Feliza

Feliza is the moniker of South African-born composer and electronic music producer Philip de Villiers, now based in Sydney.

Known as Feliza in South African music circles, he has spent decades moving between worlds — from African music and international touring to jazz, pop, electronic production and dance music.

At the heart of Feliza's music is curiosity: a fascination with what happens when familiar things are taken apart, turned upside down and put back together in unexpected ways.

Growing up on a farm in South Africa, music and dancing were part of everyday life. Family dances, ABBA on road trips, African rhythms and the sounds of the farm all left their mark. Later, house music became an important part of Feliza's life, particularly through the club culture of the 1990s.

After years working professionally as a producer, arranger, vocal producer and artist manager — including international touring with Nomfusi & The Lucky Charms — Feliza returned to study Electronic Music at TAFE in Sydney.

That became something of a new lease on life.

Decades of musical influences suddenly had somewhere to meet: African rhythms, house, disco, pop, jazz, sampling and electronic production.

Today, Feliza is increasingly focused on dance music — music with groove, melody, colour and depth, drawing from African roots while remaining open to wherever curiosity leads.

His current project, Mashed Mabrrr, explores the catalogue of South African music icon Brenda Fassie through new interpretations, mash-ups and musical excavations — bringing overlooked songs and moments back into the spotlight while putting the songs themselves centre stage.

For Feliza, it's not about simply recreating the past. It's about finding what is still alive inside it.

And ultimately, that's what the music is about:

getting out of your head, into your body, and moving.