Chris was first
inspired to DJ by hearing Kimball Collins and
Dave Cannalte. He started DJing small house parties
in 1990. Gaining popularity, he received his first
residency at a small club in Melbourne, FL in
1991 called the "METRO". Building a
strong reputation there, he was discovered by
DJ Icey, who quickly put him on at one of his
club nights "Club Subzero". Kimball
Collins and Dave Cannalte liked what they heard
and asked Chris to be their fill-in resident at
their now legendary "AAHZ" night at
the Beacham Theatre, playing with such likes as
Sasha, John Digweed and Dave Seaman. Gaining notoriety
there, he started his own weekly Thursday night
at "The Village" which ran for two years.
When the Beacham closed, Chris began a weekly
Saturday night residency at the infamous "MARZ"
club in Cocoa Beach, FL. From this point, he began
to travel extensively throughout Florida and the
Southeast, have guest spots at parties such as
(i.e. The Infonets, and The Edge weekenders).
In 1993-1994 he renewed his old position with
Kimball and Dave and their newly formed Unity
Promotions for the "Reunion" Nights
at the Beacham Theatre. The club nights started
where the original "AAHZ" nights left
off, creating the sound that Orlando would be
known around the world for.
In 1995, Chris started Fade Records. The label
was set up to release his own material written
and produced with partner Neil Kolo. This label
was one of the first in Orlando, and along with
Zone and Knightlife, it became the catalyst for
the Orlando music production scene to blossom.
That year the label duo has produced four singles
that have all been signed to UK labels and remixed
artists like DJ Icey, Reefa, Mr Happy, Boston
Bruins, Pendulum, Kimball/Dekkard. This great
production start led to Glasgow's Limbo Records
signing Fade to a multi-album deal. At the same
time Fade, the artists and label, were taking
off, Chris's DJing career was moving faster than
ever. He began to travel further from Florida
playing at many of the major clubs and events
around the country and Canada finding fans in
every city.
In 1996, the Fade team pushed on releasing two
more singles and remixing some of the who's who
of dance music in Viola Wills, Future Force and
Sam Mollison for labels like A&M/PM, Stress,
DMC, FFRR and Sony. 1996 also saw the beginning
to a new venture. Together with Jimmy Van Malleghem
(Eros Euphony/Freelance Icbreakers), Chris created
the first import promotional pool company in United
States. This was set up to promote UK and European
dance music to top DJs across the USA and Canada.
Backed by Chris and Jimmy's strong reputations
as DJs and producers, labels like Polydor, Jackpot,
Sony, Whoop, Limbo, Platipus, Sperm, Positiva,
SIM, Loaded, and many more quickly gave their
full support. Chris also kept up his hectic DJ
schedule, playing over 150 gigs throughout America
and Canada as well as playing select dates in
England, Scotland and Germany.
1997 saw more of the same for Chris. A heavy studio
schedule with his partner Neil consisting of top
name remixes for artists like BT, Chris &
James and Space Brothers and original projects
with new found vocalist Dauby Talles. During this
year the Chris, Neil and Dauby penned 4 tracks.
They settled on one entitled "No Resolve".
This production put them on the map as serious
producers and songwriters with an eye on the future.
Chris also released his first mixed CD compilation
called "Alpha" that was released on
the Fade label late in the year. The promotional
pool company, now called BALANCE PROMOTE GROUP,
was in full swing and gaining respect around the
world. After being in the studio or office Monday
to Friday, Chris still found his way to a plane
each weekend to DJ around the country. In April
and May of 1997, Chris was on his first full scale
DJ tour throughout the UK with Jimmy Van Malleghem
and John Digweed playing clubs like Cream, Sugar
Shack and Babalicious. Later that year Chris returned
to England for two months to do the extensive
Limbo Records Tour that covered what seemed to
be every inch of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1998 was another strong year, with all facets
of Chris's career firing at once. The Balance
pool grew by leaps and the Fade duo proceeded
to remix one of the years top anthems in Delerium's
"Silence". This "Silence"
remix has solidified Chris and Neil's respect
level as high and put them on the short list of
top remixers for progressive music. With all the
attention on studio and office work in 1998, Chris
still managed time to release another mixed CD
called "Atmospherics" for StreetBeat
Records and a Fade Records compilation called
"Sanctuaries". He also kept up with
his first love, DJing. His busy schedule saw him
dashing to new territories like Mexico, Costa
Rica, Argentina and Peru while holding a monthly
residency at Icon in Orlando.
In 1999, Chris, as a DJ, has already been back
to the UK twice for the Northern Exposure 3 Tour
and clubs like Bedrock, Colours The Network, Renaissance
and The Rhumba. As the year progresses, Chris
will continue to play his favorite clubs around
the country as well as two more trips to England
and Europe in September and November as well as,
much anticipated trips to Australia, Hong Kong,
Singapore and South Africa. The studio effort
will remian the same as the Chris and Neil work
toward completion of their first LP as well as
pushing the Fade Record
label to new heights with new releases and CD
compilations already scheduled. |