DJ Felix Cutillo
Interviewed for Riffin' by Webjockey Heidi Patalano
Check out DJ Felix Cutillo's Rifflist: DJ Felix Cutillo's Choice Cuts
Picture this: you are trying on clothes in Banana Republic, or maybe you're checking into a hip Icelandic hotel, when a groove gets in your ear that you just can't ignore. Suddenly you feel relaxed and even a bit more hip than you were five minutes ago. Who do you have to thank? DJ Felix Cutillo.
In New York's famous upscale department store, Bergdorf Goodman, Cutillo is at the helm of Music Bar, a shop dedicated to specialized music recommendations. As a DJ with several published compilations out, Cutillo parlayed his broad taste in music into a music consulting business, in which he tells the ginormous brands about the hip music that their customers need to hear.
Riffin': How did you come to run Bergdorf Goodman's music bar?
DJ Felix Cutillo: Basically, I was recruited by the Senior VP and the CEO of the company to come and work there. They saw what I was doing at Louis' of Boston [where I had a music bar] and they said they'd like to have this sort of operation at Bergdorf's.
Riffin': You've said that it's really satisfying to suggest new music to people and introduce them to new music. What's your thought process for making personalized recommendations?
DJ Felix Cutillo: I bring in titles that I like and enjoy. We edit the selection. We have everything from jazz, funk, soul, international music, french music. I also do music consulting. I have a private company and we do private consulting to luxury brands, television and film. We help people with their music needs.
Riffin': You must talk with these companies about the identity of the brand for which you're compiling the music. Where do you go from there in terms of selecting tracks?
DJ Felix Cutillo: Obviously we try to understand their brand and we try to see if it's a brand we can work with, that's in our style too. We're working with Tiffany's, Banana Republic, we work with a lot of people right now. We go in and try to get a feel for the place. We meet with the owners and give them our interpretation of what we feel they should be playing in their environment. We give them playlists and then they decide whether they like it or not and then from there, we move forward. Music is very important these days in public places and retail environments. It seems to be a thing that people are starting to grasp more.
Riffin': How did you make the selections for your newest release "Box of Love"?
DJ Felix Cutillo: There were all these great songs that were basically not noticed and I came across some compilations and records and thought to myself that it would be great to release a CD with these tracks. The CD is really good. It has artists like Bliss, Pink Martini — it's a really cool CD.
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