Chris Fortier, inspired by hearing Orlando pioneers Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalte, got his start by playing small house parties in 1990. A year later, after gaining much popularity, Fortier received his first residency at Metro, located in Melbourne, Florida. Fortier quickly built a strong reputation at Metro and was soon discovered by DJ Icey, who put Fortier on one of his club nights at Club Subzero. After hearing Fortier spin, Kimball Collins and Dave Cannalte asked him to be their fill-in resident DJ at their now legendary AAHZ night at the Beacham Theatre, where he played alongside the likes of Sasha, John Digweed, and Dave Seaman. Soon after, Fortier started his own weekly Thursday night at The Village, which ran for two years.

When the Beacham closed, Fortier began a weekly Saturday night residency at the Marz club in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Fortier then began extensively traveling throughout Florida and the Southeast, where he played guest spots at parties such as The Infonets and The Edge Weekenders. In 1993, Fortier renewed his position with Kimball and Cannalte, who just newly formed Unity Promotions, and (once again) became their resident fill-in DJ for the Reunion nights at the Beacham Theatre. The Reunion club nights started where the AAHZ nights left off, creating the sound that Orlando would be known for throughout the world.

In 1995, Fortier launched Fade Records (one of the first labels in Orlando) as a way to release his own material as well as produce with partner Neil Kolo. Fade Records, along with Zone and Knightlife, became one of the catalysts that enabled the Orlando music scene to blossom. That same year, Fortier and Kolo produced four singles that were signed to UK labels. The duo also remixed artists like DJ Icey, Reefa, Mr. Happy, Boston Bruins, Pendulum, and Kimball/Dekkard. Having such a great production start, Fade was noticed by Glasgow’s Limbo Records and signed to a multi-album deal. As Fade Records began to take off, Fortier’s DJ career also took off, leading him further from Florida. Fortier began playing at many of the major clubs and events throughout the US and Canada, captivating fans in each city.

The Fade team released two more singles in 1996 and remixed Viola Wills, Sam Mollison and Future Force. The remix of Future Force’s What You Want gave the Fade Duo a surge of notoriety in 1996, winning the award for Remix and Remixer of the year in Australia. The duo also did remixes for labels like A&M/PM, Stress, DMC, FFRR, and Sony. That same year, together with Jimmy Van Malleghem (Eros Euphony/Freelance Icebreakers), Fortier helped to create the first import promotional record pool company in the United States, which would later be called Balance Promote Group. Balance was set up to promote UK and European dance music to top DJ’s throughout the US and Canada. With Fortier’s and Van Malleghem’s strong reputations as DJ’s and producers, many labels like Polydor, Jackpot, Sony, Whoop, Limbo, Platipus, Sperm, Positiva, SLM, and Loaded, quickly gave Balance their full support. During this time, Chris also kept up his busy DJ schedule, playing over 150 gigs throughout America and Europe as well as select dates in England, Scotland, and Germany.

A heavy studio schedule occupied much of Fortier’s time in 1997. Fortier and Kolo began doing remixes for top name artists like BT, Chris & James, and Space Brothers. They also did original projects with vocalist Dauby Tallas. The trio, Fortier, Kolo, and Tallas penned four tracks together, however No Resolve was the track that put them on the map as serious songwriters. Later that year, Fortier released his first mixed CD compilation on Fade Records called Alpha. With Balance Promote Group in full swing as well as Fortier’s DJ career, Fortier often found himself running between the office, the studio and the airport. In April of 1997, Fortier was on his first full scale DJ tour throughout the UK with Jimmy Van Mallegham and John Digweed, playing clubs like Cream, Sugar Shack and Babalicious. Later that year, Fortier returned to England for two months for an extensive Limbo Records Tour that covered England, Scotland, and Ireland.

In 1998, as the Balance pool grew tremendously so did Fortier’s career. The Fade Duo remixed one of the year’s top anthems, Delerium’s Silence, which featured vocals by Sarah McLachlan. This Silence remix, who many consider to be the best remix of 1998, not only solidified Fortier’s and Kolo’s high respect level but it put them on the short list of top progressive trance remixers. Even though Fortier was busy, he still managed time to release another mix CD called Atmospherics for StreetBeat Records and a Fade records compilation called Sanctuaries. Also, while holding a residency at Icon in Orlando, his DJ schedule had him dashing to new territories like Mexico, Costa Rico, Argentina, and Peru.

This year, you will see Fortier, as a DJ, return to many of his favorite cities and countries, delighting people with his driving, uplifting progressive trance. Fortier will also make much anticipated trips to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa, as well as trips back to England and Europe. In the meantime, Fortier and Kolo will continue to push the Fade Label to new heights with more licenses and CD compilations. Also, look for Fortier’s and Kolo’s first LP for Limbo Records that will be completed soon.