Felix is regarded as a member of the second wave of Chicago house. He
entered the dance music elite not only via his recordings (under a
number of aliases, including Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead and
Sharkimaxx), but also for his ownership of Radikal Fear Records, one of
the premiere Chicago labels of the 1990s.
Beginnings
Living in Chicago as an up and coming graffiti artist, the young
Stallings was perfectly located to develop a keen interest in the
emergent House music scene, which found its hub in Chicago. While a
student at Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois in the
mid-1980s, a chance introduction to Acid House pioneer DJ Pierre gave
15-year-old Stallings his break, and under the patronage and guidance
of Pierre, he released his first single, "Phantasy Girl," in 1987.
Also in 1987, Felix gave up house music to go to Alabama State
University to study media and communication. While he was there he
soaked up all the music of the era, including Prince, A Tribe Called
Quest and Gang Starr. At that point, he even started dabbling in hip
hop and R&B tracks, both sounds and genres he continues to check
and surround himself with today.
1990s
However, Stallings' quite religious parents disapproved of his growing
interest in the club scene, and discouraged the development of his
talent. After graduating from high school, he left Chicago and music
entirely to attend Alabama State College. After losing interest in
House for a few years, Felix decided to rejoin the business. With the
help of DJ Pierre, he began producing and mixing again. By 1992, he had
a hit with the single "Thee Dawn" on Guerilla Records. He became
particularly popular in Europe, and the following year's "By Dawn's
Early Light" and "Thee Industry Made Me Do It" cemented his reputation.
At the age of 15, Felix collaborated with Pierre on the classic track
"Phantasy Girl" as Pierre's Pfantasy Club. Not only a key record of
that era of dance music, it also signaled the start of a friendship and
music mentoring that remains to this day. In the early 1990s, Felix and
Pierre helped pioneer the 'wild pitch' sound with tracks like "Thee
Dawn".
One of the defining moments of the 90's for Felix was his single, "In
The Dark We Live (Thee Lite)" under his pseudonym, Aphrohead.
Originally released on the UK label, Bush, "In The Dark We Live" was
licensed by New York-based label, Emotive Records and released in the
U.S. The Dave Clarke remix of "In The Dark We Live" was championed by
NY legend Junior Vasquez at the infamous after-hours nightclub, Sound
Factory. Emotive Records commissioned Vasquez to remix it for its U.S.
release.
Shortly afterwards Stallings formed Radikal Fear Records, and it was
not long before the label became one of the foremost House labels in
the world, releasing cuts from Mike Dunn, DJ Sneak, and Armando as well
as Felix himself and many others. During 1995, he released his debut
full-length Alone in the Dark (as Thee Maddkatt Courtship) on Deep
Distraxion, followed by Radikal Fear compilation, The Chicago All Stars
and a mix album entitled Clashbackk Compilation Mix. Another LP,
Metropolis Present Day? Thee Album, followed in 1998. In 1999, he
returned with the summer electro single My Life Musik which formed part
of a new label deal with London Records. It also signaled the start of
studio history with his school buddy Tyrone 'Visionary' Palmer, who
would later sing on Slam's seminal single This World. The album, I Know
Electrikboy however, remains something of an anomaly. Due to internal
label politics, the album never saw the light of day in the UK or US,
although some finished copies have mysteriously made their way into the
market.
2000s
Back in the 1990s, Stallings continued releasing records at a prolific
rate; the next year brought his first album as Aphrohead. 2001 saw the
release of Kittenz and Thee Glitz, a critically-acclaimed LP that
gained Felix mainstream exposure and worldwide coverage in dance music
and fashion circles, and has often been mentioned as one of the
pioneering releases of the electroclash movement. At the end of 2001,
Felix won Best Album at the now-defunct Muzik Awards, beating the likes
of Daft Punk that day. The ensuing fame brought Felix widespread
popularity and remix work for superstars like Madonna, Britney Spears
and Kylie Minogue. The proper follow-up, Devin Dazzle & the Neon
Fever, didn't arrive until 2004, but Stallings released a pair of mix
albums, 2002's Excursions and 2003's A Bugged Out Mix, in between.
Devin Dazzle, however, really caught the mood of the moment in
clubland. Not only did he resurrect Vanity 6 – the all-girl group seen
in the 1984 Prince flick ‘Purple Rain’ – with his own girl group, Neon
Fever, he also managed to encompass DFA-like disco-punk (James Murphy
guests on ‘What She Wants’) along with his more familiar ‘80s reference
points, while ‘Watching Cars Go By’ and ‘Everyone Is Someone In LA’
are, respectively, near-perfect club and disco punk tracks. The former
was remixed by Armand Van Helden and Sasha while the latter again
tipped its melodic ear to Prince, this time the purple one's classic
'All The Critics Love You in New York.' Meanwhile, Tyrone Palmer, who
sang on ‘My Life Muzik’, delivers the album highlight ‘Ready 2 Wear’,
which was released as the last single with remixes from Paper Faces,
AKA Felix's friend and confidante Stuart Price, just ahead of his
production work on Madonna's 'Confessions' album. A self-confessed
Felix fan, Sasha received a Grammy nomination for his remix of
"Watching Cars Go By", which was later featured on Sasha's own
'Involver' album.
Felix also collaborated with P Diddy on the pair's 'Jack U' single and
was also exclusive producer for his upcoming dance album, although the
project has yet to see the light of day. The pair remain friends to
this day, with Diddy performing alongside Felix at Space in Ibiza in
2005 and Felix performing at Diddy's after-party for The Main Event at
this year's Winter Music Conference. But if you listen to Diddy's
recent single 'Last Night' and wonder if Felix had a hand in it, you're
right: it's just that his contribution wasn't credited. "He got me
good," said Felix in a recent interview for Mixmag. "I told him that to
his face. But he's a great guy and genuinely does love electronic
music."
Various remixes of "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)" were used in video
games such as Midnight Club 2, and SSX 3, and numerous movies including
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. His song "Rocket Ride" was featured in the game
Need for Speed: Underground 2. "Everyone Is Someone in LA" was featured
in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. His songs have also featured in TV
shows from The Sopranos to Entourage and Silver Screen featured
prominently in the party scene in Robert Downey Junior's 2005 movie
'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.'
Felix's album, Virgo Blaktro and the Movie Disco, was released on
October 2, 2007. The album has 16 tracks and was released in the US on
Nettwerk Records. Production was overseen by Felix's Atlanta friend
Dallas Austin, who acted as executive producer for the record.
"Future Calls The Dawn" was released on July 9, 2007 on Wall of
Sound/PIAS with "Sweet Frosti" featured as the B-side. "Sweetfrosti"
contains a sample of Devo's "Snowball", originally released in 1981.
"Like Something for Porno" is released as the album's lead single on
September 24, 2007 with remixes from Kris Menace, Teenage Bad Girl and
Armand Van Helden while third single 'Radio' was released digitally in
April 2008.
Since then, he's released his first Global Underground compilation GU
34 'Milan', his first for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne compilation and club
label. The compilation is split into 'Milanfuck Rock Europa' and 'Fuck
Rave (Americas)' sections.
The music video is currently viewable on Felix da Housecat's MySpace page.
Felix also teamed up with Kris Menace to release the Track "Artificial" in June 2008.
In 2009 Felix released He Was King, via Nettwerk
Records. The album pays homage to artist like Prince and is heavily
steeped in the elctrohouse touchstones Felix is known for. While he
conceived He Was King as an "electronic pop" record, many of the songs
on the album are straight up house bangers. Tracks like "Elvi$" and "LA
Ravers" - which do not feature guest singers - are beat driven tracks
aimed directly at the dancefloor.
Felix da Housecat @ MYSPACE
|