Behind
the decks since 1986, FUEL's founder, Andre Solaris has perfected
his art of delivering quality music while sharing his party
attitude with the crowd. Being exposed to various event types
in the first half of his career and diving deep into the underground
in the second sculpted a DJ with a great understanding of
nightclub dynamics and crowd-pleasing tactics. Today, a regular
DJ on the Chicago scene, host and resident of a number of
radio mix-shows, event organizer, music producer and re-mixer,
and relentless pursuer of the perfect party, Andre continues
his journey fueled by his passion.
Four years after migrating from his native Poland, he began
his DJ career in eighty-six just as the house music movement
was gaining momentum. You know, the days of break-dancing
and bad 80's fashion styles. The scene was in its infancy,
the world listened to the likes of Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar,
and Culture Club and the early house producers were tweaking
the knobs in their first studios. As a devoted teenage listener
of the Chicago's famous 'Hot Mix 5' show on WBMX and WGCI
radio stations he was spending his weekend nights recording
the mixes. Intrigued by House he went on to organize his first
dance party in 1986 at which he played on two belt-driven
turntables and cassette deck. Shortly after that he was organizing
his first nights at local bars and clubs. Serving a mix of
early European dance hits, Italo Disco, House, New Beat, Alternative,
and what was then known as High Energy he kept the parties
in check. During the following years Andre played hundreds
of events, mostly as the resident of a particular night and
behind the turntables for six to eight hours at a time. These
were the years when headlining, guest DJs were not yet heard
of and DJ fees could not buy you a car. His early musical
influences ranged from Alternative, New Beat, Hi-Energy, and
New Wave to House and early Techno. Groups like Kraftwerk,
Tangerine Dream, Nitzer Ebb. Later, The Orb, Underworld, Orbital,
Jam & Spoon, & Leftfield.
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