(Emperor Norton/Inertia)

Chicago house extraordinaire Felix Da Housecat is back again with a new single titled Watching Cars Go By. The original version of Watching Cars Go By first appeared as the soundtrack to a Motorola TV ad in which Felix Da house cat appeared earlier this year. Remixes included on the single come from Armand Van Helden and British progressive king Sasha, who provides a twisted rock/ house version of the track which was included his own Expander compilation some months back. This track can also be found on Felix’s album titled “Devin Dazzle and the Neon Forever”.

The name Felix Da Housecat should not be unknown to many in the dance scene and he has gained this immense popularity over the years from a constant string of quality releases that seem to span across house, electro and in general fun and funky sounds. Felix is also the name behind productions under the following monikers Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead, and Sharkimaxx; and owner of Radikal Fear Records, one of the premiere Chicago labels of the 1990s.

The single features five versions of the tune starting off with two radio versions and three full length quality mixes. Armand van Helden starts off nicely with a light house beat and vocal cut teases that take us to the first buildup which comes out of nowhere and simply busts into a devastating electro flavoured house beat. This version is missing the crazy guitar riffs that power through the other mixes.

Next up is Sasha’s take on the track. This one has a very rock crossover to progressive sound. Vocals remain and he throws in some other rolling melodies for good measure. Having kept most of Felix’s guitar cuts Sasha has mangled up the samples into a great pumping electro rock tune that would absolutely work the dance floor. A much shorter Radio Edit of Sasha’s mix is also included on the single.

The final version is the Original itself which is probably my favourite of the three mixes. The tune starts off with some rocking fuzzed up guitar riffs that power through the dry electronic sounding vocals (a common characteristic in several of Felix’s tunes). The general sound is fun and simple yet so dirty and gritty in part due to the tough lazy beat and mangled electronic sounds. This version is my favourite and compares to the quality of his crossover classic Silver Screen. This is a must have for Felix fans, so make sure to get your hands on it asap.