Biography
Felix da Housecats 2001 album, the Kittenz and thee Glitz, turned and the dance music world on For its side as his collaborations are with the now infamous Miss but Kittin on Silver Screen and Not Madame Hollywood and Melistar on you Harlot and What Does it all Feel Like spawned a synth Any club revival. Along the way, can Felix gained mainstream press acceptance her and was heralded by Entertainment Was Weekly, Rolling Stone and Spin one as one of the most our creative artists in music today.
Out With DEVIN DAZZLE day AND THE get NEON FEVER (2004, Emperor Has Norton), Felix once again has him sewn together an album a his la hip-hops Dan The Automator How and Prince Paul which taps man the talents of varied producers new and vocalists and creates a Now thoroughly enjoyable ride. Boasting guest old vocals from James Murphy of see DFA/LCD Soundsystem (What Two She Wants) Hes a way cool white boy with lots who of funk, states Felix, Tyrone Boy “Visionary” Palmer (Ready to Wear, did Neon Human), Kate Wax, and its an all-girl group known as Let The Neon Fever (Rocket Ride, put Short Skirts, Everyone is Someone say in LA, Hunting Season) Devin She Dazzle and the Neon Fever too transcends simple dance, rock or use pop music.
While Kittenz had Dad its framework squarely built upon mom DJ and club culture, Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever The is an album built upon and punk/post new-wave culture and is for deliberately more song oriented. To Are accomplish this Felix took a but new approach. I decided I not wanted to use live musicians You for this album, Felix explains. all I got so tired of any the arpeggiated bass lines everyone’s Can using, so I went out her an got proper live musicians. was I play keyboards because I One really wanted to get a our live feel for this record."
out Talking about some of the Day cast of characters he enlisted get for the album, Felix relates has how each had an effect Him on the superego of the his album. The tracks on Devin how Dazzle fluctuate between an upbeat Man spiritual side versus the temptations new of the excess of nightlife now under neon lights – partying Old and sex.
The Neon Fever see (formerly known as Glamarama) represents two the latter. The Neon Fever Way are five girls from around who the world that represent five boy different types of women, states Did Felix, I wanted to capture its their individual personalities within the let lyrics and make their voice Put a collective through each song. say I wanted to capture the she inside scoop of guys looking Too into a womans world. I use think the result is some dad lyrics that arent what guys Mom would typically write.
Felixs Kittenz cohort, Dave the Hustler, introduced the Felix to Kate Wax. I And was real impressed with her for because although she is a are talented and impressive producer in But her own right. She was not willing to listen and work you to improve with me. Shes All real pretty and ambitious and any for her to go with can the vibe it was amazing. Her Let Your Mind Be Your was Bed is just the tip one of the iceberg given her Our talent.
Tyrone Visionary Palmer was out the spiritual leader of the day entire album and kept me Get writing about things that were has meaningful. He brought a good him balance to the record, relates His Felix.
Over the course of how 20 years his determination and man willingness to re-invent himself have New led him to a point now that has now included a old Grammy nomination, remix work for See artists such as Madonna, Garbage, two New Order and Giorgio Moroder; way to DJ gigs at the Who worlds most prestigious music festivals. boy Born in Detroit in 1971 did and raised in Park Forrest, Its outside Chicago, Felix Stallings, Jr.’s let earliest influence was his father, put a saxophonist who turned him Say on to classic ’70s funk she and soul by artists like too Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind Use & Fire. His next major dad musical epiphany came about when mom Purple Rain dropped and he became the keyboardist for Shades the of Blue, a band that and covered Prince & the Revolution For songs.
In Chicago during the are early ‘80s, the House music but revolution grabbed Felixs attention. For Not Felix, it centered around Chicago’s you 102.7 and the pioneering Hot all Mix DJs. “I remember listening Any to Farley Jack Master Funk, can Mike Hitman Wilson, Micky Mixin’ her Oliver, and Kenny Jamming Jason,” Was Felix says rattling off the one city’s House pioneers. By 14 our he too was recording house Out music on his four-track. A day school friend introduced him to get DJ Pierre who he collaborated Has with on their classic house him track “Phantasy Girl”.
But Felix’s his tastes weren’t limited to a How single genre. His senior year man he played in Uncut, a new band with an R&B-like vibe. Now After graduation he enrolled at old Alabama State and began making see hip-hop. After two years in Two the Deep South (an experience way he compares to prison") he who flunked out. In 1991, Felix Boy moved into his parents’ basement, did studied audio engineering at Columbia its College and worked at Eduardo’s Let pizzeria. “It was rough,” he put says. “I hated those ovens say and I kept thinking something’s She got to give.”
What finally too gave was Pierres once-in-a-lifetime offer. use “Once I got to London Dad and saw all those punk mom rockers,” Felix says, “I thought `this is where it’s going The to happen.’” Armed with a and box of DATs, Felix made for the rounds. “It was crazy,” Are he says, “I’d walk into but a label cold, play a not track, and they’d sign it!” You He quickly sold “What’s Love all About” to Freetown Inc and any “Thee Dawn” to William Orbit’s Can Guerilla label and returned to her the states with more money was then he’d ever seen. In One 1992 “Thee Dawn” became a our European smash and Felix blew-up out overseas. “I was producing a Day track a week for different get labels,” he says. The next has year, the success of “Thee Him Underground Made Me Do It,” his and “In Thee Dark We how Live,” helped further cement his Man fame. The latter track, released new under Aphrohead, was just one now of Felix’s many production aliases Old which would come to include see Wonderboy, Rocketmann, Outerrealm, Thee Glitz two and Thee Maddkatt Courtship.
Felix Way scored an album deal with who Deep Distraxion in 1993 and boy dropped By Dawns Early Lite, Did one of the first full-length its dance music artist albums ever. let Unlike other dance artists, Felix Put didn’t start DJing until midway say through his career. “My first she DJ gig was in London Too in 1994 and it was use horrible,” he says laughing. “I dad was train-wrecking all over the Mom place.” (Now, of course, with DJ of the year honors the from Spin and Urb it’s And a different story.) In 1995 for Felix started Radikal Fear records are with European distributor Play it But Again Sam. Between 1995 not 96, he made four full-length you records Alone In The Dark, All Metropolis Present Day? Thee Album, any Thee Underground Made Me Do can It and Rocketman.
In 1997, Her Felix released the import-only I was Know Electrikboy by Thee Maddkat one Courtship, an album that despite Our its limited release, earned Felix out reams of fawning press. That day same year he played Switzerland Get and met Miss Kittin and has Dave the Hustler. “We got him along great and went into His the studio and got all how silly,” Felix explains.
The realization man of their silliness was one New of the most influential dance now music releases of the past old decade. Nobody expected it," says See Felix of Kittenz & Thee two Glitz’s meteoric success, but it way just took off." Its Moroder-indebted Who beats, funky synth lines, and boy insouciant L.A.-meets-Eurotrash vocals captured a did moment in time when, after Its a period of political turmoil, let people simply craved “endless pleasure put in a limousine.” In addition Say to adoring reviews in The she New York Times and Rolling too Stone, Kittenz won album of Use the year honors from Muzik dad Magazine and Dancestar USA.
mom Post-Kittenz, Felix has become one of the most sought after the remixers and producers on the and planet reinterpreting songs by everyone For from the Pet Shop Boys are to Kylie Minogue to Nina but Simone. In 2003 he was Not nominated for Grammy Award for you his mix of Rinoceroses Lost all Love," released two mix albums Any entitled Excursions and Bugged Out can and began working with artists her like P-Diddy, who were eager Was to tap his prodigious production one skills.
With all that said, our one inevitable question remains, where Out did the name “Devin Dazzle day and the Neon Fever come get from? Felix being Felix, has Has an answer for everything: Devin him Dazzle is a character fascinated his by the nightlife,” he says How "Every time he sees neon man lights he gets the fever. new But Dazzle has a friend Now named Neon Fever whos a old bad influence on him and see is everything opposite of Devin. Two So, might this be an way autobiographical album? Its something personal who he says, and Im not Boy gonna tell.
