What’s old is new again on the dance floor. Electronic music has become a time machine as a wave of DJ producers are pulling from the indie-pop, alt-rock canons of the 90s and 2000s. While TikTok has largely been credited for resurrecting many forgotten tracks in this digital wave, the resurgence now feels more intentional and club ready. Artists like BUNT. (Chartmetric rank: 1449), Mau P (CM rank: 2608) Morgan Seatree (CM rank: 1690) and CYRIL (CM rank: 385) are digging into the golden era of the classic indies to reimagine these popular anthems into modern day chart-climbing bangers, and the new generation of fans are loving it.

Indie Nostalgia Meets the Dance Floor

Is this trend in dance remixes a reflection of changing taste in electronic music or part of a nostalgia cycle where Gen Zs are rediscovering the classic hits? Likely, it’s a mix of both. With its iconic melodies, emotionally charged lyrics and raw vocals, indie anthems from the early days capture a formative era for many. Tracks like The La’s “There She Goes”, The Cranberries’ “Zombies,” Tom Odell’s “Best Day Of My Life,” and Tame Impala’s The Less I Know The Better,” to name a few, are not just catchy but they are filled with a sense of vulnerability and carry a sweeping, spiritual energy. 

Impressively, Spotify’s Emotional Dance playlist has more than doubled in followers over the past year, growing from 76K to over 183K followers in July 2025. The number of tracks featured has also nearly doubled in the same period, mostly of songs tagged under moods like “heartbroken,” “emotional,” and “melancholic” mood” while associated with activities such as “partying,”“late-night,” and “summer.” Notably, 11.5% of the current tracklist consists of remixes of older songs, illustrating a growing appetite for this hybrid sound of music. When combined with catchy hooks, higher BPMs, and warm electronic melodies, these remixes create a compelling drop that hits the sweet spot - emotionally resonant, dreamy and dance floor ready.

Here, we look at three remixed tracks currently making waves on the charts to get a sense of how contemporary dance music is reinventing timeless indie classics and how these old and new influences shape each other.

Australian DJ producer CYRIL is no stranger to remixing classic hits. He first gained attention with his reimagined version of Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro’s “Stumblin In” and American heavy metal band Disturbed’s “The Sound of Silence.” On May 16, he released his remix of The La’s iconic track “There She Goes,” which saw an immediate surge in streams. This remix quickly became his top track in the past month, surpassing even his breakout hit  “Stumblin In.” by more than 6.5 million streams.

CYRIL continues to maintain strong momentum after the release. Over the past 6 months, he gained over 77K followers on Spotify, reaching a new peak of 416.2k. His social media presence also grew steadily, with Instagram followers increasing by 10.7K, and his TikTok followers surging by 42.6K, both marking his highest count to date.

In the context of growing his audience, CYRIL’s remix of “There She Goes” was a smart choice because the song is The La’s most popular and most streamed track, with over 439 million Spotify streams. The original hit has remained consistently popular and continues to appear in many high profile editorial playlists like All Out 90s, Songs to Sing in the Shower, Indie Forever and more. While the remix did not create a huge spike in streams for The La, it represents more of a career accelerator for CYRIL as a new artist by increasing his visibility on socials.

Last summer, Marlon Hoffstadt and MALUGI closed their London Boiler Room takeover with Morgan Seatree’s “Say My Name (Remix),” firing up the crowd and driving the song’s virality. The single, which sampled Florence + The Machine’s (CM rank: 155) “Spectrum,” saw its official release at the end of December 2024. Since then, it has catapulted Morgan Seatree into the spotlight, cementing his status as a rising star. 

On the catalog side, “Spectrum” was not Florence + The Machine’s biggest streamed track but the song has experienced steady and consistent increase over the past year with over 343 million streams currently. Notably, the band’s Spotify Monthly Listeners began climbing at the end of December 2024 when Seatree’s remix was released, surpassing the 30 million mark. Their Spotify followers also saw a significant jump of over 10K at the same time of the remix’s arrival, reaching a peak of 7.12 million, indicating that their fanbase is growing and more people are tuning into their music overall. 

For Seatree, this remix has become his top track of all time over the past 6 months, amassing more than 79 million streams to date. It also helped him achieve his highest Charmetric rank of 3,020, a remarkable increase of 75K spots in the past year, clearly raising his industry visibility.

In February 2025, Mau P’s remix of Tame Impala’s (CM rank: 281) iconic hit “The Less I Know The Better” was officially released following years of underground buzz sparked by an unofficial fan edit that went viral on Soundcloud and amassed millions of streams.

As Tame Impala’s most-streamed track of all time with over 2 billion Spotify streams, this nostalgic anthem was already a fan favorite. Over the past year, it maintained a steady growth in monthly listeners, with a 21.26% increase. However, a look at its popularity index reveals a significant spike following the release of Mau P’s remix, suggesting that the new rendition has reignited interest in the catalog hit.

On the engagement side, Mau P’s monthly listeners on Spotify shot up following the remix, reaching a peak of 6.6 million, a 49.8% increase over the past 6 months. 

The remix also landed in nearly 1,000 editorial and independent playlists, including Spotify’s flagship Mint, as well as  Dance Hits, Dance Party, Housewerk, Summer Dance Hits 2025 and more, collectively exposing the song to over 60 million listeners and generating a combined editorial and user-generated playlist reach of over 70 million.

Impact: Remixes Spark Opportunities Across Dance and Indie Worlds

Seeing these numbers, it certainly seems that the renewed interest in indie catalog presents a valuable opportunity for dance artists, indie acts and catalog holders alike. A well-executed remix can boost the profile of a dance producer while bringing fresh attention to the older track, serving as a mutually beneficial catalyst. While legacy hits may not always see massive streaming spikes, remixes often spark a noticeable lift in their popularity. This trend points to a promising shift, one that invites new revenue, greater visibility and creative collaborations.