Blackbox Presents: SEB FONTAINE

SEB FONTAINE 

SKIE

MARK DICKSON 

ANTONIA DEESON 

CHRIS DAYS 

As dance music has matured, so too have the custodians that keep it vibrant. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the genre will know the name Seb Fontaine, the former BBC R1 selector who secured international acclaim as the movement exploded in the nineties and noughties. And as the scene and sounds have adapted since their genesis in the mid eighties, so too has Fontaine tweaked his own formula, forever pushing forward new music and bringing dancefloor nirvana to legions of clubbers each and every lost weekend. His disruptive and pioneering edge is confirmed via Evermix, the revolutionary platform he helped found which enables people to record DJ sets direct to their mobile phone, with his musical acumen seeing him installed previously as Music Director at the Wellington Club in London. These heavyweight recognitions of his understanding of how to take the dancefloor pulsating into the future are also evident with his radio show on MusicBox Radio with Tall Paul. The weekly show has enabled the return one of the best loved partnerships in dance music to showcase the tomorrow’s grooves just as readily as the classic, both well loved and forgotten, that defined their tenure at the world’s leading clubs. Best of all he is in more demand than ever before. 2022 has already swollen with over 25 festival bookings lined up. Add to that his own Prototype party – named after his stellar Global underground compilation series – explores the more underground side of both current music alongside select moments from the past, and has sold out every one to date. And his passion extends beyond the decks to behind the (mixing) desk, having been back in the studio working on new Reflekt material. That killer ear for a groove remains undimmed after all these years making feet move across the globe.

The soundtrack to any rave through the ages has always taken inspiration from yesteryear, acid house sampling and distorting hip hop and disco one prime example, and all the best DJ sets look longingly in every direction of time. It’s what makes Fontaine such an enduring se- lector across these eras, fervently absorbing music new and old and consistently presenting it in a fresh and exciting fashion. As we enter the third decade of the twenty first century few can balance that long standing expertise, alongside fervent excitement for the future, with such deft ease.