During the year of 2009, the name of Chris Cortez suddenly headlined an impressive amount of lineups. Events such as Q-Base, Trance Nation Ground Zero and Optima Forma were the platform on which Chris, apparently out of nowhere, was able to show the world that a new artist had been born. This quote can be taken quite literally, because the man behind the name used to perform under a different alias for over ten years. Only to find himself stuck in a world he didn’t regard his own anymore, so he decided to start all over again, a complete new genesis which also came with a whole new sound. After being active in the harder regions of dance, Chris nowadays feels that he has finally come home and found his true passion, a passion that he shares with numerous people in the nation. Trancemusic has been around for over a decade and started to run through Chris’ veins more and more. And as they say: ‘Good things need time’. This also goes for Chris Cortez, a man who has embraced the true sound of Trance and is determined to never let it go.

Chris grew up in the capitol of The Netherlands and has always earned his credits within the Amsterdam dancescene. Starting off as a DJ, he also found his way into organizing and promoting events and became one of many people who turned Amsterdam into a danceminded city. Also nationally he found himself getting more and more recognition, performing throughout the entire country, he had reached a goal that he had in mind for so long. Even some major gigs abroad crossed his path and it looked like he had achieved almost all his goals within the world of dance. Goals such as performances at the renowned Dance Valley the legendary Impulz Festival, all big clubs and stages in Holland (a.o. Melkweg, Paradiso) and even some impressive headlinings in the UK, Greece and Thailand, he felt like he had seen it all. This and the fact that the sound that he used to love, started to evolve into something which wasn’t that much of his liking, he decided to overview his career. This made him see that he wanted to do something else, playing and producing a different sound, a different environment, the dawning of something that should be the beginning of a new era.

After a period of reflection, Chris Cortez finally felt that he had to give in to his everlasting love of Trance. Being the creator of the famous Trance Nation parties back in 2000, he used this name for a stunning return of a night that brought back memories. This concept is still standing strong (with a.o. a very special Judgement Sundays collaboration with a.o. Judge Jules, Sander van Doorn, Marco V and Sean Tyas) and expanded with a new family member. Optima Forma contains the same concept, only in a slightly smaller venue with more of a cosy vibe to it.

Next to DJ-ing and promoting, Chris has also found his way into the studio. This new experience resulted in his first release, dedicated to his brainchild Trance Nation. This anthem, called ‘Future Sound Of Trance’ will be released by Fausto’s label Excessive Records and has already proven itself to be a massive floorfiller. Major DJ support was already established, so it won’t take long before you’ve been tranced out by Holland’s newest one-to-watch. Chris Cortez is going to Trance the Nation!