HEY NEGRITA
'We Are Catfish'

Release Date: 1st August 2005

Hey Negrita is a product of the aftermath of a five-year, drug-induced nightmare, endured by Felix, the singer and songwriter of the band. It was his excursions into the bitter depths of addiction that inspired much of this groundbreaking album, nearly killing him in the process.

After the deaths of two of his closest friends, Jim Sanders - who fell from the sixth floor of an apartment block - and Paula Yates, who passed away under tragic circumstances, it became clear which way Felix was heading, so he made the inspired decision to pack up and leave for the States to kick the poisons once and for all.

Felix wrote a large portion of the album whilst living in Florida, where he spent his nights jamming with one of Ray Charles' backing singers and a fifty-five year-old cowboy junky who had worked with Gram Parsons and Little Feat. Within a few months of arriving in Delray Beach Felix secured a residency at the bohemian Da Da Lounge. The rest of the album was written on Felix's return to London, with many of the songs focusing on the complex challenges of dealing with a post-heroin relationship whilst trying to come to terms with the death of his uncle, Captain Lou, who had lived on a boat in Florida. It was Lou who convinced Felix to move to the States to get clean, and the two became closer than ever, with Felix supporting Lou through the mayhem left by his second divorce, and Lou carrying Felix through the trials and tribulations of early sobriety. Lou passed away in September 2003 of a heart attack. The entire album is dedicated to his memory and almost all the guitar work was recorded on the Gibson, which Lou gave to Felix when he had gone for six months without drugs.

Having left London with nothing but the clothes on his back and his record collection, consisting mainly of Stones, Animals and Pretty Things, Felix returned from the States clean, determined and armed to the teeth with the music of The Band, Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers and over fifty original songs.

As soon as he arrived in London, Felix teamed up with his old partner in crime, the multi-instrumentalist Hugo '3 Horse' Heimann, and Hey Negrita was born. Hugo's skill on almost any instrument and, more importantly, his ability to dive deep inside a tune and reconfigure its inner workings with a note, a chord or a simple sound, enabled him to colour-in the black and white sketches that Felix presented him with. In the studio Hugo takes on the role of an entire band, playing keys, guitars, bass, drums and banjo. The result of this catalytic combination of talent and extreme life experience produced a very distinctive sound - as though Keith Richards had recorded in Nashville, injecting half an ounce of china white straight into the acetate. With echoes of Tom Waits, Johnny Cash and Sonny Boy Williamson and slithers of Lou Reed and The Blind Boys Of Alabama, 'We Are Catfish' truly is a magical album.

'We Are Catfish' is one of the most diverse collections of truly inspired songs to have surfaced in years: a quiet menagerie of heartfelt words, potent stories, delicious melodies and intoxicating soundscapes that tease the mind and captivate the soul.

For further information please contact
Louise Molloy-Harris at Quite Great Publicity.
Tel; 01223 830111 or email louise@quitegreat.co.uk