Felix Cartal may be one of the most innovative DJs to enter the scene. In a world of heavy, hard-hitting bangers, Cartal is developing music of this genre into a new form, revolutionizing the way dance music is created, “Felix Cartal is part of a new breed of young producers taking elements of his contemporaries and making a massive sound in his production,” Steve Aoki, Founder of Dim Mak Records. Knocking down boundaries of expectations and changing perspectives, Felix stands alone in his uniqueness of producing dance tracks; never steering from the melody, he lays certain elements from modern productions, adds meticulously chosen tracks combed together to develop explosive versatile music.
A relentlessly solid worker, the young and clever Taelor Deitcher, born April 9, 1987 has opened for artists like MSTRKRFT and Justice, while working towards obtaining a degree in English from the University of British Columbia, and released his debut EP SKELETON on Dim Mak Records in April 2009. The EP’s four tasty tracks; “Skeleton,” “Salty Lake,” “Montreal Dreams” and “Redheads” showcases Cartal’s inventive style by his methodology altering standards of not following traditional heavy house formulas, but by using unique frequency variation and low points in sections to create melody driven heavy bass line distortion dance music.
Felix began his quest to achieve expertise in production in a campus studio in Vancouver while in high school, where he first observed the method of producing and mixing. By fifteen, not only was he learning from these engineers but he also began actively producing his own music. Cartal pulled from his vast, diverse library of influence ranging from his parents taste in the classics (The Beatles, Supertramp, Steely Dan, Elton John), his teenage love for Southern California punk rock (NOFX, Lagwagon), his soon after acquired taste for harder punk styles (The Blood Brothers, Red Light Sting, Lightening Bolt) and eventually dance artists such as James Holden and Alter Ego. However, it was the experimental blend of rock and electronica of Radiohead’s Kid A that marked a pivotal transformation of Taelor Deitcher to Felix Cartal, when he realized “I can pull my punk rock upbringings and push this harder edge in a club into music I wanted to make for the dancefloor.” The dark aesthetics of Kid A, the emphasis of melody in James Holden of Border Community combined with the exposure of tracks like Daft Punk’s “Rollin’ & Scratchin’” pounding heavily from full systems in clubs that truly inspired Felix to translate bass lines into developing a fresh approach to dance floor electronica.
Through his defined style and ability as a producer, Cartal is exploring a world in a different realm than others in his field. As a firm believer in the simplicity of production and the capabilities of software as key facets, Felix uniquely writes all automation and melodies by hand. Among a new breed of young artists, his production is developed with layers and layers of multifaceted elements, which further expand in complexity each time the tracks are heard. Cartal has been fortunate to surround himself with producers he looks up to and is dedicated to providing a resource for aspiring producers as an insight into his process of producing and creating music.
Felix’s distinctively inventive style is apparent in original tracks like “Moss Vs. Trees,” “Parisienne,” and “Vancouver” in addition to notable remixes of MSTRKRFT’s “Bounce,” Dragonette’s “Take It Like A Man,” and DJ Alan Hostage’s “Gluttony.” He is also recognized for his fresh approach to pop remixes, especially on tracks such as Ashlee Simpsin’s “L.O.V.E,” Brittney Spears’ “Outrageous,” and “Madonna’s “Hung Up” For his first tour, Cartal had the incredible opportunity to play out these tracks opening for one of his favorite artists MSTRKRFT last year, who have been very supportive of his development. Cartal’s reputation of high energy performances and attracting other fan bases into his own by feeding from the audience’s satisfaction has garnered him a reputable place on stage with MSTRKRFT, Justice, Steve Aoki, Busy P, Vitalic, Felix da Housecat, Richie Hawtin and others.