 through artists such as Swedish House Mafia & Avicii; I loved their sound as it was very melody-driven. Then, around 2013-2014, we found the big room sound of the time through artists Hardwell & Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. It wasn’t until I went to university that I discovered UK house music, as this was being played at parties, by artists such as MK, Disclosure, and even deeper house sounds from Shadow Child.
We would try to find all the latest tunes in the UK house scene & play some of the biggest tracks from the parties, but we only really liked the mainstream hits. It wasn’t until ‘Gecko’ was released first by Oliver Heldens as an ID that our heads were turned. I was like, what is this sound? It grabbed us as it was the bridge between the deep UK house scene and the MainStage big room, EDM at the time.
We then started researching that sound using Beatport & SoundCloud to find the latest music, discovering Mr. Belt & Wezol, Tchami’s & realizing it was called ‘Future House’; also, pioneering blogs like Future House Music helped us to find so many new artists. On my SoundCloud journey, we discovered Tropical House and then delved into that genre through Sam Feldt’s DJ mixtapes, Sensual Musique mixtapes, and artists like Gamper & Dadoni, Lost Frequencies, and Kungs.
The platform started as I became known as a good curator, winning a Sigala playlist competition in 2015 and getting SoundCloud DJ mixes with 1000s of plays. I wanted to start a blog to showcase the music I liked & also to support the talented DJs within Future House & Tropical House music.
Can you describe the platform’s evolution from its inception in 2018 to its current state?
The platform started as an Instagram page with an irregular posting schedule. Since then, it has included a Reddit page, more posts than ever on Instagram, and over 15 Spotify playlists, with two containing over 14,000 followers, conducting interviews with artists, and launching a YouTube channel and TikTok & website.
The outlet’s mission extends beyond just covering the latest trends. How do you maintain this focus while ensuring growth and engagement?
For us, the blog’s primary focus isn’t growth; the more followers we have on our page, the more we can support more minor upcoming talent. The main focus is to ensure that whatever we post comes straight from the heart; it is only music we genuinely believe in and like. To ensure growth, we collaborate with artists and focus on particular genres to set us apart from the generic EDM blogs.
We also cover trending genres & artists that closely align with Tropical House & Future House, such as Stutter House or new genres that catch our attention as our tastes have evolved. We also make sure to cover the latest news within the dance-pop scene.
How do you plan to evolve the outlet’s content and community engagement strategies to stay ahead of the curve?
If we stick to our core genres & principles, we massively differentiate ourselves from most blogs, as we support many smaller artists in the chilled, dance-pop space. We do have plans to launch a podcast and for myself to appear more in the content to make sure the brand becomes more personal.
Finally, what message do you want to leave with your readers and the community you’ve built as you look towards the future of your platform?
We are incredibly grateful to the community we have built and love to see artists we have supported go on to have successful careers. Regarding the blog, we have no plans to stop; we want to grow and help as many artists & labels grow in the dance-pop sphere, as it is a section of the electronic music world that has truly touched our hearts.
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