In a world ruled by extreme bass drops and intricate, high-gloss production, Felix Cartal's sound and style refuses to over complicate itself.
“[EDM] is the type of music that isn't about over thinking like other genres including rock,” says Cartal. “Dance music is simple.”
Fresh off the release of his latest album, Different Faces, the rising Dim Mak DJ ushers OC fans into his unique world of stripped-down EDM when he heads to the Observatory in Santa Ana on May 25.
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Illuminating the power of the red balloon, the cover of Cartal's sophomore album captivates the eye with a black and white cover accompanied by a girl face down holding blood red balloons. Straying away from the Tron-esque electro of his early,mixes, the new album spawned such dance floor hits as the melodic power of “Don't Turn On The Lights” featuring Polina G. There's also the Japanese-inspired single “Domo” and the pop-oriented “Black To White” featuring electro chanteuse Miss Palmer.
Flattered by how his single, “Don't Turn On The Light” has taken off in the mainstream (including heavv rotation on MTV and Sirius radio station BPM) Cartal says that this song just fell into place, “I always wanted a song that had a breakdown and an instrumental. I knew Polina had strong vocals, we sat down a she wrote the lyrics.“
Cartal says being on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records allows Cartal mature his sound. “Having Steve as my label boss and having a world class artist as the face of my label is great,” says Cartal. The 25-year-old selector born Taelor Deitcher said that Aoki gives him full creative range, which is really important to in creating his music.
With his record already released in March, Cartal continues touring, while working on a numerous collaborations with artists Clockwork and Dillon Francis. Big timers like Tiesto, Benny Benassi and other are also seeking Cartal's tracks during their sets. “Its been cool that I have DJs I have looked up to that play my stuff,” says Cartal. “They play anything I send them I'm stoked.”
Known for his headstrong artistry in production style, Cartal absorbs plenty of other sonic psalms for artists in his spare time “I really like Tommy trash, he has the right amount of melody and aggression and they go off.” Tommy Trash mixes excels with every and is Cartal's favorite DJ to juice up his set.
OC is the next stop of Cartal's Different Faces Tour. “I can't wait to come back, I love the beach towns” says Cartal.” Fans of the music process won't want to forget to have their red balloons in hand on May 25th at the Observatory, while watching Cartal showing the true meaning of “less is more.”
But even though the beats are simplistic, it's only serves to enhance the primal force that occurs when he toys with their chemistry. “It's like [hearing] a record on crack.” He incorporates really big builds that are followed by a lot of tension. To continue with his simplistic model he stresses “I think the visuals are over the top right now.” While he might not have other worldly transformation like Amon Tobin, his visuals remain minimal and Geo-Metric, adding whole new dimension to the Different Faces tour.
