Sjoerd Neggers aka D-Felic is a versatile producer & DJ based in The Hague. Over the last 15 years, he has been releasing Dutch hip-hop, soulful house, broken beats, and all kinds of sounds. Around 2017, loss of inspiration and writer's block hit him hard, which led him to fade out to the background and making music became less frequent. Thankfully, 2022 sparked a renewed interest and a full studio update allowed him to become more active than ever. His first official release in years contains two soulful 90s inspired house tracks, ready for today's dance floors.
Years ago I stumbled upon the name "D-Felic" on SoundCloud and heard a lot of cool ReFixes (how he chose to name his remixes). One of my favorites back then was a flip of D'Angelo's 'Devil's Pie', which I played in many sets. His version was pretty uptempo compared to the original and had the syncopated bruk drum patterns, which I love, all over the place. It must have been around 2011 when the first broken beat wave hit its lowest point, so I was really happy to find someone in the Netherlands who was still making this sound. Shortly after that, it became a little quiet around the producer.
Fast forward to 2022 when he first reappeared as one half of the duo NE-BUR, together with the keyboardist Wiboud Burkens (Liquid Spirits). They released an EP in September called 2.24, inspired by Japanese mystic nature, anime, lofi, and analog synths. All five tracks bring a certain state of tranquility and are exactly two minutes and twenty-four seconds long. Right after the EP, the first ReFix popped up on his Bandcamp page in November. A lush flip of Mac Miller's 'DANG ft Anderson .Paak'. A month later he surprised me with a tune I had never heard before that features jazz giant Gregory Porter on vocals, namely 'Tomorrow People'. He kicked off 2023 with a ReFix of the amapiano anthem 'Koo Koo Fun', which shows that he's not just back in the producers' seat, he's also up to speed with today's music.
D-Felic's first official release of the year is a double single, meaning two tracks were released together at the same time. 'Spread Love' features the American vocalist Patrice Petway and 'None Of Them' the Dutch songstress Gianna Tam. Both tracks evoke that 90's soulful house feeling, with R&B-like hooks, classic synth bass lines, and a sense of euphoria. It's a pleasant return and we've heard that he's working hard on a full EP that will come out later this year. We're glad to see D-Felic back on track and filled with inspiration again!
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