Felix, also known as La Felix, is a Funk/Nu Disco artist currently based in Auckland, New Zealand. Unlike most millennial’s, music was not readily available to him on the internet, instead Felix was a ‘crate digger’. He discovered his music by sifting through his mother’s huge vinyl collection. Vinyls ranging from the Jazz and Blues eras, to Classic Rock, Funk, and Hip Hop captivated his creativity. Felix attributes his genre melding melody writing to the diversity he found in those crates. Source: About La Felix Spotify.
My Kind of Music, with La Felix.
BASSically, HIS MUSIC JUST GETS TO YOU
Other jewels I found on The Jukebox Music Club (TJMC), were a couple of remixes done by La Felix. I have mentioned him in my previous spotlight on Jason Gallo-Gaffner. Felix also announced on Instagram he is currently working on a couple of new tracks and he gave us the opportunity to vote which one to release first… Can’t wait!…just click the pics 😉 (well, most of them)
Two other favorites;
The second was added to my playlist last year November and has been on repeat, repeatedly 😉
It is because of all their mutual collaborations, I am kind of ‘stuck’ for now (and what a chore) in this group of artists. It only seems natural to just go through the list… They obviously enjoy what they do and because they share the same love for their music, it is only to be expected they find each other in their goals, to make lasting music with meaning.
Again, I am no expert but although they all seem to have certain mutual ground, their music has its distinctions and their genres kind of flow together, only to part ways again at some point. Of course, this is what makes them all unique and gives them their personal sound, which shows their artistic and creative side.
When telling about my childhood music (see ‘My kind of Music‘), we experienced changes too of course. From the time we kids were able to buy our own vinyl’s and later on CD’s, other genres seeped in. I developed a taste for some more ‘alternative’ bands (nothing really shocking now anymore I am afraid), like for instance, The Simple Minds, The Cure, The Clash and The Style Council.
It just shows, my musical taste evolved, just as everything else in life. However, the original musical roots were never denied and artists like Sade, Michael and Janet Jackson and of course Kool and the Gang, were ever present.
This is why I think it is so interesting to follow these ‘new-to-me’ artists, who are all creating their own music but with kind of the same musical taste. The results vary, with some funk, disco, some house and even other influences, but overall music I really can appreciate.
Most of them are independent artists, which means they are basically self sufficient in creating, producing and releasing their music. I can only be in awe of that: to be willing and (struggling) to be able to control the whole process, will assure them that any track will end up exactly the way they want it to be. Staying true to themselves, I am all for that!
Their connection to their fans is mostly more personal, because they actually do care what their fans like and love. I have heard from several artists now, that they much rather concentrate on the music and less on the ‘business’. Which makes it all so much more real.
I am only just beginning to understand how this is working, but having a creative mind myself, I can only imagine the importance of it all. You don’t want anyone messing with what you’ve created, just for the money or fame, it’s called INTEGRITY. Yeah, let’s chew on that.
Anyways, La Felix, or Felix, has been on my ‘list’ for some time already and although I have previously shared some of his music on the by, I thought it should be his turn now 🙂
Felix comes across as a very happy, lighthearted person. When ‘talking’ to him, he uses a lot of haha’s and smiley faces, which I totally feel, if you know me, that’s exactly my way of communicating lol.
Now let me make a note here; It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that, because people seem happy all the time and hardly complain, they don’t have any issues in their life’s. We just REFUSE to give in to it, because you know, you actually have a choice! And yes, talking from a tiny bit of experience here.
Reading in Felix’s Bio on Facebook, that his first dream was to become a professional tennis player and to have to give that up, that’s no joke.
BUT, as far as I can tell, Felix is a cheerful young man, who enjoys his ‘job.’ I already contacted him a couple of weeks ago, to ask permission to use his music, but had a separate feature in mind. And when I contacted him last week, he was very willing to go ahead with it.
I am so excited, that these lovely people are so, first of all, willing to talk to me and second, so willing to give their time and effort. To somebody they don’t even know and probably will never even meet. BIG thank you Felix! It was real fun for me to see the way your answers showed your total joy in what you do. I will add you to my Spotlight page, where I will update any new release.
Below you can find the interview, with a little ‘bonus’ for me; Felix bought a new bass a couple of weeks ago and posted it on Instagram, which I of course had to comment on 🙂
So when he released his latest track, I just had to ask him if he was playing his new bass already… you can look it up yourself haha
I hope you will enjoy the interview and Felix’s music, find him on YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud, for more info:
https://www.facebook.com/LaFelixMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/lafelixmusic/
**Update: Today (9/4/2020) La Felix dropped his latest Remix: Love is Gone
You seem really young, which is awesome, but how old were you when you started and what was your first project?
‘I guess it all started around 13? It was all about having fun and just uploading it on SoundCloud until recently. I’m taking it a little more seriously now’.
I read about you using the old vinyl records from your Mom, while music was not available to you on the internet. So how did you get started and what genres influenced you the most?
‘Oh yeah, my mom had everything from Blues to Jazz, Rock bands, Funk bands, Classical music, folk bands, Country music and so on. I spent hours listening to them all and loved every moment digging through her collection. I got started by using the school computer in high school. I would sneak into the music room and spend all lunch there. I’d say Justice’s D.A.N.C.E was the turning point for me. As soon as I heard that bass-line and those Disco violins, I knew what I wanted to do’.
I kind of ‘discovered’ you by listening to some of your remixes on TJMC. Could you maybe explain a little how that creative process works for you?
‘For remixes, you’re kinda thrown into a box in terms of creativity since you’re anchored by the bpm and key. It really helps me explore different options without going too crazy because the vocals keep me tethered. I usually lay some basic drum pattern then tinker with the chord progression until I hit something I like. I usually build the Chorus (hook) and work backwards’.
What was your first original and can you tell a bit how you came to that point?
‘My first release was “Delicious”, It was a collab with That’s Nice and Aaron on vocals. He randomly hit me up to work on something together and we ended up becoming good friends after that! I’d say the style is very summer disco vibes. Something you’d listen to around the pool? I dunno haha’.
How do you go through this whole corona-virus period and are there any goals you still wish to accomplish this year despite of that?
‘Since I’m in New Zealand the virus didn’t hit us too bad. We were in lock-down for 2 months but now we’re back to normal. I do feel like I lost a few months because of the virus but I’ve managed to release a bunch of remixes lately (another 4 more going on right now) so it feels like its a good year for remixes haha I don’t have any huge goals other than having a consistent release schedule and grinding away like always’.
And my personal bonus question: So about your new Fender bass… 🙂 what’s the story behind you buying that particular one? And do you play other instruments as well?
‘Well I really enjoy making bass-lines and up until now, I’ve been emulating the bass by using samples and chopping them or using synths to make it sound like a real bass. One day I got annoyed that I couldn’t get the sound I wanted so I caved and finally bought a bass… only to realize I need a lot of practice. It was always going to be the P-Bass (Note: Precision Bass) or the J-Bass (Note: Jazz Bass), I felt like most of my bass heroes were using P bass so I figured I’d give that one a go. Practice is slow and painful haha I have the bass-line theory in my head but my fingers won’t do the work’.
‘I play piano and guitar. If you count talkbox as an instrument I guess that too 😋’
NOTE: A talk box is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sounds of the instrument. Typically, a talk box directs sound from the instrument into the musician’s mouth by means of a plastic tube adjacent to their vocal microphone. The musician controls the modification of the instrument’s sound by changing the shape of the mouth, “vocalizing” the instrument’s output into a microphone. Source: Wikipedia.
Again, BIG Thank you Felix!! I wish you loads of inspiration and joy! It was real fun to make this article and I will be keeping an eye out for any new music so I can update here.
Let’s end with the original version of ‘Get To You’, to just Chill and start enjoying the weekend, because, why not.
Not enough yet? Find all La Felix’s tracks on SoundCloud, click the pic 😉
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