Felix da Housecat

Although Felix Stallings Jr.'s nickname implies that he's a just another house-music producer, this particular DJ is very much his own cat. Since first stepping behind the decks as a teenager circa the late '80s, he's established himself as a superstar spinner, a record-company impresario (he founded the Radikal Fear imprint) and a song-shaper too idiosyncratic to disappear into the mix. On GU10, a just-released and consistently pleasurable three-CD set celebrating the tenth anniversary of the influential Global Underground label, Felix's "Silver Screen Shower Scene" is among the package's most distinctive tracks -- a suitably cinematic effort peppered with nagging loops and neo-funk keyboard hooks. Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever, his 2004 solo album, is even more ambitious, with an overarching narrative, plenty of live instrumentation, guest appearances by the likes of LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and a sonic approach that filters rock and new-wave influences through the prism of electroclash. This unexpected aural combination is typical of Felix da Housecat. He loves to watch the fur fly.