In the Progressive States of America, Chris Fortier has held onto a variety of leadership positions since 1991. As the functions of a DJ expanded during the '90s, so did Fortier's stature within the global progressive house/techno scene, and today he's arguably one of America's busiest DJs.

Based in the progressive hotbed of Orlando, Fla., Fortier is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the recent underground dance explosion. A longtime Floridian, Fortier made some key alliances early on with luminaries such as Sasha, John Digweed, Nick Warren and Dave Seaman. And as a tireless promoter of the sound, he has taken on as many roles as a DJ can adopt, from producer to label head to record pool founder and tour manager. Currently promoting a new mix CD on Digweed's Bedrock label, Bedrock Compiled and Mixed by Chris Fortier, Fortier talked about the steps he took to learn the ropes in each of his many guises.

As co-founder (with DJ Jimmy Van M) of the Balance Record Pool: Servicing only 40 DJs throughout all of North America, amongst them Danny Tenaglia, Dave Ralph and Sandra Collins, Balance is one of the most prestigious in the business. For a subscription fee, members get 80 to 90 records a month from some of the hottest indies in the world, amongst them Platypus, Combined Forces, Bedrock and Kinetic. Especially for the overseas labels, the feedback from these DJs is invaluable.

Says Fortier: "We were taking the best parts of how the promotions companies were working in the U.K. in promoting the music and pushing it and really working on getting DJs to play stuff and getting their true, honest reactions so that the record companies can use that as marketing information for the future. Most of them don't understand what's happening in the U.S. We want to give them a true picture of what's happening here musically on the sort of sound that we are into."

Currently, Fortier hopes to expand the pool with 10 to 20 more DJs, and fill in spots Balance currently doesn't reach—he mentions Denver and parts of Texas. This may not be easy, since many of the indie labels Fortier works with can only spare so much. But for those interested in joining the pool, it's best to be diversified—as in you order for a record store, write reviews for a magazine or host a local radio show. It all adds up.

As Producer: Fortier released his first single, "For All the People," with production partner Neil Kolo in 1994. Since Fortier had already established relationships with promoters as the mail order chief for Orlando's Underground Music Stores, he managed to assuage the distributors' fears of getting involved with his Fade label early on.

"New labels have a harder time getting deals," Fortier says, "because they're not as trustworthy or as reputable with repeat product and consistency and things like that. I think it helped that I had a relationship with the people who did the ordering and the distribution."

Fortier still works with Kolo when he goes down to Orlando, and together the two dump their sounds into Audio and sequence with Cubase VST. At his own home studio in New York City, Fortier uses Pro Tools and a Roland XP-30 expandable synth. From there, he uses the plug-ins to play with the sounds.

With Balance, Fortier occasionally sends out the unsigned track given by a young hopeful to its DJs, but generally advises producers to get a deal first. "The music moves so fast," he says, "that if it comes and goes before a label puts it out, it won't serve its purpose. It won't help the person who made the track." Occasionally, he might even sign the track to Fade.

As DJ: Fortier admits that his success as a DJ owes a lot to "luck and timing." Living in the tourist destination of Orlando helped, as well as the Orlando scene's early acceptance of the Progressive sound. Being at the right place at the right time helped Fortier forge the proper relationships. "I think there were people who grew up in Florida and moved away," he says, "and they wanted to have their clubbing experience from where they were from. So they called up the people to play from where they were from. Because we were the first DJs these people heard, we were the ones that people wanted for their own parties."

Nowadays, Fortier tries to handle any club system he comes across, but admits he misses New York's now-defunct super venue Twilo. But he also favors Sona in Montreal, Spundae at Folsom 1015 in San Francisco and Fluid in Philadelphia. As for mixers, he enjoys UREI models for their sound, Pioneers for their effects, and Ranes for their EQs. He says the Rane units allow him to mesh low-end sounds for a more fluid sonic effect on the dancefloor.

In addition to all of these roles, Fortier knows the DJ is also a leader as well. And he also suggests that DJs reach out to the kids in their audience if they hope not to lose them to drugs and community outrage. "If you can impart some knowledge to them about what it's like after they go through their little phase, I think it's important," he says. "If they hear it from somebody they respect, `This is the way we should be doing it. This is how we can act and keep our scene forward and still maintain a future,' then it's our responsibility to do that, to give back to the music."