felicita Tells Dorian Electra, A. G. Cook and More About 'Spalarkle'
Creative direction and styling by Luca Wowczyna / Photography by Reece Owen / Makeup by Tina Khatri / Hair by Shinosuke NakashimoMay 22, 2023
Following their debut album hej! in 2018, PC Music’s felicita is back with a sophomore effort, titled Spalarkle, that continues the London producer’s quest for maximalist, avant-pop sounds. A psychedelic journey through chaotic electronica, the project is abstract and experimental, pulling in a number of collaborators like Kero Kero Bonito, YoungQueenz and Carolina Polachek, whose whimsical vocals punctuate the Alice in Wonderland-inspired title track. Names like “Sex With Anemone” and “Riff Raff” only deepen felicita’s commitment to fantasy with a touch of humor, making Spalarkle a dizzying contribution to the 2023 rave scene.
Below, felicita answers questions from Dorian Electra, Lily McMenamy, A. G. Cook and more.
Hat and hoodie: Jonty Mellmann
Dorian Electra: Would you rather dress as Ronald McDonald or Sonic the Hedgehog for the rest of your life?
Would you rather dress as the Little Mermaid or a Traag from Planet Sauvage for the rest of your life?
Lydia Ourahmane: If Spalarkle was a body of water, where would you hold your breath?
If you play Spalarkle to a body of water, it causes ribbon-like streams of bubbles to appear. Sometimes in the studio I’d tweak tracks based on the patterns they made. Spalarkle-water is oxygenated.
Xiuching Tsay: Your music has a specific surreal atmosphere. Can you describe your Spalarkle kind of bedroom?
A queen size bed in the form of a 16th century alchemical laboratory; a tulip-shaped staircase leading up to a hovering ocean; raspberry flowers with smiling faces, their tongues drooling lip gloss.
Waistcoat: Kapital, Shirts: Christopher Nemeth and 20471120 (from Jubilee Archive), Shoes: Kiko Kostadinov
Lily McMenamy: What’s your favorite love song?
A new song I’m writing atm.
Matt Copson: What’s the most psychedelic sound?
Literally any sound, depending on its relation to another sound.
A. G. Cook: What animal — real or mythical — would you bring on as a studio apprentice?
A felicita brain clone in the body of a highly dexterous and time-efficient invertebrate.
Blazer: Rafaela Pestritu, Shoes: Stefan Cooke
kelora: Is the intention of Spalarkle to present an alternate reality or to be grounded in relatable aspects of our own universe?
Sound = the universe = unfathomable = a medium of fantasy.
Luca Wowczyna: Which designer would you take to an £8 buffet?
Christopher Nemeth. I think he’d enjoy an £8 buffet.
Kero Kero Bonito: What’s the difference between Samuel Beckett and Ryoji Ikeda?
Beckett has a better sense of humor, but apparently he disliked opera and ballet for degrading music, subordinating it to the visual form. Even so, he combined sound and movement in ways that feel similar to how Ryoji Ikeda’s pieces work. I’d love to see Ryoji Ikeda compose for ballet.
Shirts: Christopher Nemeth and 20471120 (from Jubilee Archive)
Stream Spalarkle by felicita, below.
Throughout May, PAPER will roll out our final projects under the most recent editorial team. These pieces continue pushing forward our mission to provide a platform for fresh talent and important stories too often overlooked. From the subjects to the creatives behind the images, our hope is for you to discover new things and be inspired by what you see. As always, thank you for showing up and being part of our community. –Justin Moran, Editor-in-Chief
Creative direction and styling: Luca Wowczyna
Photography: Reece Owen
Makeup: Tina Khatri
Hair: Shinosuke Nakashimo
Set design: Tony Hornecker (at The Hornecker Centre)
Special thanks to Jubilee Archive
