EXRON EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: FELIX JAEHN

April 8, 2020

We recently got the chance to catch up with German superstar Felix Jaehn. The music video for his latest single “Sicko” is out today and features rapper GASHI and Canadian upstart FAANGS. Known for his transparency and openness with his fans, Felix Jaehn has come a long way since releasing his hit remix for OMI’s “Cheerleader” in 2014. Currently, he commands 17 million monthly Spotify listeners and has received massive recognition throughout his notable career including receiving the award for “Best Dance Act” from 1Live Krone Awards in 2019. Read more from Felix Jaehn below to hear about the inspiration behind “Sicko”, his recent social media hiatus, and more!

Photo By: Jens Koch

Exron Music: You had a huge year of musical releases in 2019. Can you tell us about your creative process and how you channel your artistic ideas into such adored finished products?

Felix Jaehn: The special thing about this project is that I’m co-writing all the lyrics. When I start making the songs I usually start with a concept of the lyrical idea and I know what I want to write about and how to tell my story. After that, I meet up with songwriters in the studio and we make a song together around those concepts and topics that I want to discuss. Production-wise, I always try to find the right vibe for the story we’re trying to tell so it really comes down to the lyrics. I wanted “Sicko” to feel a bit urban and rough. I feel like my current songs have been defined by the lyrical content.

Exron Music: You closed out the last year with a single featuring VIZE and Miss Li, “Close Your Eyes”, which is such a bouncy and fun pop-reminiscent track. Although the single itself is very uplifting, it does deal with a sensitive topic. Can you tell us about this and why you chose to address this with “Close Your Eyes”?

Felix Jaehn: I choose to address it because that’s what I’m doing with this whole album I’m working on and all the singles we’ve put out in 2019 and this year. I’m telling my personal story and I used to have panic attacks and was really anxious and hard dark days but now I feel amazing and have left all that behind. I just felt like I wanted to open up to my fans even more and tell my story through my music and hopefully inspire others to start walking their own spiritual path to lead to a happier life.

Exron Music: To start out 2020 you chose to take a two-month social media hiatus. What do you feel like you learned the most from this experience?

Felix Jaehn: Less is more. That’s the best thing I learned from it, everybody says it all the time but its really true. I was the happiest when I was in a Buddhist monastery with just water, tea, and vegan meals. I had no alcohol, no coffee, no TV, and even no music at times. It was a lot of just being and breathing and focusing on myself. It was such a special experience and I felt so good doing that, I learned that I don’t need to have anything at all to be happy, my happiness is not based on what I have or what I do. There are always new conditions around me to find happiness within myself.

Exron Music: Your first release for the new year was a remix of Dido’s classic piece “Thank You” along with VIZE once again. The strong bass-line in this single is a slight deviation from your normal bouncy vibe. What made you take this route for this specific track?

Felix Jaehn: Honestly, I have to give props to VIZE for the bass line, they have this crazy sound and they came up with the bass line and I just absolutely love it. It’s nasty haha, It’s 100 bpm so it’s a little different from the BPM I usually work with. It slaps you right in the face and sometimes that’s the energy you need in a club or at a festival.

Exron Music: Of late you have made a big shift in your public image, providing transparency to your fans of the intricacies of your personal life. How has this affected your emotions regarding yourself and your relationship with your fandom?

Felix Jaehn: Being transparent has made it a lot easier. I had to figure out who I was before I was able to share it with the world. In the early days, when “Cheerleader” was released, I was only 20 and I didn’t really know who I was and I developed insecurities. I was constantly being put on the spot at festivals, shows, red carpets and in front of millions of people. I didn’t even know who I was and people always expected me to talk about everything. As soon as I started to look inside and figure out who I am I became a lot more confident in life and sharing it with the people has become a lot more natural to me. My fans are my friends and I want to tell them everything.

View this post on Instagram

Five years later Cheerleader Remix passed 1.000.000.000 streams on Spotify! So happy it continues to spread joy ? #billionairsclub #ThankYou #spotify

A post shared by FELIX JAEHN (@felixjaehn) on Feb 16, 2020 at 1:06am PST

Exron Music: You just released your newest single “SICKO” featuring GASHI & FAANGS, a powerful track led with gripping vocals and a funky beat. What message do you hope that this song will send to listeners?

Felix Jaehn: To be honest, I feel like sicko is a fun party vibe. It’s one of those tracks that’s over the top and a little crazy. The main lyrics are “I’m a sicko you don’t know who you’re playing”. It’s supposed to be like I’m so sick that nobody wants to be with me and it’s a little self-destructive in that way. It has elements of being sad but still feeling super confident. You know when you have those days and you walk into a club and you just feel super badass but then you wake up the next day and you’re alone and realize that nobody likes you like that. I think “Sicko” is about how everyone has a dark or “sick” side within themselves.

Exron Music: What do you hope the rest of the year will bring for your musical journey and are there any plans for an album in the near future?

Felix Jaehn: There are definitely plans for an album, it’s already written as well. I want to release it this year at some point, I just don’t know when exactly. I might drop one or two more singles beforehand. To be honest, I just have to see how everything goes now with coronavirus. The possibilities are really limited but on the other hand I think it’s amazing that artists are at home and everyone has time to create. I’m getting really creative right now, I even started to paint the other day. I think there’s going to be so much amazing art coming out of this time, it’s gonna be really interesting.