Felix Da Housecat: Kittenz and Thee Glitz ---Ink Blot Magazine

Felix Da Housecat: Kittenz and Thee Glitz

at a glance...

Hometown:
Chicago, Ill.

First Recordings: 1986

Personnel:
Featuring: Felix Da Housecat, Junior Sanchez, Harrison Crump, Miss Kittin, Melistar, Tommy Sunshine

Notes:
Since cutting his seminal debut "Phantasy Girl" way back in 1986 at the age of 15, Felix Da Housecat (Felix Stallings, Jr. to his mother) has helped shape the face of modern house music. Oscillating freely between the accessible and the bizarre, under a myriad of pseudonyms, the feline one's output has run the gamut of discerning dance music and cemented his reputation as an innovator extraordinaire. Initially aided by the tutelage of his mentor DJ Pierre, Felix produced a slew of early club classics whilst continuing to develop his own ethos of dictating taste rather than pandering to fashion. The result has been an output of unrivalled electronic eclecticism which never loses sight of the first maxim of house: MAKE PEOPLE DANCE. Recorded as Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead, Sharkimaxx, Wonderboy and 2 Black Ninjas, Felix's tracks have rocked dance floors the world over. However, as is often the case when it comes to America's finest dance exports, a pre-'Kittenz' Felix was a relatively unknown quantity in North America. Kittenz And Thee Glitz was a semi-sequel to the concept album I Know Electrikboy, which was recorded under Felix's Maddkatt Courtship alias. Both records conjure up similar ghosts from dance music's past but, despite the earlier release's fair share of plaudits, it was Kittenz And Thee Glitz that worked the worlds dance media into a frenzy and walked off with a number of "album of the year" awards. Operating on a similar vibe to DJ Hell's and über-chic International Deejay Gigolos collective, Kittenz was a bonafide electronic classic. Felix's remixing skills are currently in high demand by artists wishing to inject a dose of sleazy credibility into their work, including Diana Ross and Kylie Minogue, and with the electro-punk sound showing no signs of disco fatigue amongst the art-House style crowd, Da Housecat seems destined to continue spreading the filth for a good while longer.

Felix Da Housecat
Kittenz and Thee Glitz
City Rockers/Emperor Norton, Released 2001/2002

You can take the man out of the '80s, but you can't take the '80's out of the man. On Kittenz And Thee Glitz, Original Acid House Supremo Felix Da Housecat has gone back even further than '88, heading for a pre-warehouse era on a mission to evoke the electro-fuelled sexy synth pop that modern techno forgot. Corrupting a Kraftwerkesque minimalism with the electronic excesses of Prince, Felix joins the dots between Teutonic detachment and New Romantic glamour on a record that transcends the confines of kitsch due to the sheer scope of its ambition. Whilst Daft Punk's elaborate practical joke of an album, Discovery, reeked of childish trying-too-hard elitism, Felix's party is both exclusive and enjoyable, sharing a sense of humour and musical ethos with Scouse synthesiser aficionados Ladytron.

The success of Kittenz And Thee Glitz is built on paradox: it's formulaic without sounding contrived. Felix and his friends draw on a number of familiar '80s reference points, but then proceed to confound expectations and subvert convention by fusing them all together. The end concoction is undeniably retro yet still vibrant and fresh. This fusion of styles is most evident on the quartet of tracks that starts with "Silver Screen Shower Scene" and ends with "Happy Hour." The former is the album's standout track, and is probably familiar to anyone who's been up past 2 a.m. in 2002. Miss Kitten (of DJ Hell's International Deejay Gigolo stable) peddles her own effortlessly sexy brand of monotone filth that's only slightly ironic and sounds like nothing that came before it. Her unnervingly glamorous delivery slips snugly inside the aural punk funk, and the whole thing is propelled along by a pulsating bassline which gives a slight yet firm nod to Felix's house roots. Subsequently the Junior Sanchez collaboration "Control Freaq" is Acid House re-imagined as a threesome between Detroit, Berlin and New York. The tease builds and builds, climaxing with the infectious riff and quirky vocals of "What Does It Feel Like." "Happy Hour" is an uplifting and sultry slice of irreverent robo-pop that features the mantra "808's give you power." It's like Depeche Mode in a parallel universe.

This is party music that confuses and astounds in equal parts. But to get overly analytical would be to miss the point. This is cheeky decadence and sexy frivolity and ultimately just a fun record: many so-called serious electronic artists seeking to claim the future for pretension and inaccessibility would be advised to take notes.

If you like Felix Da Housecat, check out:
Thee Maddkatt Courtship I Know Electrikboy
Miss Kittin & The Hacker First Album
Kraftwerk Computer World
Human League Dare
Prince Sign O' The Times
Ladytron 604
Man Parrish The Best of Man Parrish: Heatstroke
DJ Pierre DJ Pierre

-- Charith Sarathchandra

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