Lovers of underground progressive house will no doubt already be fans of
Chris Fortier’s esteemed and long-running
Fade Records.
The US-based label has been providing dancefloors with deep and funky gems ever since it was set up in 1994 though, astonishingly enough, is only now set to release its first retrospective compilation.
Audio Tour 2 is a three-CD album with two discs compiled and mixed by Royal Sapien (Ben Mautner) and a bonus disc put together by Fortier himself (as 40oz).
“The Audio Tour compilation presented a great opportunity to combine all my favourite tracks from Fade,” says Mautner. “The label spans so many different flavours of electronic music, creating two solid mixes that accurately represent the Fade sound is an accomplishment I'm quite proud of.”
The album features most of the finest moments from Fade and also its sister label FDS. Funk Harmony Park’s My Truth (Royal Sapien's Cave Mix), Tonepushers’ Daydreamer (Royal Sapien Remix), Royal Sapien’s Triple Nine (Dub) and Chris Fortier’s Losing Wait (Reprise) are just some of the tracks featured on Mautner’s mix.
Fortier’s selection meanwhile is more tech-edged, and includes Pat Foosheen’s Origin, Gift To You and Cydonia, Sphere’s Gravi-tech, Andre Lataste’s Silver Shadows, Seed’s Seed Sound (Bass Mix) and Smight’s Your Happy Place. It also features Chris Fortier’s first ever solo single, Losing Wait (Deep Dub).
“This new volume of the Audio Tour series that we started four years ago is what I had envisioned more than the first volume,” says Fortier. “A real deep retrospective look at the history and releases of what we have done the past decade plus. We have been a part of a lot of different young artist's starts within dance music and moved musically wherever I felt right about going.”
On top of the Fade anthology, Fortier is also due to release two vinyl tracks from his Remix EP 1: Alexi Delano’s Taste It (a remix for Railyard Recordings) and The Freaky Chakra West remix. These tracks will precede his much anticipated debut album for Australia’s EQ Recordings, to be titled As Long As The Moment Exists.
“Where ‘underground’ is maybe a misunderstood term, that’s all I can think to sum this album up best. It is more than a cliché or a ‘buzzword of the moment’".