Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement







DJ UMEK

Uroš Umek is internationally acclaimed music producer from Slovenia, seducing the masses with his own music blend for more than a decade. Always on the look for new sounds and determined to challenge every existing cliché in music industry, he managed to define his own vision of vanguard techno. Sure, this would not happen without the support of his loyal peers who’ve joined him on the production platforms such as Recycled Loops, Consumer Recreation and Astrodisco, with which they defined “Slovenian techno sound and successfully invested it as an important driving force on the global club scene.

The year 2007 marked the beginning of new chapter in Umek’s music career. After spending enormous amount of time and artistic energy bringing his characteristics sound to the whole new level, he presented new international music therapy called 1605 – Sixteenofive. No doubt this was a very risky move for such an established artist as DJ Umek. But it was the only way for him to stay on top of the game. And it seems he picked up the right decision at the crucial time: the response to his new vision of electronic dance music from his peers, critics, media and most importantly his fans is great and his productions are supported by some top dogs in the industry.

Umek recent productions include highly acclaimed club releases such as Overtake & Command, Ricochet Effect, Another Matter Entirely and Faithful Nights, but it were MTV supported hit singles Posing as Me and Carbon Occasions that stirred the most media attention and crossed over to the daily radio stations. Umek’s releases were lately included on the premiere club compilations mixed by artists such as Sander Kleinenberg, Judge Jules, Eddie Halliwell, John Digweed, M.I.K.E. or Carl Cox. He was amongst the headliners of esteemed summer music festivals such as Primavera, Monegros or Dance Valley and he conquered the South America on the joint tour with Valentino Kanzyani and Marko Nastić once more. And this was only the introduction in the Umek’s year 2008, when he plans to finally present long expected new artist album and his own live band.




01. Intro 02. Lollo - Microminitech (Gennaro Mastrantonio Remix) "Italo Business" 03. Gimikk aka Daniel Sanchez - She Luff  "Remote Area" 04. Sergio Costa - Key Gen "Amaze Me" 05. Bodyscrub - Bullshit 2.0 "Overdrive Musik" 06. Miss Jools - La Luna "Mobilee" 07. Pierre Deutschmann - Cougars "Farbenfroh" 08. Eriko Tanabe - Blue Shoes "Titbit" 09. Del Horno - Darkness feat. Mar-C (Kobbe's Voodoo Poison Remix) "Tweekd" 10. Rhythm Code - Where Is Neil "Size" 11. Adam Beyer - Simulated Usage "Figure" 12. Umek & Tomy DeClerque - Reason Reveald "Terminal M" 13. Josh Feedblack & Miniking - Burn Me feat. MJ White (Miniking Remix)"Area 94" 14. Ktodik - Borderline "Fat Sound" 15. Superstrobe - Unique "Karatemusik" 16. Xavi Beat - Cyclic (D-Formation Remix)"Fresco Records" 17. Umek - 2nd To None "Rekluse" 18. Oliver Koletzky - Requiem Fur Die Vernunft (Lutzenkirchen's Max Payne Dubedit) "Stil Vor Talent" 19. Alex Dias - Materia (Wehbba rmx) "Le Club" 20. S.C.A.L. - Sleeper "Yellow Tail" 21. Alex Kenji - Vertigo "303 Lovers" 22. Simon Stokes - Auditory (Abnormal Boyz rmx)"Minibus"

Special Thanks to Matthew , Mark & Umek

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement




THE FADE STORY…

FADE was formed in the summer of 1993 when Neil Kolo, a young studio engineer, introduced himself to Chris Fortier, a young resident DJ at the infamous "Marz" club in Cocoa Beach, FL, and passed on a tape of some of the material he had been working on. Chris, very enthused by what he had heard, expressed his interest in the idea of working together and learning about how to produce tracks of his own like the ones he had been playing up and down the East Coast of America.

The two instantly clicked and a friendship was formed. Two years later, the pair released their first record titled "...For All The People". They Floated a few one-sided promos out to gauge reaction. Meanwhile, a second track was completed, "All I Got". The two tracks were then combined as a double A-sided release, which was the first release on FADE Records, the label that Chris owns and operates. "All I Got" caught the attention of UK duo Chris & James, who helped it get signed to Mushroom Records where James was working as an A & R representative.

In August of 1995, Fade released two new singles, "So Good" and "Separation". The Two Tracks received massive support from some of the biggest DJs around including their biggest inspiration, SASHA. The records became underground hits and quickly sold out. Soon after, Glasgow’s Limbo Records signed the duo for a multi-album record deal in February 1996.

This success opened the door for the boys to move into the realm of remixing. First, they did remixes for friends John Debo and DJ Icey. This gave them more exposure and experience and led to remixes for Stress records and Sony’s S3 label.

The Summer of 1996 brought new challenges. Now they were going to get a chance to work on more vocal oriented songs. One such song was Sam Mollison’s "Cry". When finished, the "Cry" remix set a new standard for Fade and the quality of tracks they could produce. Dave Seaman heard "Cry" and quickly added it to his Essential Mix for England’s Radio 1 FM and his Renaissance Volume 4 mix compilation on Network Records.

With this surge of notoriety, DMC’s Guy Ornadel contacted Chris & Neil to remix Future Force’s "What You Want" for DMC’s Remix Culture. Rising to another level, Fade delivered one of the progressive anthems of 1996 winning Remix and Remixer of the Year in Australia. This gave way to the chance to remix Marathon’s "Movin" and Viola Wills "It’s My Pleasure", two of the guys all time favorite tracks, as well as getting the chance to remix another big influence, BT, for his song "Quark".

1997 saw the boys getting attention from major labels for remixes, as well as writing and producing their own more vocal based material under the guises of Fade and Nutribe. They released their first vocal track with singer Dauby Talles called "No Resolve". This was another pinnacle in their rising careers. "No Resolve" saw heavy play from John Digweed on the Northern Exposure 2 Tour, climbed as high as #12 in the Cool Cuts Chart and has become a Florida club anthem.

1998 saw Chris and Neil further expanding their horizons by doing remix work for more Indie style bands and artists like Sarah McLachlan and Delerium. The Delerium which features Sarah McLachlan on vocals and has been tearing up clubland since the first time heard at Renaissance in Ibiza when John Digweed dropped it at the closing party. Sasha quickly rang up for a copy and the tune soon became an anthem for the pair at every gig including Twilo. It even had Sasha opening and closing his sets with it at Cream and Tyrant. With the rest of clubland searching for it, Delerium debuted and #5 in MixMag Update’s Buzz Chart and appeared on the Northern Exposure 3 CD. This was truly a high point for Chris and Neil in their ever rising careers. 1998 also saw the release of "Sanctuaries" The Fade Records Collection. a collection of work including a number of unreleased remixes and original productions. The CD was released in conjunction with Universal Music.

Throughout ’99 and 2000, the duo worked on their debut artist album and saw the release of their "Silence" remix released in Australia. The record was an instant hit and went to #6 in the National chart and rose to Platinum status (70, 000 units sold) in Australia alone. It also went to #1 in Holland, Belgium and Ireland, with total sales over One Million Units. Also completed was another mixed CD, mixed as Fade, called "Anthems of Progressive House: Limbo Records" and was released in November 2000. Chris made the move to New York City where he now calls home.

During 2001 the pair continued their prolific remix work for new artists Andy Hunter, Lunik (Delerium) and Balligomingo. They have also produced tracks and remixes for established artists like Tiesto and Sarah McLachlan again. For the past 6 years, both Neil and Chris have been concentrating on solo work. One day they may reunite, but only time will tell.

www.FadeRecords.com
 

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement



About Fade Records:

Fade Records was created out of necessity in 1993. At the helm is American DJ Chris Fortier. Chris and studio partner, Neil Kolo, needed an outlet to release the tracks they were producing together. With not many options in the States, it seemed obvious to start a label and create the opportunities themselves. The first release was in 1994 called "...For All the People". This track gave them a voice and platform for the future productions. The next three tracks, "All I Got", "Separation" and "So Good" were more highly praised and received heavy support from the biggest DJs out there, including Sasha, John Digweed and Dave Seaman. Equal support came from the USA from Kimball Collins, DJ Icey and John Debo as well as the brand new Mixmag USA (which eventually would be known as Mixer). This great support put the duo on the map and started every label in the UK demanding their talents for remix duties. After several years of building their profile through remixes and the odd single, Chris wanted to re-launch the label in the hopes to help discover and cultivate new talent from America. Steve Porter was the man for this job as Chris discovered him at age 17. With the productions of Steve Porter and others like Derek Howell, Royal Sapien, Funk Harmony Park & Tonepushers, the label is as strong as ever and having great success worldwide.

www.faderecords.com

Rod B. & Alvaro Garfunk bring you the Miami Underground Movement

While many people may claim to know Chris’ sound, with their focus on continually labeling him one thing or another, Chris is equally as focused on his efforts to push back the musical boundaries. It is testament to the man that he continues to develop his sound and musical direction, after all, as the man says himself “I just like to play good underground music, I don’t limit myself.”

It is artists such as Chris Fortier who are inextricably linked to the underground dance music scene that are the genuinely pushing the sound forward. Chris’ determination to continue to push the envelope can be seen in all aspects of his career. Proof of this can be found on his recent triple CD compilation Balance and his recent solo production under the 40oz moniker and his stellar debut artist album As Long As The Moment Exits.

The Balance CD genuinely offers something exciting and underground to the current stale compilation market. Boasting tracks from across the musical spectrum like David Gilmore Girls, Global Communication and Floppy Sounds through to Slam, Matthew Jonson, Rabbit in the Moon and Bent. It is little wonder the CD was name checked for compilation of the year by numerous international press publications.

Under his 40oz production guise Chris has released the several EPs that musically could fit comfortably on labels such as Cocoon, Kompakt or Get Physical. Further remixes of Alexi Delano, Joshua Collins, Lee Burridge, Freaky Chakra and John Selway show Chris’ genre defying sound at it’s underground best. Taking this a step further in 2007, his debut artist album was released to countless plaudits and impeccable praise. Not satisfied with status quo, look for the boundaries to continue to be pressed and pushed with each coming musical excursion.

With a DJ career spanning 15 plus years, he has continually been a crowd favourite, confirmed by his very first residency at the legendary “Aahz” in Orlando through to more recent residencies at The Cross in London and at Twilo in New York. Since a debut European tour in 1997, Chris has gone on to consistently tour the globe behind numerous singles, remixes and no less than 9 mix albums. You can catch him as easily in Tokyo as in Buenos Aires and all points in between on any given weekend.

To those that know Fortier’s history, they know to expect plenty more to come, for those that are just getting initiated, Welcome!

Special Thanks to Mr Chris Fortier.

www.myspace.com/chrisfortier  

www.faderecords.com