Kerri Chandler

Next to various awards and recognitions for his outstanding contribution to house music in recent years, Kerri has been on the cover of Mixmag, DJ Mag (UK and USA), and featured on Resident Advisor’s respected The Hour podcast series. In 2017, he served up a standout entry into the hallowed DJ-kicks mix series with a seamless selection featuring his own keys over an autobiographical and hugely personal mix that was like spending an afternoon in his living room with the man himself.

Of course, Chandler came up in a different era, when no one cared about genres and all that mattered was bringing people together. His hometown was a cultural melting pot with different scenes round every corner, from funk to soul, jazz to hip hop. Those essential early learnings have stayed with him and mean he remains one of house music’s must see acts. He is someone who can join the dots and take you on a true musical adventure. He never fails to draw unreserved reactions from the dance floors he plays to, and always with a beaming smile of his own.

As a producer, he is just as vital and unmatched, having started out as an impossibly young man working in studios. From his 1990 debut right up the present day, his peerless discography reads like an evolution of deep, soulful house music. Rather than mechanical grooves, he lays down spiritual rhythms that permeate every part of your body. He combines powerful, driving drums with heart swelling hooks to devastating effect.

He is affectionately known as the ‘Stevie Wonder of house music,’ and for good, reason: over the years, he has laid down countless timeless tracks and albums that exude a rich musicality, brim with character and reach way outside the confines of the dance floor for their inspiration. His definitive cuts on labels like Atlantic, King Street Sounds, Nervous and his own Madhouse have spawned legions of copycats and generation after generation of new fans. Kerri Chandler, then, has been a house legend for many years, but what sets him apart is his unique ability to blend tradition with innovation in fascinating new ways.