Taking It All In With Felix Cartal

Felix Cartal came from punk rock beginnings, posing a DIY attitude that still remains a core trait of his music agenda. Being one of the first to sign with Dim Mak Records, his elegant evolution with the rise of electronic culture and sticking to no particular sonic recipe has helped make Felix one of Canada's most promising exports.

Touching on everything from songwriting to social experiments, THUMP Canada sat down with the 27 year old to learn more about his music and overall quest to make others feel something.

"I'm just trying to make songs that when I listen ten years from now I will still think they are relevant and people will hopefully feel the same way."

The electronic scene continues to battle comments of its nearing demise and while the angry souls continue to shout their grudging disdain, Felix shrugs it off and poignantly disseminates some of his own views on the matter.

As Felix explains, "A lot of people think electronic music is on a plateau or that all DJs sound the same. Well, they just aren't looking hard enough in my opinion. I think there is a lot of good shit going on in electronic music, take names like Lido, Safia, Sohn, Kidnap Kid, and Lindsey Lowend for example. It's about having that base that is happy underneath and still extremely exciting, that's what hits. It's also about new sounds like when Justice came out—it's about that sound that still, years later is cool as fuck. I still hear new sounds all the time and people who complain that everything is redundant are just wrong."

This happy undertone he alludes to can be found in many, if not all, of Felix Cartal's tunes including "Young Love," "City Of Love," and his newest hyper-happy fixation, "Ready For Love." He sure digs the word 'love' and also digs the inclusion of female vocalists who rinse electronica with cascading vocals and pop sensibilities. This approach has been a conscious effort particularly with his latest efforts.

"The last two EPs have been true collaborations. Sometimes it's about a line that really sticks like, "All I wanted was something more than what everyone was reaching for," which is from the song "New Scene." Then it's about finding a way to incorporate it. The thing is, I love getting to write and work with these vocalists and I didn't always have the money to do so, it's nice that I can show this side now. I take it really seriously when I work with vocalists it's not just a small thing, it's like 'Okay let's hang out,' 'what are you listening to?' I'll play a demo and then we try to write. It's us in the room, very much like the songwriting process for a band—it's that same feeling. Plus, I'll think I have something good and then the vocalist will tell me it can be better. I like that, I welcome that," he explains.

This feeling, the melodic hysteria that rises from such collaboration is translated into a blended raucous, crafted simultaneously through two visions joining as one.

"I don't want to write a song with someone who is trying to write for one world, I want to work with someone that writes a really good song in their world and then I bring my world into that and make it into something different."

While this pop-leaning resonance has manifested itself in many of Felix Cartal's latest recordings, he isn't about pigeonholing himself into one genre. Collaborations with acts like Autoerotique ("The Alarm") fondle with tech and glitch house renderings, exhilarating without a shred of lyrical impediment.

Further examples of this expansively amped dexterity are tracks like "Katsu," found on the Past Present Felix EP and the more recently, "Who Even Am I," which has no genre classification whatsoever.

Perhaps this ongoing variation in tempo and vocal post-it notes is why he values artists like Pharrell and Calvin Harris so much.

"Pharrell creates culture that is interesting and cool and he does it all with a confident attitude and carries himself with integrity. He's an inspiration and a adventurer."

"And Calvin Harris too, I like how he signed as a band dude and reinvented himself. He wants to work and write with pop artists, he likes pop music and he does it. I really don't know why there are so many negative energies towards pop music."

And of course FC has tweeted about this very subject of pop music.

"I'm going to quote my own tweet now because it's 2014 and well I just am. I said, 'I think it's easier to write a song for 1000 people, but it's really hard to write a song for a million people.'"

Listen to Felix Cartal's "Young Love" and then "Summer" by Calvin Harris and tell me there isn't that same rising sensation in each song, that glossy electronic sound that is undeniably catchy. Now, add in Felix's Weekend Workout podcasts, which incorporate a healthy dose of Top 40 pop acts alongside pressing electro anthems and voila, more resounding dexterity takes shape.

How Felix Cartal views the role of a DJ is not of a blind soul raising his hands to a mindless crowd, instead he sees the connection to the audience as one of the central ingredients in delivering a true show.

"Recently I've been thinking a lot about how people say that they hate when a DJ grabs the mic' and speaks, that they're just supposed to let the music speak for itself. I mean why can't they? When I go to a show I want there to be interaction, I want to get to know the person performing. And don't get me wrong, it's fine when DJs play it cool too, I get that it's a brand and all that, but I don't get how some DJs and people in general hate on other DJs that speak to the crowd, like why does there have to be one way to do things? I think the definition of a DJ is changing everyday and yeah maybe the scratching crate diggers hate the chatter, but for me, I came from playing in bands and bands get on the mic', it's not about being rehearsed you know? It's about feeling it out, shit goes wrong and anything can happen. I'm used to people jumping into the crowd, making it an experience."

He even offers a suggestion that could in fact brew a candid experience.

"I think it would be a very cool experiment to take 20 DJs and give each of them a CD of prerecorded songs that are all the same and see whose show seems better. No one would ever do that though, no one would do that social experiment. I'm just saying," he states while laughing.

Even if he may think this is a ludicrous idea or not you can't help but wonder how that experiment would play out. The very fabric that circulates electronic music is etched with a mentality of doing things differently than what the mainstream deems necessary; however, it's also an interesting dichotomy that's formed since EDM has seemingly become the mainstream.

"Basically electronic music fucked the industry by making records for Top 40 radio on a laptop instead of having to throw down $50,000 to $60,000 for recording. I'm sorry it's true."

He furthers, "electronic music came in and I think my background in punk makes me appreciate it a lot more. EDM is the perfect DIY to music you know, buy a laptop, get your programs and plug-ins and make some cool shit that you can turn into a career. Now Metallica doesn't have the luxury of looking for a kick drum sound for six weeks at a $60,000 price tag all at the label's expense, Skrillex can do that without the cost."