Felix Da Housecat @ 515 - Tripod 29th Jan

515 tripod

POD + 515 Presents

Felix Da Housecat

Support: Transmission DJ’s

Sat 29th Jan @ Tripod

Advance tickets €21.50 inc booking fee

Advance Tickets from usual outlets. Phone/internet bookings subject to extra service charges.
www.ticketmaster.ie /24hr Hotline 0818 719 300
More info www.pod.ie

Felix Da Housecat Biog

“THIS IS MY electronic pop record,” preens Felix Da Housecat midway through a world tour
to promote his latest album ‘He Was King.’ “Whereas ‘Kittin…’ was straight up electro, ‘He
Was King’ is straight Felix Da Housecat pop with a nice electronic feel.” Packed with club
smashes like ‘Kick Drum’ and future synth-pop classics like ‘We All Wanna Be Prince’
and ‘Spank You Very Much’, his tenth album is arguably his most concise, complete work
since ‘… Glitz’ ripped up the electro rulebook back in 2001.

But right now, Felix is all about the present and 2009 is a big year for Felix Stallings. Not
only is he about to release his tenth - and quite possibly best - album, he’s also just graced
the cover of club bible Mixmag with hip hop maestro Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. That’s because
back in March, he headlined Mixmag’s Main Event 2 at Cameo alongside DJ buddies
Simian Mobile Disco, A Trak, Junior Sanchez and DJ Mehdi.
“That party was surreal to me. I’ve never drink a couple of shots of tequila and couldn’t get
buzzed because the party was so surreal. The party was the buzz! I was so LOCKED IN, as
Puff would say. He said I played with confidence, that I didn’t give a **** and that I was
downright disrespectful. I was so focused! But that whole day was a party. I did 4 parties in
24 hours and was still standing at the end.”

Those close to him know that he’s had a tumultuous couple of years but 09 promises to be
his best yet, both professionally and personally. “I totally agree. When I did ‘Virgo’ I got tired
of doing the same electro/electro-clash sound: I wanted to do something different and get
my passion back. People liked it but they wanted was more ‘Ready To Wear’ and ‘Silver
Screen’. So now I’ve come back with ‘Kick Drum’. Already endorsed by Soulwax, Boys
Noize and Erol Alkan, it’s the Felix-flavoured club smash we’ve all been waiting for. It’s a
volte face, sure: ‘Virgo’ was an r ‘n’ b-style electro LP overseen by Atlanta producer Dallas
Austin. Whereas ‘Virgo’ was made for the heart, ‘King’ is for the heart AND for the floor.
Ever the workaholic, Felix maintains that he never actually went anywhere.

“Totally! My whole thing is I never went anywhere,” he nods. Now I’m doing what I want
to do, I’ve gone full circle and I am at peace.” But he does admit to being stumped by the
reaction to ‘Virgo Blacktro’. “I had just moved to Atlanta and was still all over the place.
I wanted to do something different but my life was chaotic. This was my experimental

album, my ‘Lovesexy’.” Ever the Prince fan, he considers his simile. “Well, it was either
my ‘Lovesexy’ or my ‘Around The World’. After Prince came with 'Purple Rain', he came
with ‘Around The World’ and everyone was pissed off ‘cos everyone wanted another ‘Purple
Rain.’ But I’m glad I did it because it made me more hungry!”

So the new album sees a more fresh, focused Felix return to the fray. A better mindset,
stronger songs and a desire to take on the world again. “My mentality and attitude was the
same as when I made ‘Kittenz and Thee Glitz’. We all thieves – I do it too – but I got tired
of people questioning my edge. I guess I got comfortable and just thought everything would
slam. You do have to think about the radio, the people, the fans and yourself but it was so
humbling that I did that record and people weren’t ready for it.”
‘He Was King’ is a title that leaves nothing to the imagination – and the record inside is
a stately sixty minute adventure in electro- stereo. “This is my ‘Parade’ or my 1999,” he
giggles. “When I heard Parade I was like ‘maaaan! It was like Prince but a different kind of
Prince. And this time, the record is more campy. I went back to the silliness. I wanted this to
be more fun.”

‘We All Wanna Be Prince’ is pure perfection – indeed, it’s his best since ‘Ready To Wear’
and a record only Stallings could concoct. “That’s a good comparison,” he smiles. “It’s sort
of like a tribute but it’s sort of not - I didn’t want to insult Prince! Every lyric on that record is
from a Prince song. It was a last minute thing and [engineer] BC was working on a song and
it was just a kick and I heard a stab and I said it sounds like something Prince would make.”

The song is great because it sounds so simple: but the creation was canny to say the least
– and they took their cue from Rogers Nelson himself. “Like Prince, we slowed my voice
down, recorded me half speed thru the computer and then sped me up. I sang it slow
like ‘Erotic City’ and we was cracking up. Then I played [guest vocalist] Ness some Wendy
and Lisa and I brought her in and out of the track. It was a joke but then when the track was
done, we realised we really had something!”

Nese, it transpires, is Felix’s secret weapon. “I met Nese through Dallas two years ago,” he
explains. “She was in a girl band called Red, they were a knock off of the Spice Girls. They
toured with Alexander O Neil and Bryan Adams. She was doing law when we met…”
They’ve been inseparable since. “Every album I try do it different, I wanted a dreamy side to
it… like a Wendy and Lisa. I wanted to bring a high-pitched dreamy voice to it - the higher
the pitch, the more twisted and campy the album would be. And we were just hanging out –
and then I said – let’s try this out. I needed a female voice and I learned in m y career, every
time I work with female, the songs come out more successful.” Suddenly we hear a sweet
English voice singing sweetly in the distance.
“Sexual choc-o-late!”

The signature song from ‘Coming To America’ never sounded so apt. 'www.myspace.com/
felixdahousecat'
‘www.twitter.com/TheeRealFDHC
’'Felix Da Housecat "He Was King” out NOW on Nettwerk Productions.’

SteoL

515 tripod wrote: »

POD + 515 Presents

Felix Da Housecat

Support: Transmission DJ’s

Sat 29th Jan @ Tripod

Advance tickets €21.50 inc booking fee

Advance Tickets from usual outlets. Phone/internet bookings subject to extra service charges.
www.ticketmaster.ie /24hr Hotline 0818 719 300
More info www.pod.ie

Felix Da Housecat Biog

“THIS IS MY electronic pop record,” preens Felix Da Housecat midway through a world tour
to promote his latest album ‘He Was King.’ “Whereas ‘Kittin…’ was straight up electro, ‘He
Was King’ is straight Felix Da Housecat pop with a nice electronic feel.” Packed with club
smashes like ‘Kick Drum’ and future synth-pop classics like ‘We All Wanna Be Prince’
and ‘Spank You Very Much’, his tenth album is arguably his most concise, complete work
since ‘… Glitz’ ripped up the electro rulebook back in 2001.

But right now, Felix is all about the present and 2009 is a big year for Felix Stallings. Not
only is he about to release his tenth - and quite possibly best - album, he’s also just graced
the cover of club bible Mixmag with hip hop maestro Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. That’s because
back in March, he headlined Mixmag’s Main Event 2 at Cameo alongside DJ buddies
Simian Mobile Disco, A Trak, Junior Sanchez and DJ Mehdi.
“That party was surreal to me. I’ve never drink a couple of shots of tequila and couldn’t get
buzzed because the party was so surreal. The party was the buzz! I was so LOCKED IN, as
Puff would say. He said I played with confidence, that I didn’t give a **** and that I was
downright disrespectful. I was so focused! But that whole day was a party. I did 4 parties in
24 hours and was still standing at the end.”

Those close to him know that he’s had a tumultuous couple of years but 09 promises to be
his best yet, both professionally and personally. “I totally agree. When I did ‘Virgo’ I got tired
of doing the same electro/electro-clash sound: I wanted to do something different and get
my passion back. People liked it but they wanted was more ‘Ready To Wear’ and ‘Silver
Screen’. So now I’ve come back with ‘Kick Drum’. Already endorsed by Soulwax, Boys
Noize and Erol Alkan, it’s the Felix-flavoured club smash we’ve all been waiting for. It’s a
volte face, sure: ‘Virgo’ was an r ‘n’ b-style electro LP overseen by Atlanta producer Dallas
Austin. Whereas ‘Virgo’ was made for the heart, ‘King’ is for the heart AND for the floor.
Ever the workaholic, Felix maintains that he never actually went anywhere.

“Totally! My whole thing is I never went anywhere,” he nods. Now I’m doing what I want
to do, I’ve gone full circle and I am at peace.” But he does admit to being stumped by the
reaction to ‘Virgo Blacktro’. “I had just moved to Atlanta and was still all over the place.
I wanted to do something different but my life was chaotic. This was my experimental

album, my ‘Lovesexy’.” Ever the Prince fan, he considers his simile. “Well, it was either
my ‘Lovesexy’ or my ‘Around The World’. After Prince came with 'Purple Rain', he came
with ‘Around The World’ and everyone was pissed off ‘cos everyone wanted another ‘Purple
Rain.’ But I’m glad I did it because it made me more hungry!”

So the new album sees a more fresh, focused Felix return to the fray. A better mindset,
stronger songs and a desire to take on the world again. “My mentality and attitude was the
same as when I made ‘Kittenz and Thee Glitz’. We all thieves – I do it too – but I got tired
of people questioning my edge. I guess I got comfortable and just thought everything would
slam. You do have to think about the radio, the people, the fans and yourself but it was so
humbling that I did that record and people weren’t ready for it.”
‘He Was King’ is a title that leaves nothing to the imagination – and the record inside is
a stately sixty minute adventure in electro- stereo. “This is my ‘Parade’ or my 1999,” he
giggles. “When I heard Parade I was like ‘maaaan! It was like Prince but a different kind of
Prince. And this time, the record is more campy. I went back to the silliness. I wanted this to
be more fun.”

‘We All Wanna Be Prince’ is pure perfection – indeed, it’s his best since ‘Ready To Wear’
and a record only Stallings could concoct. “That’s a good comparison,” he smiles. “It’s sort
of like a tribute but it’s sort of not - I didn’t want to insult Prince! Every lyric on that record is
from a Prince song. It was a last minute thing and [engineer] BC was working on a song and
it was just a kick and I heard a stab and I said it sounds like something Prince would make.”

The song is great because it sounds so simple: but the creation was canny to say the least
– and they took their cue from Rogers Nelson himself. “Like Prince, we slowed my voice
down, recorded me half speed thru the computer and then sped me up. I sang it slow
like ‘Erotic City’ and we was cracking up. Then I played [guest vocalist] Ness some Wendy
and Lisa and I brought her in and out of the track. It was a joke but then when the track was
done, we realised we really had something!”

Nese, it transpires, is Felix’s secret weapon. “I met Nese through Dallas two years ago,” he
explains. “She was in a girl band called Red, they were a knock off of the Spice Girls. They
toured with Alexander O Neil and Bryan Adams. She was doing law when we met…”
They’ve been inseparable since. “Every album I try do it different, I wanted a dreamy side to
it… like a Wendy and Lisa. I wanted to bring a high-pitched dreamy voice to it - the higher
the pitch, the more twisted and campy the album would be. And we were just hanging out –
and then I said – let’s try this out. I needed a female voice and I learned in m y career, every
time I work with female, the songs come out more successful.” Suddenly we hear a sweet
English voice singing sweetly in the distance.
“Sexual choc-o-late!”

The signature song from ‘Coming To America’ never sounded so apt. 'www.myspace.com/
felixdahousecat'
‘www.twitter.com/TheeRealFDHC
’'Felix Da Housecat "He Was King” out NOW on Nettwerk Productions.’

Is this a live set or a DJ set? Heading the Button Factory the night before for CJ Bolland but it is the weekend I turn 33 so would love to head along to this one to prove I still got it