Chris Fortier
Chris Fortier is an American DJ and founder of the Balance Record Pool as well as co-founder and owner of Fade Records. Fortier's DJing covers a range of styles from dark progressive to minimalist techno. He is well known for being a central figure in the development of electronic dance music in the United States as both a DJ and founder of the Balance Record Pool.[1]
Chris Fortier | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Chris Fortier |
Also known as | Fade 40oz |
Origin | Melbourne, Florida |
Genres | House |
Occupation(s) | Disc jockey Record producer |
Years active | 1990–present |
Labels | Fade Records EQ (Grey) |
Website | www |
Chris Fortier grew up in Melbourne, Florida, moving to Orlando, Florida to attend the University of Central Florida.[2] Until he discovered house music, Fortier's primary hobby was surfing.[3] He began DJing in 1990 in Orlando where he was influenced by other Florida DJs such as Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalte.[4] After performing with DJ Icey, Kimball Collins set Fortier up as resident DJ at the Aahz nightclub.[5] In 1993, Fortier was introduced to Neil Kolo, who had been producing music for 5 years.[6] They found they had chemistry and became the duo Fade, releasing "...For All the People" on their newly founded label Fade Records in 1994.[6] In 1996, Fortier founded the Balance Record Pool, a record pool designed to help North American DJs to spread electronic music.[7] Balance won the International Dance Music Awards for best record pool in 2005 and 2006.[8][9] The Balance Record Pool and Jimmy Van M's DJ booking agency making up Balance Promote Group.[6]
In 1998, when submitting a bootleg remix of Sarah McLachlan's song "Plenty" to her record label, Fortier was offered the chance to remix the Delerium song "Silence" featuring McLachlan.[10] Their remix was released on Nettwerk and sold over one million copies.[5] Fade Records began to expand to productions not exclusively by Fortier and Kolo, including helping launch the career of Steve Porter.[5] Fortier helped Porter develop his production abilities and Porter helped introduce Fortier to the mixing software Pro Tools.[11] In 2000, Fortier began his residency at New York City club Twilo, playing alongside Dave Seaman.[10]
After being in contact with EQ / Stomp regarding distribution of their records in the Balance Record Pool, Fortier was given the opportunity to mix the seventh entry in their Balance series.[5] For Balance 007, Fortier used Ableton Live to mesh songs together, similarly to Sasha.[2]
Discography
- 1998: Atmospherics: The Breaks (StreetBeat Records)
- 1999: Trance America (Engine Recordings)
- 2002: Bedrock 3 (Bedrock Records)
- 2004: Audio Tour (Fade Records)
- 2005: Balance 007 (EQ / Stomp)
- 2007: As Long as the Moment Exists (EQ Recordings)
- 2007: The Album We Never Released That We Are Now Releasing as Fade (Fade Records)
References
- Adderley, Jonty; Angie Ng (2001-10-19). "Chris Fortier: America's Dance Market Is Huge and Growing". Tranzfusion. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- Romero, Dennis. "Fresh Construction". Los Angeles CityBeat. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- Skrufff, Jonty (2004-07-18). "Chris Fortier's Beach Boy Blues". Tranzfusion. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- Seida, Linda. "Chris Fortier > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- "Chris Fortier: Much More Than "Progressive"". JIVE Magazine. 2005-07-26. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
- Blum, Justin (2001-04-01). "365 Interview: Chris Fortier". 365mag. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- "Balance Record Pool". Balance Record Pool. Archived from the original on 2005-03-03. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- "Winners for the 20th Annual International Dance Music Awards". Archived from the original on 2007-05-24. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- "21st Annual International Dance Music Awards". Archived from the original on 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- "Chris Fortier Artist Profile". Tranzfusion. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- "Chris Fortier Interview". Progressive-Sounds. March 2002. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
External links
- Official Website
- Chris Fortier discography at Discogs