Review
Genre and Mood
Felix Da Housecat reinterprets Nina Simone’s classic Sinnerman in this Heavenly House Mix. The remix sets the urgency of Simone’s voice inside a house groove, so a song about running from judgment becomes something you can dance to without losing its intensity.
Song Summary
“Sinnerman” is a traditional-style African American spiritual about a sinner trying to hide from divine justice on Judgment Day. Nina Simone learned it as a child at her mother’s revival meetings, often closed her 1960s concerts with it, and recorded a version of more than ten minutes for her 1965 album Pastel Blues. Felix Da Housecat’s remix, made for Verve Remixed 2 in 2003, condenses that performance to about four and a half minutes and puts a house pulse under it.
Musical Breakdown
Intro: Captivating Entrance
The remix opens with Simone’s voice and the producer’s atmosphere, setting a tense, expectant mood.
Build-up: Introducing the Groove
As the track progresses, Felix Da Housecat introduces driving house beats and bass. The rhythmic elements build up, gradually increasing the energy while keeping the urgency of the original.
Drop: Dancefloor Revelation
The full groove arrives and Simone’s voice rides on top of it: the sinner’s flight now has a four-on-the-floor kick behind it.
Bridge: Moment of Reflection
Midway through, the arrangement thins and her voice comes forward, before the groove builds back.
Climax: Full House Energy
As the remix reaches its peak, the layers of rhythm return in full.
Outro: Gentle Fade
The track winds down toward its end, a short ride compared with the ten-minute original.
Concepts in Focus
This is a remix of a historic recording, not a cover version. Felix Da Housecat did not re-record the song; he worked with Simone’s 1965 performance and rebuilt what surrounds it. That was the idea of the Verve Remixed series: contemporary electronic producers reworking classic recordings from the Verve catalogue.
Underneath it is sampling. Simone’s Sinnerman is one of the most sampled recordings of its era: Kanye West used it for Talib Kweli’s “Get By”, Timbaland drew on it, and Felix Da Housecat’s remix is part of the same history. A few seconds of a recorded voice, cut and repeated, can carry a whole new track.
The new frame is a house groove, a steady pulse that changes the song’s motion. In the original, the energy comes from Simone and a live band playing together for ten minutes; in the remix, the beat stays fixed and the drama has to come from Simone’s voice. Compare Felix Da Housecat’s own production on Felix Da Housecat – Madame Hollywood (feat. Miss Kittin).
Artistic Context
The earliest recording under the title was by the Les Baxter Orchestra in 1956, with Will Holt on vocals, and the song is credited to Baxter and Holt; it closely resembles “On the Judgement Day” by The Sensational Nightingales, and The Weavers reshaped it in 1959. Simone’s 1965 recording on Philips turned it into a landmark, and it has appeared in films and series including The Thomas Crown Affair, Sherlock and The Umbrella Academy. Felix Da Housecat’s remix appears as the second track of Verve Remixed 2, and an Extended Mixes EP added longer vocal and instrumental versions.
Cultural Impact
The Heavenly House Mix brought Simone’s recording into clubs almost four decades after it was made. It shows how a remix can introduce a historic voice to a new audience. After hearing it, listen to the full ten-minute 1965 original: the remix is the doorway, the original is the room.
