Customer Reviews

Kittenz & Thee Glitz

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Felix da Housecat (AKA Thee Maddkatt Courtship) shines a beacon light at the end of the contemporary music tunnel with KITTENZ & THEE GLITZ. Firmly rooted in the 80's without sounding retro, nor patronizing to "the artist formerly known as his royal purpleness", Felix delivers some major "punk funk". New wave for the millenium. Beyond fashion and trend, he takes the best electronic elements of that era and crafts the sounds into a futuristic, dance friendly extravaganza. Deftly aided on vocals by Miss Kittin from DJ Hell, Melistar, and Electricboy - all help create a kind of robotic Kraftwerk-esque jewels like "Madame Hollywood", "Happy Hour", "Silver Screen (Shower Sceen)", "Harlot", and "Glitz Rock". Equally tempered by instrumental cuts "Analog City" and "Sequel 2 Sub" it all sounds fantastic, fresh, and fun. How this disk slipped by basically unnoticed is beyond belief. This is "stand-up stuff" and ushers up some major, classic grooves. Felix, you're the man with an ear for the past and an eye on the future.

Finally, this album is released in the states! Various singles from Felix da Housecat got heavy rotation time on independent radio stations over the past year, most notably "Silver Screen (Shower Scene)" and "Madame Hollywood". The vocals of these two particular tracks were done in hilarious monotone by Miss Kitten, and along with the robotic beats and 80's synthesizer sounds, you are taken right back to the eighties - but in a good way! Other songs like "Harlot" and "Glitz Rock" are equally fun in a tongue-in-cheek way, while songs like "What Does It Feel Like" shun easy 80's parody and try to recreate a darker sonar world of the time period. This album is a relief from all the mind-sapping mediocre trance and two-step albums out there. "Kittenz & Thee Glitz" hearkens back to the 80's with a sense of both wry cynicism and earnest fascination, and in turn neither glorifies nor trivializes the era. What we listeners get is a great electronica that comes off beautifully on its own right, and it's a tribute to Felix da Housecat's musicianship that what should sound so old and hackneyed sounds so eerily fresh and new.

This cd is really great for any dance fan. Retro electro beats that felix lays down with ease. Some songs are on the layed back side but some really make u want to get up and dance. Highly reccomended for anyone who liked the miss kitten and the hacker cd "first album"!

I wouldn't call Felix's stuff 80s music. There are other bands like the Faint which are closer to what music sounded like in the 80s. Not that Felix isn't clearly influenced by the 80s. Felix combines an easy going techno sound with beats that kick and are at times downright industrial sounding. Like Moby's "Play" or BT's "Movement In Still Life" (GOD FORBID I MENTION THESE, NOW YOU're ALL GONNA GIVE ME BAD VOTES), the album does not get too caught up in how it's supposed to sound and instead tries to be innovative with each track. Most songs don't have lyrics and the ones that do typically have female spoken word. Track 12, "Pray for a Star" is a notable pop exception... kind of an emotional ballad.

I'm not a raver, I like listening to this in the morning when I'm getting up or at work when I'm typing away. I like Track 4 (Madame Hollywood), Track 8 (Happy Hour), Track 10 (Glitz Rock) and Track 13 (Sequel2Sub). "Happy Hour" and "Madame Hollywood" are two of the songs with Female Spoke word (Kitten has a sophisticated European accent). "Glitz Rock" is a happy little synthesized demo and "Sequel2Sub" is also a synthesized romp with some classy Piano accompaniment. I think Felix is one cool Cat.

If there's any doubt that the 80's Electro/New Wave revival hasn't started yet, Felix Da Housecat will claw your eyes out with a pastel colored neon light. This Chicago DJ is so brilliant, he samples T&A tarts The Flirts (obscure 80's reference #1) and makes ya wanna scream "Yahoo!" for Yazoo. Enter the stunning Miss Kitten, the Swiss mistress who lends her icy cool, deadpan vocals on Teutonic pulsating tracks like "Madame Hollywood" and the box-office boffo "Silver Screen Shower Scene." Already a DJ club smash, this throbbing synth-disco-ditty is unquestionably the lyrical sequel to Soft Cell's "Sex Dwarf," if it was co-written by Marlene Dietrich and Christina (obscure 80's reference #2). The rest of the disc gives nods to other era faves, be it Devo (the instrumental "Control Freaq") or "Dirty Mind" era Prince (the frenetic "What Does It Feel Like," which EG Daily could easily bop her head to - obscure 80's reference #3). Meanwhile, if it's `obsession' you crave, go straight to "Happy Hour." The latter part of the disc twitches more trance-like on tracks like the ethereal "Pray For A Star" and the sensitive "Runaway Dreamer," both featuring the pre-skin-bleached Michael Jackson-esque vocals of Harrison Crump. While Felix might purr-ty like it's 1982, his paws are planted in the future. Someone might be jealous though, and their name is Trans-X (obscure 80's reference #4). So totally tubular, it hurts.

Another wonderful dance/electro album with good beats and sound, what is so entertaining about this genre is that they can mix so many diffrent genre's into 1 and make it sound catchy and interesting just the same, sure there are both good and bad dance but this one causght my attention cause the sound is very inspiring. American born "Felix Da Housecat" has really made this album funky, kind of early 80's sound mixed with robotic dance rhythms. It is a very easy listening, many of the songs are slow and melodic(Control Freak), but a few quite fast too(Silver Screen). Miss Kittin also appears on a few tracks with a robotic voice. But the sound is always pleasant, but i prefer the instrumental songs. My favorite is ofcourse instrumental "Sequel2Sub" melodic and wonderful. "Magic Fly" is a remake of the 70's group Space's song if im not mistaken, good one too. This is one of many new good dance artists, i hope this trend continues.

Hey, the 80s music is coming back in a big way as illustrated by the likes of Ladytron, Miss Kittin, Felix the Housecat and others. Definitely check this CD out, especially if you are not familiar with the genre.

I wouldn't call Felix's stuff 80s music. There are other bands like the Faint which are closer to what music sounded like in the 80s. Not that Felix isn't clearly influenced by the 80s. Felix combines an easy going techno sound with beats that kick and are at times downright industrial sounding. Like Moby's "Play" or BT's "Movement In Still Life", the album does not get too caught up in how it's supposed to sound and instead tries to be innovative with each track. Most songs don't have lyrics and the ones that do typically have female spoken word. Track 12, "Pray for a Star" is a notable pop exception... kind of an emotional ballad.

I'm not a raver, I like listening to this in the morning when I'm getting up or at work when I'm typing away. I like Track 4 (Madame Hollywood), Track 8 (Happy Hour), Track 10 (Glitz Rock) and Track 13 (Sequel2Sub). "Happy Hour" and "Madame Hollywood" are two of the songs with Female Spoke word (Kitten has a sophisticated European accent). "Glitz Rock" is a happy little synthesized demo and "Sequel2Sub" is also a synthesized romp with some sophisticated sounding Piano accompaniment. I think Felix is one cool Cat.

When i popped 'kittenz and thee glitz' into my c.d player for the first time, my jaw dropped.I have written a list of the tracksshowing the great and the odd boring track.

1.harlot-the first track started and i wasn't sure. Old fashioned trumpets and a french voice(i figured it was miss kitten)introduces it. The tune was unleashed and it sounded a bit off beat.Then, out of nowhere the drums kicked in brilliantly resulting one of my favorite songs on the album!

2.Walk with me-This is a nice, chilled out song, but can get boring after a few listens.

3.Analogue city- This would have been one of the best songs on the album, if it wasn't one minute and 20(ish) seconds long. Still, maybe its better left as it is. Brilliant, haunting, and quite sinister for felix.Still i love it.

4.-Pray for a star-Probably the worst song on the album.But really, its not that bad, but doesn't quite fit the style of the rest of the album.

5.Voicemail-Apparently this is a genuine voicemail of miss kitten, but sounds a bit acted out.Maybe its just her accent.Anyway, its a good introduction to her vocals that proceed.

6.Madame hollywood-I think this album would have suited 'devin dazzle and the neon fever'(Felix's follow up to 'kittenz') better, as it focuses on hollywood and glamour, similar
to the rest of the songs on that album.Overall, its a great song, with great lyrics. i like how it merges with the next track with the snapshots of a camera being the last beats.

7.-Silver screen shower scene- This is one of the best songs, if not the best, on the album.I was dissapointed though, because i heard the 'static revenger' remix and it was brilliant.After hearing that,this version seemed a bit plain.But when felix's vocals and the string breakdown kicked in towards the end, it gave me a different view of the song.Brilliant!

8.-Control freaq-This is a stomping dancefloor groove, that will get your head nodding-This is more than similar to 'watching cars go by' from 'devin dazzle'. I love the radio static part and it tunes itself back in. Awsome.

9.-What does it feel like?-I don't usually listen to this track, because i have to admit, its a bit boring, and miss kitten does'nt seem to have put much effort into this track.She could at least sound a bit more enthusiastic!But, it could just be her accent!

10.Happy hour- Wow. i wasn't expecting this.It is absolutely one of my faves! it is a great tune laid back beats and a feel good vibe.This is a bit of a chill out song and it really gets you a good mood for the rest of the day(and night!)Blast this one till your speakers crumble!!

11.-Thee enter view(inside thee glitz)
This is an ok interview but is a bit short to actually be interesting.It does, however, let you know about all the people involved in the making of the album.If you listen carefully, you will hear 'glitz rock' in the background.by the way, does anyone know what harrison crump says at the end that makes them laugh? cos i don't have a clue, it comes out in a robot-ish voice.

12.-Glitz rock-This is the most 80's song you will find on 'kittenz and thee glitz'.It starts off great, and finishes off even better.I love this song and sounds great played loud.The bass is tremendous!! It sounds like daft punk!

13.-Sequel2sub-Whats with the name of this track? oh well, this is a fine song that always gets me tapping my foot to that extremely catchy keyboard ditty.This would have been my favorite song of the album.The reason it isn't is about 2 minutes and 10 second in, the drums that were once really nice, into horrible prodigy-style thuds.Its a shame it would have been a worthy addition to the album otherwise.I hope Felix will do a remix of this gettin rid of those awful drums

14.Magic fly-This is a pointless cover of a band called space(or something like that) its a bit boring but has a nice bit of drumwork.

15.She lives-I don't like this rack very much its not particularly enjoyable to listen to.You will usually find yourself skipping tracks 14 and 15.

16.Runaway dreamer-This is a really good tune, but could have done with a drum beat.It is best listened to alone.

17.Silver screen shower scene(laurent garnier remix)-I own the uk special edition, so the bonus tracks are different to most people.They are much better.This version of silver screen is ok, but doesn't mach the original.

18.Harlot(justin robertson remix)-i like this a lot.It is great how they took quite a nice song and turned it into this sinister groove.It doesnt sound like harlot in any way (except for the lyrics), and should be recognised as a song in its own right.

19.-What does it feel like?(royksopp return the sun).Royksopp, the band who made the catchy 'poor leno' could have done a lot better than this and ends the album in poor fashion.If i had it my way the album would have ended with the harlot remix.This song sounds like a slow version of mr oizo's 'phat beat'.On a positive, it doesn't sound like 'what does it feel like', the only simmilarity is the lyrics.

So there you have it.If you like any dance music that ranges from The prodigy to mylo, this album is for you.If youve stepped up on the dancefloor and gotten your groove on just ONCE! You need to own this album.Not enough people have been lucky enough to experience Felix's unique sound, and this is the masterpiece that won the awards and got the critics hearts beating.I can't stress enough how brilliant this album is!! its probably isn't possible to. Just go to the top of this page and buy it? what have you got to lose.Apart from a measly couple of quid that absolutely worth every penny!!
Seriously! you'd have to be an idiot not to!!
Ill leave the decision down to you.
Spread the word. Peace out.
Ryan

...really...songs 1 through 7 are amazing...I love that the production keeps the sounds dirty...most DJ producers seem to be hell bent on making things that are cleaned to the point of being shiney nothings...so it completely amazed me that someone who has been in the game as long as Felix would use the same nasty and low fi aesthetics of punk rock...I'd give the album 4 1/2 stars if I could...the end of the album kinda dwindles...otherwise a great booty shaking fantasia...go on, you know you want to shake it...