Leopold Nunan turns up the heat on “Feliz Navidad”
Leopold Nunan has always thrived in motion. For those potentially unaware, he’s a Brazilian-born, Los Angeles-based performer who treats genres as merely a suggestion. So it feels wonderfully on brand that he would attack one of the most universally familiar holiday songs of all time and rewire it for the dance floor. His reinterpretation of “Feliz Navidad” doesn’t simply nod at José Feliciano’s legacy. It takes the familiar melody off the snowy postcard, drops it into the tropics, and lets it party until sunrise.
Christmas, in Nunan’s hands, becomes sweaty and gloriously extroverted. The original is woven into December nostalgia, often imagined next to fireplaces, sweaters, and mulled drinks. However, Nunan flips this completely and presents it as something that you can literally party to to celebrate the season.
A huge part of that transformation comes from producer RYLLE, a rising Brazilian drum and bass architect. He straps this energy directly to Feliciano’s melody. The result thumps with pulsing low end, breakbeats slicing through the mix like excited chatter in a packed nightclub. It is impossible to sit still through it. This is Christmas engineered for movement.
The electronic sheen keeps things modern without sanding off personality. Still though, he treats the classic with affection, then updates it for a generation raised on festival drops instead of choir robes. Leopold’s vocals are still very much at the center of the mix and kind of ground you before the explosion of sound.
This version of “Feliz Navidad” feels like a celebration without borders. Brazilian heat meets global electronic culture and holiday nostalgia collides with drum and bass momentum. We could surely listen to the original for that classic feel, but this is 2025, we need some energy in our lives. That’s why we’re switching to this version and you should too!
Go ahead and click those links below to listen in, follow along, and of course to stay tuned for the latest.
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