In a scene congested with mundane electro music, one mans been producing in a more intricate and abstract way. Chunky basslines, adamant distortion and relentless drops, Vancouver based Felix Cartal has been busy pioneering new strains of attention-grabbing house. Just last month, Felix dropped his newest EP, ‘Solar/Lunar,’ on Dim Mak Records and wow; I can vouch that it’s some of his best work yet. I had the pleasure of catching Felix Cartal, in all his glory, at 8Eighty8 a couple weeks ago as he dropped a stupefying barrage of musical ingenious. I caught a word with him after his set and told him my readers would roll over on their keyboards for a quick interview.
C+A+D and Felix Cartal
C+A+D: How did you get started?
Felix: Started out creating a few electronic interludes for my old band’s albums, from there I got more into the software I was using — particularly Reason, and started creating full tracks. Other DJ’s showed support for my music, and then it just sort of snowballed from there.
C+A+D: Which came first, DJing or producing?
Felix: Producing for sure. Never thought of myself as a DJ until recently.
C+A+D: What was it like touring with Wolfgang Gartner?
Felix: It was great! He’s one of the few producers who puts out amazing music consistently with every release. Really respect his work ethic, so for him to choose me as an opener for some of the dates was nothing but flattering.
C+A+D: Word on the street is you like Mario Kart 64, who’s your favorite racer?
Felix: Luigi. He’s such an asshole.
C+A+D: I noticed your hometown is Vancouver. What’s the EDM scene like there?
Felix: It’s doing really well. Blueprint is the company running things down here, and they consistently bring through amazing events. My local friends Expendable Youth are doing great things too, with a release coming out on Mad Decent soon.
C+A+D: What inspires you these days?
Felix: It’s always changing. But been doing a lot of online crate-digging and listening to the earlier types of electronica. Everything from Raymond Scott to later stuff like Bernard Estardy. Fuck, I sound pretentious. Getting back into Ratatat again too!
C+A+D: What can we expect in the coming months?
Felix: Second EP ‘Animals’ I did with Keatch comes out next month. I did a remix for Wolfgang Gartner’s ‘Forever.’ And also, Style of Eye and I did a track called ‘The End.’ That, and working on album #2.
Felix Cartal – The Joker (Original Mix)
Acidkids – Mitch (Felix Cartal Remix)
Felix Cartal – The Riddler (Original Mix)
Valerna – Look Ma! (Felix Cartal Edit)
