Felix da Housecat Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Felix da Housecat has made no secret of his admiration for Prince, and one thing Felix has in common with his idol is a chameleonic spirit. Felix, like Prince, has not been afraid to try different things on different albums; he started out with house music but went on to embrace everything from electroclash to techno. And He Was King, it turns out, is largely a Euro-dance album. Felix recorded this 2009 release in Antwerp, Belgium, which is a good place to record if you are going for a very European sound -- and that European influence is impossible to miss on infectious synth pop grooves like "Spank U Very Much," "Plastik Fantastik," "Do We Move Your World," and "Turn Me on a Summer Smile" (all of which Felix produced or co-produced). Felix has been quoted as saying that he wanted He Was King to be a "fun" album; the abovementioned songs do, in fact, have a strong sense of fun, as does the humorous opener "We All Wanna Be Prince" (which combines an obvious Prince influence with Euro-pop elements). Occasionally, He Was King detours into hardcore rave territory. "L.A. Ravers" and "Elvi$" are pure techno, and neither of them go out of their way to appeal to those who aren't seasoned fans of rave music. But the rave-friendly parts of He Was King are not typical of this 46-minute CD on the whole. For the most part, He Was King emphasizes pop accessibility -- and it often does so with catchy, likable results. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Global Underground: Milan'
Release Date 5/20/2008
Tracks 34
Label Global Underground
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'Virgo Blaktro & the Movie Disco'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 16
Label Different
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What The Critics Say
Virgo Blaktro & the Movie Disco at once represents a back-to-basics move and a firm step forward. Felix da Housecat's previous album, Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever, was nearly overstuffed with guest appearances and interlopers, as if Felix had actually followed through on each "Hey, we should do something in the studio" yelped during his globetrotting DJ gigs and VIP party-hopping. This time out, Felix opted to keep it to a handful of collaborators new and old, none of whom are famous indie or dance music figures, so it has the feel of his releases prior to Devin Dazzle. It was, however, executive produced by famous R&B producer Dallas Austin, who -- of course -- bumped into Felix on Diddy's yacht in St. Tropez. It's possible Austin played a role in the album being Felix's most pop yet, but Felix could've just as easily gone in this direction on his own. The album recalls 1999's I Know Electrikboy (credited to Maddkatt Courtship) for its unselfconscious but tidily controlled shifts from sound to sound. With the exception of "Sweetfrosti," which samples Devo's "Snowball," each track is credited solely to Felix, who wanted to make an album made primarily of songs, as opposed to an album based on tracks with the occasional full-blown song. The songs that contain some combination of melancholy, sadness, and sexiness in an impossibly frolicsome way tend to work best; "Moviedisco," "Monkey Cage," and "I Seem 2B the 1" are as melodically advanced and durable production-wise as anything Felix has done in the past, and the fact that he handles more of the vocals than ever is no hindrance. Surprisingly, the screeching/shuffling "Tweak" is the only instance of Felix indulging his screwball dancefloor persona, unless you count the handful of comparatively tame disco-funk tracks. Not Felix's wildest ride, but it is just as pleasurable as anything else he has done. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Playboy: The Mansion Soundtrack'
Release Date 1/11/2005
Tracks 12
Label Koch
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What The Critics Say
This is more a promotional tie-in than a proper soundtrack for Playboy: The Mansion, a video game to be filed under "social simulation" (apparently an airbrush doesn't do the trick well enough). Only a handful of the tracks on the disc can be heard in the game, and each one was provided via licensing outfit INgrooves. Felix da Housecat strings everything together in the form of a mix and does so admirably, especially given the constrictive nature of being handed only a dozen records to work with. Also: he might not even like some of them. This mix isn't liable to do much for Felix fans who have been following the DJ/producer since 2001's Kittenz and Thee Glitz, and it only remotely resembles the mixes he has released since then. With rare exception -- Felix's own "Do Me What I Do," Miles Maeda's discoid cut-up "So Hot" -- this is a set of straightforward progressive house from the past few years, including tracks from Armand Van Helden, DJ Sneak, and Johnny Fiasco. This will only be a revelation to gamers who want to be exposed to more music in the vein of what that they hear while oogling playmates and erecting empires. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever'
Release Date 5/25/2004
Tracks 15
Label Rykodisc
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What The Critics Say
No one can deny the importance of Kittenz and Thee Glitz as a breakout record for Felix Stallings Jr. He had been kicking around since the late '80s, polishing his substantial underground cred, until spin-off singles like "Silver Screen Shower Scene" and "Madame Hollywood" aligned just so with the height of the self-conscious fashionista timewarp fad known as electroclash. At one point, Felix's mug could be seen in most American music magazines -- a baffling development to readers aware of the producer/DJ's past and the dance-phobic tendencies of those publications. Kittenz and Thee Glitz's sharp, hyper-melodic, song-driven nature helped steer some young indie rockers to "the other side" -- a side that can be tough to cross when the appeal of chugging guitars is much greater than that of thumping machine beats. Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever, the proper follow-up (after a pair of intervening mix albums), might actually bring some young dance freaks over to the rock world, since it relies heavily on the jagged guitars, rubbery basslines, and candy-coated choruses of new wave. One thing that has remained constant is Felix's predilection for concept records that play out like B-movie soundtracks; basically, the protagonist (Devin Dazzle) gets swallowed up by the nightlife and all the alluring sleaze that comes with it, and he crosses paths with a group of females (the Neon Fever) who get off on titillating and maiming helpless victims. A handful of collaborators help out on the instrumental and vocal ends, making the record seem a lot less like the work of one solitary producer. Even without considering the theme, it's a fully realized record -- it's of that rare breed in which the least exciting tracks at least help carry the listener along. If label executives of 1982 were brought to the present day, they'd hear at least six singles here. Cap the whole thing off with a finale that would make any Italo-disco producer proud, and you have a third successive Stallings full-length that tickles all the pleasure receptors. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'A Bugged Out Mix'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 13
Label Emperor Norton
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What The Critics Say
This is Felix da Housecat's second mix for Bugged Out!, following a double-disc set released three years prior that was split with Justin Robertson. It wouldn't be as much of a letdown if it had predated his 2002 Excursions mix for Obsessive. While well-mixed and sequenced, it's merely a series of decent -- and sometimes phenomenal -- tracks when compared to Excursions, with far less range. Little in the way of banging techno can be heard; all space is reserved for early-2000s left-field house and neo-electro, along with a couple '80s classics (Anne Clark's "Our Darkness" and Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle's "It's a Cold World"). And it's sly nods to early-'80s scenes that fill the majority of the tracks, whether it's Charles Manier's allusions to industrial-dance pioneers Liaisons Dangereuses, Metro Area's abstraction of underground disco-boogie, or Ladytron's modern remodeling of synth pop. Those disappointed with the lack of surprises should track down the U.K. edition of the release on React; it adds a second disc/mix dominated by '80s tracks -- from the likes of Art of Noise, Giorgio Moroder, Chas Jankel, Yoko Ono, and Yello. In fact, the second disc helps make up for the first's shortcomings. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A mysterious album produced by Felix Stallings Jr. in 1995, but not seeing the light of day until 2002, Rocketmann! was produced as a soundtrack to an imaginary blaxploitation film. To that end, it is a dark and brooding affair, with brief musical movements juxtaposed against more complete tracks. "Nitebeams" and "Astropod" are heavy on sonic ambience while short on the type of groove or hook that Stallings is known for. Even the epic centerpiece that is the title track moves slowly through waves of dark synths and chattering bleeps. With 20/20 hindsight, it is easy to spot Stallings' new wave fetish that would manifest itself on his breakthrough album Kittenz and Thee Glitz, although only "Black Hole" and "Galactikka 1071" have any of the obvious analog keyboard pulse. And those still lack the toughen dance beats needed to be club hits. "Cyber Talk" and "Stars We Saved" also harken a decade back, but the former with industrial intentions and the latter as a space-age R&B slow jam. The fact that industrial originators Cabaret Voltaire and Nitzer Ebb saw a rush of remixes at the turn of the millennium while IDM supergroup Super_Collider have further explored the idea of a techno crooner only again goes to show just how prophetic Stallings was in 1995. Those who mistake Rocketmann! for a follow-up to Kittenz will probably be disappointed by the lack of slamming synth jams. But as a historical marker in the evolution of an acclaimed artist, it's astounding just how ahead of the curve Felix really is. ~ Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Already the subject of countless compilation/mix licensings thanks to his electro-clash hit "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)," Chicago kingpin Felix Da Housecat issued his own mix album, one that ably competes with the spate of nu-electro compilations circa 2002. Unlike his Clashbackk Compilation Mix from 1997, which focused on the darker side of Windy City house, Excursions pegs the primitivist electronica scene with tracks from a few oft-anthologized names (Miss Kittin, Ladytron, Felix himself) and, best of all, an abundance of left-field producers. Aside from his own mix of "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)," highlights come from Bolz Bolz (an ace remix of "Take a Walk") and another Felix remix, of Dot Allison's "Substance." And for listeners growing tired of a few too many formula remakes of Giorgio Moroder's "The Chase," Felix inserts a great mini-set of pummeling techno (tracks from Jeff Mills and Tim Taylor, plus one from the User series). Almost as good as the impossible-to-license promo mix Felix did for Emperor Norton earlier in 2002. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kittenz and thee Glitz is the second concept album from Felix da Housecat, the intrepid Chicago house producer behind 1999's excellent I Know Elektrikboy (released as Maddkatt Courtship). For this one Felix moved from dance culture to sex culture, recruiting a bevy of detached, vaguely European-sounding female vocals (including starlet Miss Kittin) and producing a dozen songs on self-explanatory themes, like the 90210-dropping "Madame Hollywood." Though it doesn't have the astonishing musical range of I Know Elektrikboy, Kittenz and the Glitz is just as fun, from the mindless sing-alongs, one-finger synthesizer melodies, and '80s electro disco sheen of "Happy Hour," "Glitz Rock," and "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)" (though the last sounds more reminiscent of the Cars than Cerrone). For "Control Freaq," a promising production soundclash with Junior Sanchez proves frustratingly short, and the handful of short vignettes also impede the flow. Da Housecat can't be stopped, though; Kittenz and thee Glitz is an amusing ride through a similarly addled mind as glimpsed by hip-hop auteurs like the Automator and Prince Paul. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Clashbackk Compilation Mix'
Release Date 11/4/1997
Tracks 12
Label K-Tel
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released by Cold Front, the dance division of none other than K-Tel Records, Felix Da Housecat's Clashbackk Compilation Mix is an excellent mix of hard-edged house including a few of his production aliases -- Aphrohead ("Blindmanwilly," "While They Watch"), Maddkatt Chronicles ("Vengeance of a Madman," "Mommy Why?"), and Felix Da Housecat himself ("Zeka's Solar Device"). Though there aren't any other big-name producers (L.A. Williams and Spanky are the biggest), Felix sets an intense groove from the opening seconds and rarely lets go. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
