Felix Cartal
In Felix Cartal’s hometown of Vancouver, the iconic steam clock is a well-known landmark. Every quarter hour it whistles its chimes, accompanied by clouds of vapour. A model of ingenuity and proverbially reliable. Attributes you can pin on Felix himself. Felix has racked up a string of hits, and won a JUNO Award in his native Canada in 2020, with his club-ready dance tracks and expansive electronic pop. His fourth album – Expensive Sounds For Nice People – finds the DJ, producer and songwriter displaying the duality at his music’s core. The Life, featuring Québécois duo Fjord, bounces along on a sunshine vibe and grin-inducing breakdown. But analyze the lyrics ‘I used to believe that life was just a breeze/But the highs and low set me free’ and you realize things aren’t as they seem… in this case, a commentary on social media’s superficiality. Folk-tinged, dance-pop anthem, Mine (co-written with LA-born singer Sophie Simmons) is one of two singles on the album to have gone platinum in Canada. The other, Love Me (with Lights) won a JUNO for Best Dance Recording in 2020. Ironically, the two mutual fans had met at an earlier JUNO awards. Elsewhere, Felix’s ability with vocal chops lends Going Up a distinctly Discovery-era Daft Punk vibe.
Karen Harding
Karen Harding, a singer and songwriter from Newcastle inspired by Whitney Houston, Craig David, many others and classic dance music. Her first single “Say Something” co written and produced by MNEK was signed to Capitol Records / Method label, home to Sam Smith. The track was released in November 2014 and has since hit over 1 Million Sales in the UK, with combined Streams of more than 100 MILLION!!! Karen has worked on records with Wilkinson, Paul Woolford , Purple Disco Machine, Armand Van Helden , Martin Jensen and many more. Not only has she released music with some incredible artists, she has written songs for others including, Kaiser Chiefs, Claire Richards, KREAM and many more. She’s now ready to release her debut album on the 29th September 2023, titled ‘Take me Somewhere’.