Seb Fontaine is a busy man. Running between the shared offices that house his studio, label and the agency that look after his bookings, the Cream resident comes to the phone short of breath but still full of the endearing enthusiasm that makes him one of dance music's most likeable big league players. Aside from his gushing, open personality, another of Fontaine's more apparent traits is his ascendancy to the highest ranks of his career. Resident at Cream, his Prototype mix CDs and more recently his new Radio 1 show have catapulted the former Malibu Stacey promoter/resident into the spotlight and under the microscope. Thankfully, Fontaine has taken to these new roles easily, filling the rather daunting legacy left by Paul Oakenfold at Cream and Danny Rampling at Radio 1. However, rather than just provide an uninspired carbon copy of his predecessors' sound, Fontaine has been quick to bring in change wherever he feels it's needed.

For example, he's adamant that "last year was a turning point at Cream. Musically, I wasn't that happy. Basically, I was going on after DJs that were too hard and was struggling. We all sat down and worked out what the club needed to do. It's important to remember that Cream has always pushed a lot of different music, not just one type. It takes a while for things to change, mainly because the bookings are done so far in advance, but I think this year you'll see what Cream are about, it's a really good move. There will be people back in the club who haven't played there in ages - Carl Cox, John Digweed, Darren Emerson. After all, it's no secret Coxy is my favourite DJ."
It's a philosophy that Fontaine has applied on his new radio slot to devastating effect. Rather than just focus on the predominantly house/garage axis Rampling's show concentrated on, and, wary of being miscast as a budding Pete Tong, Fontaine has adopted an honest approach, making his show "everything I want it to be. Essentially it picks up the way it should; music to get ready to, building up until it's actually time to go out. The best thing to hear from listeners is that the show has persuaded them to go out. That's the best compliment I can get. After all, it's the best night of the week to go out."
The demands of the Saturday night crowd is something Seb is aware of on a clubbing level too, and, while it would have been easier to play it safe and reach for the anthems, his charts over the last eighteen months indicate a move away from the trance of old and into deeper, more techno influenced music.
"It's the way dance music is going at the moment," he observes. "Techno is getting funkier and therefore it's easier to play out. Anyway, I can't stand in a room anymore, listening to the same old records. Even if it wasn't the same record it sounded the same. There had to be something a bit deeper, something with more love involved. I think music is split two ways at the moment; one side has calmed down and gone progressive, and the other side has sped up and gone in the hard house direction."
Tipping the likes of Circulation/Subtech, Trisco and Trancesetters for great things this year, Seb also promises that his next Global Underground mix CD will reveal this more refined sound. Given the current love of all things deep and techy, Fontaine's words could be seen as mere bandwagon jumping, were it not for the fact that he has backed up his beliefs with actions. For example, Fontaine's Spot On label recently signed and released Sound Associates' 'Music', an underground techno record that originally surfaced on Billy Nasty's Tortured label.
"The label has quite a clear direction this year," he says, explaining that, "in the past, we signed records that were big and not necessarily what we liked ourselves, which was probably the wrong way to go about things. Now that we've taken stock of that, we're signing records we all play out and love. I think that'll show in what we're about to release."
Meanwhile Fontaine has recently put his promoter's hat back on, organising and playing at his first London club since Malibu Stacey. Taking place at The Cross, Fontaine says that the smaller venue allows him more room to experiment, with guests like Circulation and Carl Cox guesting.
"It's the first time I played in London on a Saturday night in two years and it's more of a techno night really," Seb says. "The Cross is a small tight venue, which is exactly what you need for
that kind of music. Mind you, being a promoter again is bloody hard work. I didn't realise what a pain all these DJs are!"

Seb Fontaine, Tall Paul, Dave Seaman, Timo Maas and Col Hamilton play Cream, The Point Depot, Dublin on March 18th.