Felix Da Housecat 'Was King' in Vancouver by Reg Seeton
When
you listen to the house and electro beats of Felix
Da Housecat, I bet you don't think The Cult, Poison,
Whitesnake, Crowded House, or the Cutting Crew.
Of course you don't, that's obvious. However,
while some of the world's biggest, most popular
bands were rising to the top of the charts in
1987, Felix Da Housecat released his first single,
"Phantasy Girl" to begin his ascent to the top
of the global DJ ranks. For those not in the know,
and for anyone not in attendance at Felix’s latest
live gig in Vancouver, BC, that's how deep of
an imprint Felix Da Housecat continues to leave
on the musical house, techno, and electro club
landscape. Two decades in the business, underground,
indie or not, is a sign of talent and true staying
power.
Since his first release in the late '80s, the Chicago born DJ and producer known as Felix Stallings Jr. has undergone several transformations, spinning under a variety of aliases over the years (Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead and Sharkimaxx to name a few) while releasing ten full-length albums, remixing the likes of Britney Spears, The Chemical Brothers, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna and Ciara, working with such producers as Diddy, and becoming one of the most influential house, techno, electro DJs of the past two decades.
So when Felix Da Housecat touched down in the heartbeat of Vancouver on Sunday, June 14 to kick off a new weekly club event at the Caprice nightclub, the largely twenty-something house crowd was treated to a special, intimate dance throwdown that proved "he was king" and still is.
On
tour to promote the August 25 release of "He
Was King," a more electro-pop album than some
of his earlier records, including the previously
released electro "Kittenz & The Glitz," Felix
Da Housecat has once again captured the attention
of his peers, fans, and electro contemporaries
with the singles "KickDrum" and "Elvi$," which
both bring to bear all of Felix's talents from
his early days of success to his era of experimentation
on such albums as "Excursions" and "Virgo Blaktro
and the Movie Disco".
Interestingly, when Felix stepped up to the compu-tables sometime after midnight amid a flickering haze of red strobes with a solid fusion of deep bass, beats and samples, the youthful, energetic Felix Da Housecat was in fine, fun form in the small Vancouver club, which quickly became an elbow-room only, wall to wall dance party. Since many of the tracks from "He Was King" are rooted from the influences of such artists and bands as Prince, the Human League, and the innovative Tom Tom Club, the Vancouver show was steeped in electro, techno, and trance with familiar mainstream appeal of '80s dance hits and '90s club-expanding sounds from the indie era of Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong, Sasha, and ... Aphrohead and Thee Maddkatt Courtship.
After
winding the crowd up slowly with an ongoing
beat and synth through-line similar to what
can be heard on the remix of Laurie Anderson's
'80s favorite, "Oh Superman," Felix added his
own unique house and electro styling over such
familiar foundations as Pussycat Dolls "Don't
Cha" and the Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue"
to set the tone. With a smile that lit up the
club in a way only the great Ray Charles or
Stevie Wonder could, Felix gave the crowd a
half-hour warm up before turning up the beat
heat with his latest single "Elvi$" and taking
to the mic to get the party started.
Giving Vancouver fans a taste of what's to
come on "He Was King," including the more diversely
electro 808 beat "Kickdrum," Felix balanced
his music within the lighter tweak vibe of the
night that also included the early hit "Ready2wear"
that evolved into a "Spank You Very Much," "We
All Wanna Be Prince" type of new, "Pray for
a Star" contemporary electro club atmosphere.
Leaving
a deep and profound dance imprint on the crowd
with the upcoming "He Was King," Felix Da Housecat
looked and sounded like an artist on the rise
for the first time in his career. Touring ahead
of the release of arguably his best album in
his still-going-strong 22 year career, the high-energy
but intimate Vancouver show punctuated how Felix
has ebbed, flowed, and adapted through the peaks
and valleys of the many reincarnations of electro
house, reinventing himself from his own legacy
and having fun within his 2009 electro pop persona.
Having come off his 2009 gigs as the headliner of the Winter Music Conference in Miami and a spot at Coachella, Felix Da Housecat gave Vancouver a seamless, bangin' dose of pro house and electro dance treats to kick off the summer before making the leap overseas to higher profile gigs at Space in Ibiza, T in the Park and the Oxygen Festival in July.
When
you listen to the house and electro beats of Felix
Da Housecat, I bet you don't think The Cult, Poison,
Whitesnake, Crowded House, or the Cutting Crew.
Of course you don't, that's obvious. However,
while some of the world's biggest, most popular
bands were rising to the top of the charts in
1987, Felix Da Housecat released his first single,
"Phantasy Girl" to begin his ascent to the top
of the global DJ ranks. For those not in the know,
and for anyone not in attendance at Felix’s latest
live gig in Vancouver, BC, that's how deep of
an imprint Felix Da Housecat continues to leave
on the musical house, techno, and electro club
landscape. Two decades in the business, underground,
indie or not, is a sign of talent and true staying
power.
On
tour to promote the August 25 release of "He
Was King," a more electro-pop album than some
of his earlier records, including the previously
released electro "Kittenz & The Glitz," Felix
Da Housecat has once again captured the attention
of his peers, fans, and electro contemporaries
with the singles "KickDrum" and "Elvi$," which
both bring to bear all of Felix's talents from
his early days of success to his era of experimentation
on such albums as "Excursions" and "Virgo Blaktro
and the Movie Disco".
After
winding the crowd up slowly with an ongoing
beat and synth through-line similar to what
can be heard on the remix of Laurie Anderson's
'80s favorite, "Oh Superman," Felix added his
own unique house and electro styling over such
familiar foundations as Pussycat Dolls "Don't
Cha" and the Rolling Stones' "Emotional Rescue"
to set the tone. With a smile that lit up the
club in a way only the great Ray Charles or
Stevie Wonder could, Felix gave the crowd a
half-hour warm up before turning up the beat
heat with his latest single "Elvi$" and taking
to the mic to get the party started.
Leaving
a deep and profound dance imprint on the crowd
with the upcoming "He Was King," Felix Da Housecat
looked and sounded like an artist on the rise
for the first time in his career. Touring ahead
of the release of arguably his best album in
his still-going-strong 22 year career, the high-energy
but intimate Vancouver show punctuated how Felix
has ebbed, flowed, and adapted through the peaks
and valleys of the many reincarnations of electro
house, reinventing himself from his own legacy
and having fun within his 2009 electro pop persona.