With DEVIN DAZZLE AND THE NEON FEVER (2004, Emperor Norton), Felix once again has sewn together an album a la hip-hopís Dan The Automator and Prince Paul which taps the talents of varied producers and vocalists and creates a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Boasting guest vocals from James Murphy of DFA/LCD Soundsystem (ìWhat She Wantsî) ñ ìHeís a cool white boy with lots of funk,í states Felix, Tyrone "Visionary" Palmer (ìReady to Wear,î ìNeon Humanî), Kate Wax, and an all-girl group known as The Neon Fever (ìRocket Ride,î ìShort Skirts,î ìEveryone is Someone in LA,î ìHunting Seasonî) Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever transcends simple dance, rock or pop music.
While Kittenz had itís framework squarely built upon DJ and club culture, Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever is an album built upon punk/post new-wave culture and is deliberately more song oriented. To accomplish this Felix took a new approach. ìI decided I wanted to use live musicians for this album,î Felix explains. ìI got so tired of the arpeggiated bass lines everyone's using, so I went out an got proper live musicians. I play keyboards because I really wanted to get a live feel for this record."
Talking about some of the cast of characters he enlisted for the album, Felix relates how each had an effect on the superego of the album. The tracks on Devin Dazzle fluctuate between an upbeat spiritual side versus the temptations of the excess of nightlife under neon lights - partying and sex.
The Neon Fever (formerly known as Glamarama) represents the latter. ìThe Neon Fever are five girls from around the world that represent five different types of women,î states Felix, ìI wanted to capture their individual personalities within the lyrics and make their voice a collective through each song. I wanted to capture the inside scoop of guys looking into a womanís world. I think the result is some lyrics that arenít what guys would typically write.î
Felixís Kittenz cohort, Dave the Hustler, introduced Felix to Kate Wax. ìI was real impressed with her because although she is a talented and impressive producer in her own right. She was willing to listen and work to improve with me. Sheís real pretty and ambitious and for her to go with the vibe it was amazing. ëLet Your Mind Be Your Bedí is just the tip of the iceberg given her talent.î
ìTyrone ëVisionaryí Palmer was the spiritual leader of the entire album and kept me writing about things that were meaningful. He brought a good balance to the record,î relates Felix.
Over the course of 20 years his determination and willingness to re-invent himself have led him to a point that has now included a Grammy nomination, remix work for artists such as Madonna, Garbage, New Order and Giorgio Moroder; to DJ gigs at the worldís most prestigious music festivals. Born in Detroit in 1971 and raised in Park Forrest, outside Chicago, Felix Stallings, Jr.'s earliest influence was his father, a saxophonist who turned him on to classic '70s funk and soul by artists like Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire. His next major musical epiphany came about when Purple Rain dropped and he became the keyboardist for Shades of Blue, a band that covered Prince & the Revolution songs.
In Chicago during the early '80s, the House music revolution grabbed Felixís attention. For Felix, it centered around Chicago's 102.7 and the pioneering Hot Mix DJs. "I remember listening to Farley ëJack Masterí Funk, Mike ëHitmaní Wilson, Micky ëMixin'í Oliver, and Kenny ëJammingí Jason," Felix says rattling off the city's House pioneers. By 14 he too was recording house music on his four-track. A school friend introduced him to DJ Pierre who he collaborated with on their classic house track "Phantasy Girl".
But Felix's tastes weren't limited to a single genre. His senior year he played in Uncut, a band with an R&B-like vibe. After graduation he enrolled at Alabama State and began making hip-hop. After two years in the Deep South (an experience he compares to ìprison") he flunked out. In 1991, Felix moved into his parents' basement, studied audio engineering at Columbia College and worked at Eduardo's pizzeria. "It was rough," he says. "I hated those ovens and I kept thinking something's got to give."
What finally gave was Pierreís once-in-a-lifetime offer. "Once I got to London and saw all those punk rockers," Felix says, "I thought `this is where it's going to happen.'" Armed with a box of DATs, Felix made the rounds. "It was crazy," he says, "I'd walk into a label cold, play a track, and they'd sign it!" He quickly sold "What's Love About" to Freetown Inc and "Thee Dawn" to William Orbit's Guerilla label and returned to the states with more money then he'd ever seen. In 1992 "Thee Dawn" became a European smash and Felix blew-up overseas. "I was producing a track a week for different labels," he says. The next year, the success of "Thee Underground Made Me Do It," and "In Thee Dark We Live," helped further cement his fame. The latter track, released under Aphrohead, was just one of Felix's many production aliases which would come to include Wonderboy, Rocketmann, Outerrealm, Thee Glitz and Thee Maddkatt Courtship.
Felix scored an album deal with Deep Distraxion in 1993 and dropped By Dawns Early Lite, one of the first full-length dance music artist albums ever. Unlike other dance artists, Felix didn't start DJing until midway through his career. "My first DJ gig was in London in 1994 and it was horrible," he says laughing. "I was train-wrecking all over the place." (Now, of course, with DJ of the year honors from Spin and Urb it's a different story.) In 1995 Felix started Radikal Fear records with European distributor Play it Again Sam. Between 1995 ñ 96, he made four full-length records Alone In The Dark, Metropolis Present Day? Thee Album, Thee Underground Made Me Do It and Rocketman.
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