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rick felix
ndm: So, tell me about the 14 years old club-kid days. Joseph and I met during my stint as a club kid in 1988, and I was 15 (laughs)! Amazing, isn’t it; the tightly woven fabric that is the house music community. I was a Tunnel “regular†(downstairs) and you?
RF: I wasn’t a regular at any particular spot in New York City but I was at the Tunnel, Mars, and some others that I really can’t remember right now. Those were the days though. I always thought it was so cool to get down at an over 21 club and party with all these different people – From different backgrounds. The sound was mesmerizing and that was what brought everyone together. It was life changing for me. It was also good to get down on the dance floor and set yourself free.
ndm: You speak highly of your “magnificent†moment behind the tables in Club Shelter. How has the opportunity to observe the industry greats influenced your desire to DJ and produce?
RF: Seeing Timmy Regisford rock the turntables and control the crowd was incredible. It all made me feel like jumping behind the turntables and taking over for him…or just being a part of it for now. In all seriousness, I feel as if experiencing those moments just reinforced my desire to shine and get my sound out there. To me, house music is a feeling more than anything else so when I mix or produce I try to make something the listener can feel and take them places.
ndm: A Hip Hop phase, really? Tell me, how one set aside such a lucrative career opportunity to join us back here in the deep and dirty underground. That takes a great deal of artistic integrity. Who/What brought you back to your “first love�
RF: Yeah, while I was in college I went into a Hip Hop phase and threw some campus parties. I couldn’t say it was lucrative, but mixing and producing music, for me, is a passion. The way I see it, success will come the more I develop that passion and the skills, of course. The Faith is there also and I’m committed….Sounds like a marriage hahaha… But Hip Hop took a turn for the worse in my opinion, and that’s what turned me off about it. Deep inside, I was always in love with house music.
It was pretty easy getting back into the house groove. When I connected with Jason from Grooves in the Pavement through a mutual friend, he put me on to all the sounds I missed out on. It wasn’t long before I was back in, hitting the records stores, and digging in the crates.
On the production front, how do you keep that love from going stale? What tools are you presently using?
RF:I enjoy mixing but the main reason why I do it is to hear the sounds that I think are hot. It’s more for my own personal enjoyment. I don’t care so much that people may/ or may not be feeling me. So when I listen to these tracks it inspires me to create my own sound. Right now I’m using Reason 3.0 and Cubase.You mentioned that you still use your “12’sâ€; with frequency, or have you become a technophile?
RF:To tell you the truth, I’ve only bought like three or four downloads in my life. I receive promo tracks in MP3 format that I throw in a mix every once in a while, but it’s mainly all vinyl. I like the feel and look of it. I’m not against going digital though. I think to be successful at anything nowadays, you have to embrace technology.
ndm: I’m listening to Free to Fly; it’s got a groovy, smoke-filled room, brick walls, old velvet couch feeling. I’m just sitting in the office loungin’. What are you doing? What are you listening to and with whom?
RF:That’s the exact vibe I wanted to give off in that mix actually….That’s my style, I like mixing tracks that put you in a particular state of mind or mood. It may not always be a track that makes you want to get on the dance floor and get crazy. It may just be some lounge type of atmosphere to begin with but then the energy will build up and get you movin’. I try to expose the listener to many different sounds but blend them in a way that sounds seamless.
For now listeners can enjoy the Shout Praises remix I put out as well as Insane on the Incubation digital compilation, both on NDM. Right now I’m concentrating my efforts on putting out some hot tracks in the next few months and look to begin getting out there and spinning in some clubs in the spring…..So be on the look-out.
ndm: Your style is a painting Rick, what is it? And, what colors have you used? Where have you hung it?
RF: Nice analogies. I’d prefer to say my style is like a movie with a plot that builds in time. It sets you up for climactic points and at times drops you into the deep. I like to combine vocals with some deep rhythms and some Latin flavor in most of my mixes and look forward to bringing that live and in public soon.
I’m also working on a startup internet company that will bring a new business model to the way we buy House Music today. The name of the company is Deep Soul Sessions and it should also be coming out in the spring. The company is incorporating some highly innovative technologies to bring forth some needed life to the House Industry in my opinion. It’s keeping me real busy. So with everything going on, I’m trying not to stretch myself too thin, but I would love to spin a monthly somewhere with a consistent loyal crowd. We’ll see.
ndm: And lastly 18 years of music, one man, one mantra-give us the goods that keep Rick Felix groovin’…
RF: I’m going to keep it deep and simple….In the grind of everyday living, don’t forget to stop and listen the beat of your own music, the beat of your heart, the beat of life. GOD BLESS – Rick Felixndm: So, tell me about the 14 years old club-kid days. Joseph and I met during my stint as a club kid in 1988, and I was 15 (laughs)! Amazing, isn’t it; the tightly woven fabric that is the house music community. I was a Tunnel “regular†(downstairs) and you?
RF: I wasn’t a regular at any particular spot in New York City but I was at the Tunnel, Mars, and some others that I really can’t remember right now. Those were the days though. I always thought it was so cool to get down at an over 21 club and party with all these different people – From different backgrounds. The sound was mesmerizing and that was what brought everyone together. It was life changing for me. It was also good to get down on the dance floor and set yourself free.
ndm: You speak highly of your “magnificent†moment behind the tables in Club Shelter. How has the opportunity to observe the industry greats influenced your desire to DJ and produce?
RF: Seeing Timmy Regisford rock the turntables and control the crowd was incredible. It all made me feel like jumping behind the turntables and taking over for him…or just being a part of it for now. In all seriousness, I feel as if experiencing those moments just reinforced my desire to shine and get my sound out there. To me, house music is a feeling more than anything else so when I mix or produce I try to make something the listener can feel and take them places.
ndm: A Hip Hop phase, really? Tell me, how one set aside such a lucrative career opportunity to join us back here in
the deep and dirty underground. That takes a great deal of artistic integrity. Who/What brought you back to your “first love�RF: Yeah, while I was in college I went into a Hip Hop phase and threw some campus parties. I couldn’t say it was lucrative, but mixing and producing music, for me, is a passion. The way I see it, success will come the more I develop that passion and the skills, of course. The Faith is there also and I’m committed….Sounds like a marriage hahaha… But Hip Hop took a turn for the worse in my opinion, and that’s what turned me off about it. Deep inside, I was always in love with house music.
It was pretty easy getting back into the house groove. When I connected with Jason from Grooves in the Pavement through a mutual friend, he put me on to all the sounds I missed out on. It wasn’t long before I was back in, hitting the records stores, and digging in the crates.
On the production front, how do you keep that love from going stale? What tools are you presently using?
RF:I enjoy mixing but the main reason why I do it is to hear the sounds that I think are hot. It’s more for my own personal enjoyment. I don’t care so much that people may/ or may not be feeling me. So when I listen to these tracks it inspires me to create my own sound. Right now I’m using Reason 3.0 and Cubase.
You mentioned that you still use your “12’sâ€; with frequency, or have you become a technophile?
RF:To tell you the truth, I’ve only bought like three or four downloads in my life. I receive promo tracks in MP3 format that I throw in a mix every once in a while, but it’s mainly all vinyl. I like the feel and look of it. I’m not against going digital though. I think to be successful at anything nowadays, you have to embrace technology.
ndm: I’m listening to Free to Fly; it’s got a groovy, smoke-filled room, brick walls, old velvet couch feeling. I’m just sitting in the office loungin’. What are you doing? What are you listening to and with whom?
RF:That’s the exact vibe I wanted to give off in that mix actually….That’s my style, I like mixing tracks that put you in a particular state of mind or mood. It may not always be a track that makes you want to get on the dance floor and get crazy. It may just be some lounge type of atmosphere to begin with but then the energy will build up and get you movin’. I try to expose the listener to many different sounds but blend them in a way that sounds seamless.
For now listeners can enjoy the Shout Praises remix I put out as well as Insane on the Incubation digital compilation, both on NDM. Right now I’m concentrating my efforts on putting out some hot tracks in the next few months and look to begin getting out there and spinning in some clubs in the spring…..So be on the look-out.
ndm: Your style is a painting Rick, what is it? And, what colors have you used? Where have you hung it?
RF: Nice analogies. I’d prefer to say my style is like a movie with a plot that builds in time. It sets you up for climactic points and at times drops you into the deep. I like to combine vocals with some deep rhythms and some Latin flavor in most of my mixes and look forward to bringing that live and in public soon.
I’m also working on a startup internet company that will bring a new business model to the way we buy House Music today. The name of the company is Deep Soul Sessions and it should also be coming out in the spring. The company is incorporating some highly innovative technologies to bring forth some needed life to the House Industry in my opinion. It’s keeping me real busy. So with everything going on, I’m trying not to stretch myself too thin, but I would love to spin a monthly somewhere with a consistent loyal crowd. We’ll see.
ndm: And lastly 18 years of music, one man, one mantra-give us the goods that keep Rick Felix groovin’…
RF: I’m going to keep it deep and simple….In the grind of everyday living, don’t forget to stop and listen the beat of your own music, the beat of your heart, the beat of life. GOD BLESS – Rick Felix
Looneybird Moonmaiden 2005
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