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.
Cultivating a fascination with music since childhood,Charles grew up listening to Motown,disco and funk,genres that heavily influenced his personal style as an artist.
“I used to stay up late listening to my dad play records and decided that was what I wanted to do,” says Feelgood.His first foray into the world of dance music was in the 80’s,throwing small scale parties under the name”House of Fields”.From Depeche Mode to Aretha Franklin dance mixes – the music was
very eclectic at the parties and you can hear that range of genres in Charles’s sets today.
An Integral part of the Baltimore/DC scene,Charles if often credited with helping put the scene on the house music map. In 1992 he joined forces with fellow DJ Scott Henry to launch Fever, a club event that introduced the sounds of
electronic music to his hometown. The first event of its kind in that region, the night exploded in popularity almost immediately, attracting upwards of 2,500 people. Featuring such top-notch, internationally renowned talent as Paul Van Dyk and Carl Cox, the biweekly event ran through May 2001.
Maintaining a seven-year residency at Fever helped springboard Feelgood’s danceable brand of bangin’ hard house to widespread exposure across the East Coast. His popularity quickly bloomed thanks in part to his legendary series of mixed tapes, “Time to Get Ill.” He soon developed a club-heavy touring schedule that regularly took him to famed clubs such as Avaland, Spundae, Shampoo, and Cro Bar, along with numerous other venues on the West Coast, Canada, Europe,
Asia and South America.
In 1993 ,Feelgood launced his own label,Charme City recordings,to create an outlet for his original material.His releases on the label found moderate success.but ultimately,launching his own label proved to be a crucial stepping
stone for exposing his material to more famous imprints.
Charles is busy in the studio again working on new releases for his newest imprint”Getro Retro” which will be launched in early 2007.The label will focus on house with a “ghetto retro” feel-so be on the lookout for tracks in your local record stores and Beatport.com soon.Charles Also has several releases on Beatport.com the newest being remixes of Sanfran’s Dj Kue “I got Love”, Chicago’s Mark Almaria “Tsunami” and Chicago’s Fliter Freq and Paul Anthony “Love So Real” and “Hasta Manana” on the Moist Music Imprint. Charles also has a successful radio show on XM satellite titled “Charles In Charge”which airs every friday night on XM 80 The Move at 11pm eastern with an encore at 5am sat morn.
Following a successful mixed CD release in 2000 on Warner Bros. offshoot F-111, Feelgood joined forces with North America’s premier electronic music label in 2001 to release the well-received “Can You Feel It,” followed later that year by
an installment in the djmixed.com series.In 2002 Charles released”Across America” on the System imprint and in 2004 released all original tracks and remixes on Topaz entitled “House Music”. Coming Feb 6 2007 Charles will
release his newest double mix cd on Moist Music titled “Charm City Hustle” . The new double CD will contain one mix for the early hours of the night-showcasing Charles’s “housey” side and the second CD will be strictly a “peak time” set.
According to Feelgood, the secret to a great mix CD is recreating the club experience on vinyl. But despite the immense popularity and critical acclaim his mixed CD’s have received, he still prefers to produce original records for the
artistic freedom it allows.
In 2001 Charles opened a bar/lounge in Baltimore called Shortys where local dj’s spin 7 nights a week.”I wanted to have a spot where local dj’s could get a start and be heard.I remember how hard it was to get started so I just wanted to open a place where the up and coming could play”. We are now moving into 2007 and Shortys is still serving the novice dj and listener alike!
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. These include being named Baltimore’s Best DJ several years, and being included in Bpm magazines top 100
Dj’s several years running.Playing gigs from as far away as Russia for the Audi Car Company to working the crowd at 2007’s Cochella Festival-Charles will be busy behind the decks for the rest of the 2007 year!
Feelgood notes “I definitely try and take the listeners on a musical journey – I like to start out slow and funky and push for a harder ending, a continuous rise.”
“I’m far from a purist,” he adds. “I incorporate many styles into a single set. I play everything from disco-influenced house to acapella tracks and tech house, and I especially love bootlegs and electro influenced tracks”.
The consummated dance floor rocker, Feelgood sums up his musical mission in one sentence: “I just want to do what the name implies, to make people have a good time and go home with a great feeling.”
