Exclusive Interview: Charles Feelgood
Legendary for his role in the birth of the electronic music scene in the Baltimore / Washington DC area, Charles Feelgood has built a reputation as a DJ in the international dance community through his ingenious remix skills and a dynamic brand of funky disco, electro, techno and hard house.
Constantly in demand all over the world for his ability to light up dance floors with his sets of funk, acid and electro drenched house, Feelgood has received numerous accolades in his fifteen-year career. His next adventure showcases Charles busy in the studio again working on new releases for his newest imprint — Supa Cutz — which will be launched this year. The label will focus on house with a “ghetto retro” feel; we decided to get to the bottom of this new artistic outlet, as well catch up with Mr. Feelgood on an array of the following topics:
FHM: Supacutz Recordings – The new label from Charles Feelgood. Why now? In other words, after all this time in the game, why the motivation to start a music label? Personal career goal? Tired of quality house artists gone minimal? Lack of happy, funky sounds in the scene? The economy is falling apart, and doing gigs ain’t what it used to be?
Feelgood: The Economy is definitely falling apart, but I’ve always enjoyed making tracks, and if you’re a label owner, you know there’s not much money to be made on tracks these days, but it’s a great outlet and I love going into my studio, closing the door and blasting my monitors until my ears get tired. I just reworked my studio building my own bass traps and sound proofing, new computer (where I’m running Protools 8)and I’ve bought a grip of new soft synths.
FHM: We imagine the days of “happy house” won’t be the sole focus of the label. But we do hope it is at the very least part of the output. From your perspective and all the genre stratification that exists in dance music today – what genres and/or sub-genres do you foresee Supacutz getting it’s feet wet in?
Feelgood: I just like the funky, harder stuff. When I make tracks myself, I just want it to be funky, I’m definitely partial to some “styles” but minimal won’t be one of them, I guess even after all of these years, I just don’t understand it. I’m making some funky Modern Disco at the moment with a little “Fidget” on the side and that’s the kinda stuff I’m looking for.
FHM: Does the label already host a current roster of producers? Or will Supacutz be an outlet for DJ Charles Feelgood to flex his production skills solely for the world? Or perhaps both?
Feelgood: I’ll definitely be putting some work in on some remixes, but I’m currently looking at new, fresh talent. The first release due at the end of April is “This Is What I Do” by Paul Anthony, Dust n Haze, and ZXX, with remixes by TJR, and myself.
FHM: We recall a brief stint in the past when Supacutz released a couple of limited pressing releases on vinyl. This must have been at least 2-3 years ago, if not longer. If memory serves correctly, the releases (in conjunction with Jon Pegnato & Aaron Ghetto) were dope and provided a strong foundation for the label to kick off. What happened?
Feelgood: Those tracks were white labels and yeah it was more like 5 years ago! Time flies and I wish we could still print vinyl, but right now it’s strictly digital. At that time I figured it would be easier for me to work with others and I still enjoy working with others, Jeff T and I have a new release on Dj Dan’s label Instereo, and that release (“Bounce It” and “Cell Hell”) was really good for us and he and I will be working more together. Since I don’t have to sit around with 2000 records in my living room waiting to be distributed like the old days, I figured it would be a good time to get back into the label business, and have more control over what and when I put tracks out.
FHM: With so much competition and heat from existing and uprising brands in the digital MP3 dance music universe, what is your plan to differentiate Supacutz? Do you still believe in the MP3 retail model via sources such as Beatport & Juno Download? Or has the blog MP3 sharing community caught your attention as a new methodology of popularizing a label’s music (i.e. in other words giving it away)? Overall, what is your opinion on up & coming producers just giving away their music through the blog-o-sphere, and allowing anyone to download for free? Do you feel this is hurting industry sales through pay-for-music websites? Is this a method you agree with as a newcomer to the production world?
Feelgood: The blog thing kinda confuses me, its like you give it away to become popular so that you can give away to a bigger audience? What’s the point of exposure if you are giving your music away all the time? I give away stuff, but it would be nice to make enough money to keep the label going at the same time! I just want to put out stuff that people can bump in their cars to and from the club. I’m not expecting to get rich from it!
FHM: The team at FunkyHousemusic.com has always had a soft spot for your live DJ sets, and the energy you have consistently brought to dance floors over the years. These days, what producers & remix artists are really pushing the sound forward, in your respective opinion? Do you hope to work with any of these characters for Supacutz?
Feelgood: It’s always been my objective since I started playing on a national level to give the up and comers a shot. When I opened my Dj Martini bar in Baltimore years ago, it was a place where dj’s who couldn’t get gigs to play in front of people who were informed about “our” music. There are guys pushing the sound forward, and they don’t need much help, I’m looking for new talent, so send those demos to djcharlesfeelgood@yahoo.com and see if you got some super-funky new material we can get out!
FHM: Outside of the label, what can the American electronic dance community expect from Charles Feelgood for the remainder of 2009?
Feelgood: Ill be on our for my new cd “How Sweet It Is” on Moist Music this summer and really looking forward to my Baltimore and DC appearance.The first stop is June 6th at Starscape! Much love to the Funkyhousemusic.com crew, you guys are real and do me a favor and tell your readers harles Feelgood says “There are good Dj’s in America too”.
To learn more about Charles Feelgood, please visit:
FHM: Charles – Thank you for taking the time to accept our interview, and for supporting the Funkyhousemusic.com mission. We truly appreciate your effort, and wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors.
Related posts:
No comments yet.