Vocalist extraordinaire and The Cat Empire frontman, Felix Reibl spoke to us ahead of the band's record-breaking sixth performance at the 2020 WOMADelaide. "It's really one of the most remarkable festivals in the world, in terms of how beautiful the site is, how diverse and international the artists are, there's very few festivals that do that," Felix says. "We were really embraced by Australia, before [WOMAD] we were just an underground sound, and [it] was the flagship festival for us." The Cat Empire are hard to describe, a mixture of genres and cultures that make up the band's identity. However, one fact has remained consistent and it is their intrinsic connection to their live performances. "I hate the way that we're explained sometimes, people use the word ska, but it's not at all that kind of band. It is really a unique sound... we wanted to be a band to ignite a festival," Felix says. "If anything, we've been influenced by the festival genre." "We brought sounds from all around the world to Australia, but I feel like when we travel overseas we bring some of Australia to them. Something about the attitude." They are undeniably a band whose performances at festivals and gigs span across the world to an immeasurable number of locations. From intimate to jam-packed, the band has experienced every type of crowd. "I remember going to a town in the outskirts, on the very border of America and Canada, we didn't think there'd be anyone at this show, in the midst of an early US and America tour," Felix reminisces. "This troupe of people from Montreal came across the border to come see us, they knew the words to all our songs, we'd never even been to Montreal before, and that started a love affair with that city, because people came to travel to see us play." Their sound, as amalgamated and elusive as it is, totals the notion that their music transcends time and place. "...and that's happened all over the world, especially in the early days people would travel to come see us with this sense of occasion, which was really at the heart of the music as well." "Those moments you don't forget, you can't get them back and you cant recreate them, they're just moments that happen like that." Essentially, "we've always taken our enjoyment seriously, and we've become better musicians," Felix laughs. Their performances are indeed notable, one look at their Spotify page, you will see a heap of their 'live at x' albums, offered to the public, not only due to their ability to sing as well live as on record. They are also there to cement the experiences inside the festival-goers' minds forever. "When you're on stage sometimes you close your eyes it's really nice to open them and see a massive audience like the WOMAD ones. Likewise you can close your eyes on a very small intimate show and have a very transformative experience," Felix says. "I really rely on some songs now that become part of the live experience for me. You can't not do The Chariot. I think I wrote that song when I was 19 or something [and] it's not the most amazing song for me to sing anymore but it's more about the celebration of the music." But in terms of which songs he enjoys singing live the most, Felix notes 2013 release Steal the Light, "it's about as high as my register goes, and it's a song I really enjoy lyrically." He does mention that their identity as a live band, a festival band is about "losing yourself and not taking yourself too seriously, recognising the really strong songs so you're not just going through the motions." Perpetually working on something musical, Felix's other project Spinifex Gum, a choir of young Indigenous women singing in English and Yindjibarndi, will also be present at WOMAD. "I'm excited to be performing with Spinifex Gum at WOMAD too, it's a very different world writing for all those voices, so its more of a storytelling type of writing," Felix says. "I wouldn't necessarily be able to sing the Spinifex Gum songs... I can write for another character in a way, [Spinifex Gum] have a very powerful sound, we've dawn heavy influences from rap and pop." When writing for The Cat Empire however, Felix says that he's learnt to not try to understand the songs and lyrics. "I like the clash of words, I like the clash of sounds." "I need to go into the weirdness and strangeness of my voice, and I need to use that as my strength, I try to go with the character of my voice." So what's coming up for The Cat Empire? It's a year of travelling and some key festival moments, so if you're not seeing them at WOMADelaide 2020, check out their movements at https://thecatempire.com/. To grab last minute tickets to WOMADelaide, head to https://www.womadelaide.com.au/.
