Felix Cartal

Canadian electro-house producer Felix Cartal merges high-energy dance anthems built for the club with a gentler, more introspective approach evident in his atmospheric love songs. He first cultivated a following through late-2000s remixes and club performances before issuing his proper debut album, Popular Music, in 2010. The follow-up Different Faces arrived in 2012, Next Season came out in 2018, and the early-2020s brought Canadian chart success via the Sophie Simmons collaboration “Mine” and the Kiiara track “Happy Hour,” both featured on Expensive Sounds for Nice People.

Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Cartal gained early traction in 2007 through official remixes of Moving Units’ “Crash ’n’ Burn Victims” and Dragonette’s “Take It Like a Man,” alongside unofficial reworkings of MSTRKRFT, Britney Spears, and Ashlee Simpson that spread across music blogs. Steve Aoki brought him to Dim Mak in 2009, resulting in the May release of his first EP, Skeleton; later that year Cartal appeared on the label’s Dim Mak Dance Compilation, Vol. 1: Evolution.

His first full-length, Popular Music, emerged in 2010 and included the single “Volcano” with Johnny Whitney of the Blood Brothers. At the same time he strengthened his reputation as a touring DJ across North American clubs and festivals while posting free mixes online. A steady series of singles and EPs followed, many spotlighting guest vocalists. Different Faces, his second album, surfaced in 2012 and featured the single “Tonight” with Maja Ivarsson of the Sounds. Early 2013 saw the Autoerotique collaboration “The Alarm,” followed by the EP Past Present Felix and remixes for Zedd and Bloody Beetroots. In 2014 he dropped the EP Credits plus another Autoerotique joint, “Heat.” The 2015 singles “With You” (Natalie Angiuli) and “Something to Live For” (Nikki Yanofsky) came next.

Cartal handled remixes for Selena Gomez, Kiiara, and Wafia in 2016, then teamed with Kaskade and Ofelia K for the single “Fakin It.” Additional 2016 releases included “Keep Up” with Steph Jones, the Ofelia K collaboration “Drifting Away,” and the solo cut “Falling Down.” The 2017 album Next Season contained “Get What You Give,” his dance reinterpretation of the New Radicals’ 1998 hit. Near the decade’s end he joined Lights for the platinum-certified “Love Me,” whose remixes proliferated widely. The 2020 Sophie Simmons single “Mine” became his highest-charting release to date, while “Happy Hour” with Kiiara matched its performance; both tracks anchored his fourth album, Expensive Sounds for Nice People, which appeared in June 2021. Further singles arrived with “Nothing Good Comes Easy” (Elohim) in 2022 and “Love You More” (Daya) in 2023.