SXSW 2012

FELIX CARTAL / BIO: 2012 marks an important year for Felix Cartal, as the first single off his sophomore album has demonstrated, his sound has matured into simply put: memorable music. This single, titled, "Don't Turn On The Lights", featuring a vocal from Ultra Music topliner Polina, has already garnered support from MTV, BPM (Sirius XM) and Muchmusic, who have all added the video and song into heavy rotation. Not wanting to slow down, Cartal maintains an aggressive release schedule leading up to the drop date of his sophomore LP "DIFFERENT FACES" on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records in late March 2012. The 2nd single, DOMO (out Feb7th), taps into aggressive sounds and Japanese pop culture, whereas the 3rd single BLACK TO WHITE (out March6th and featuring Miss Palmer), falls back onto the pop influences of the first single. Branded with cute girls, b&w photography and red balloons, the concept for the album is strong, consistent, memorable. Growing up in Vancouver, Felix's initial mark on the dance scene was with his debut EP in 2009 titled 'Skeleton.' Steve Aoki and MSTRKRFT were some of the earliest supporters of Cartal's sound, and he released his debut LP 'POPULAR MUSIC' on Aoki's label, Dim Mak Records. The record featured several big tunes such as, 'LOVE' which was featured on the I LOVE TECHNO 2010 compilation, 'WORLD CLASS DRIVER,' which startled the internet with the video's shocking take on seniors amongst the drug scene, and 'VOLCANO' which featured vocals from an unlikely collab of Johnny Whitney from post-hardcore stars The Blood Brothers. In 2011 Felix progressed his sound with a surprise hit 'THE JOKER,' which found its way into the sets of anyone from Benny Benassi to Diplo to Laidback Luke. Transcending across all scenes of dance music, this tune was remixed by the likes of John Dahlback and Clouds (TURBO), and helped push Felix into both the American and European festival circuit, seeing him on stages at EDC, Tomorrowland and the mainstage of Electric Zoo. After that full year of relentless touring, Cartal returns to what he loves to do, which is create full albums, and DIFFERENT FACES does not disappoint. A balance of instrumental and vocal tracks keeps the record interesting and energetic. Enlisting the vocals of Sebastien Grainger of DFA1979 and Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds, Cartal continues his trend of collaborating with unpredictable vocalists in the dance scene. The product sounds effortless though, a mix of different ideas, made for different ears on different faces.