salute Releases ‘Shield,’ Keeping In Step With His Self-Described ‘Pretty People Music’ Sound

Colorful, emotional, soulful and euphoric music, all while providing energetic tunes and a sense of longing. That is the sound that deejay, producer and songwriter salute is known for. The tastemaker, legally known as Felix Nyajo, brings his masterfully produced songs to audiophiles around the world. His Shield EP, which dropped Friday, May 5, is no exception to his dichotomy of sounds, which he best describes as “pretty people music.”

The four-track body of work boasts swiveling and tinkering synths, uplifting soundscapes, bouncy basslines and distorted vocals. The EP proves to pull songs from various genres across the dance music spectrum, creating melancholic and mood-lifting tunes.

According to the artist, Shield provides snapshots of moments of where he was musically at the time, with the oldest track being four-years-old. He found inspiration for the EP from French house, melodic house, songs released from Ed Banger Records and classic, old house music. Shield shows his musical voyage.

“I was at a point where I wasn’t really sure what to do sound wise or where to go,” he says. “I was still struggling to find the sense of musical identity.”

Nyajo adds that “Wait for It” was written at around the same time he was producing “Joy.” He says that his goal for both tracks was to create something joyful.

“I ended up finishing ‘Joy’ way sooner than ‘Wait for It,’” he says. “[I] then realized that that was sort of what my sound should be. I think ‘Wait for It’ is a continuation of that.”

The EP showcases Nyajo flexing his vocals for the first time, which he notes was originally worrisome as he wasn’t sure people would like it. Then, he decided that it didn’t matter since he really enjoyed the song. He adds that not concerning himself with what other people think is advice he would give his younger self and that his ability to let go has allowed his music to become better.

“[Using my vocals] felt weird to me, but at the same time, it feels like a relief that is out of my control now. People are going to hear it regardless. Using my voice is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” he says. “Someone out there is going to enjoy it. That’s a big step for me.”

Nyajo’s philosophy when making music is to have as much fun with the process as he can. He says if that’s not the case, then there isn’t a point in producing since it should be enjoyable because it’s a “deeply personal thing.” Music production, he says, should reflect what the artist is looking for at the time, whether that is relief, happiness or a way to process feelings.

The songwriter, who started making music at the age of 13, was introduced to dance music by his brother watching MTV, and his later exposure to genres like grime, drum’n’bass, dubstep and garage via YouTube and Boiler Room partially enlightened his sound. While he was open to all styles of dance music, watching these videos helped him realize what exactly his taste in dance music is, adding that it was a surprising experience as he hadn’t realized how vast the spectrum of dance music is. The Vienna-born and bred producer says this introduction informed him of what he wanted to hear in his music, which proved to be difficult at first because he was listening to an array of genres and was tempted to try everything. This, in turn, meant he struggled to find his sound, but he was able to narrow it down over time.

Though Nyajo’s favorite song changes from week to week, he says his favored track at the time of this interview (April 19, 2023) is his 2022 record “Pleasures.”

“While I was making it, I think it was one of those things [where] I opened my laptop and blacked out for a few hours and then had something that sounded good,” he says. “I remember listening to it and being like, ‘This reminds me of the stuff that I was listening to when I was a teenager, like some really glossy French house music.’ That was what I really enjoyed. I think it’s the feeling of nostalgia it gave me both making it and also just like listening back to it.”

Nyajo’s other interests include community-based work and social services, which he says would have been the career path he would have gone down if he didn’t go into making music. However, he says there was never really an option but to go into music production.

The biggest hurdle he has ever faced was finding his sense of identity across various aspects of his life. Nyajo left Vienna to come to the UK and pursue a career in music, but at the same time, he was figuring out who he was at the age of 18.

“I think over the years, finding my sound or what I’m doing now in music has also coincided with finding myself as a person,” Nyajo says. “I think the last couple of years have been very eye-opening, both personally and professionally. I think trying to be more accepting of who I am as a person is probably been the hardest thing for me. It’s something that I’m still doing every day. It’s not something that stops, I think.”