Felix Nyajo aka salute was born in Aspern to a cab driver and a nurse. Nyajo’s older brother introduced them to R&B and 90s hip hop when they were a kid, and Nyajo also started learning to play a Yamaha keyboard. In their early teens, Nyajo became influenced by Scottish musicians, Rustie and Hudson Mohawke, and started producing their own beats on Fruity Loops. Nyajo first became interested in production after hearing the Sonic Rush soundtrack, taking further inspiration coming from the SSX On Tour and FIFA Street 2 soundtracks. Nyajo compiled their first works on their parents’ computer using a pirated copy of FL Studio they had obtained aged 13.
Nyajo began sharing music via SoundCloud in 2012. The first work to receive press attention was a remix of Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat”. After a blog ran a piece on it, Austrian radio station. FM4 invited Nyajo in for an interview and then started playing their music. Shortly after that, Nyajo began playing shows in Austria and across mainland Europe. After relocating to Manchester, Nyajo released EP’s Gold Rush & My Heart in 2015 and 2016. In the following year, Nyajo’s grandmother and grandfather died. Nyajo responded by producing a trio of EPs, Condition I, Condition II, and Condition III, which came out between 2018 and 2019. In an April 2019 interview with Vice, they described the EPs as consisting of “memories”, “pain and feeing shitty”, and “hope”.
In May 2018, Nyajo contributed keyboards and programming for Charli XCX’s “5 in the Morning”. Following the release of Ultra Pool on Mall Grab’s Steel City Dance Discs and in August 2022. They then released the EP Shield in May 2023 via Technicolour Records, the first to include their own vocals, and which charted at number 12 on the Official Vinyl Singles Chart the following October. Shield included “Run Away With You”, which featured No Rome, “Feels Like My Hands Are On Fire”, which was co-produced by George Daniel, and “Peach” with Sammy Virji, a producer who released a remix of Piri & Tommy’s “On & On”.
In 2024, Nyajo was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Act at the 2024 MOBO Awards. Nyajo were featured on the cover of DJ Mag in April 2024. In July 2024, Nyajo released the album TRUE MAGIC, a concept album based on the concept of racing Japanese cars. The album featured contributions from Rina Sawayama, Karma Kid, Disclosure, Sam Gellaitry, なかむらみなみ, Empress Of, Léa Sen, Piri, and Leilah, most of whom were friends of theirs. It charted at number 5 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.
Nyajo describes their style as “fast and soulful house music,”with influences including U.K. garage, techno, classic house, and French house.
