Kerri ChandlerHouse music icon with AstroLab
Few names garner more respect in the world of house than Kerri Chandler. With a career spanning more than three decades and dozens of definitive club hits, Kerri brings unmistakable class and style to his mixing and production - a sound that blends the heart of house music with timeless keys, chords and vocals.
With a flawless discography of studio releases and unstoppable performance career defined by expertly curated live mixes and reel-to-reel DJ sets - Kerri is a true master of his tools both on and off stage. We visited him at Tileyard studios to learn more about his career, passion for music and how AstroLab - Arturia’s next-generation performance keyboard - fits into his creative flow and live setup.
“Kerri’s longevity and sustained relevance simply doesn’t happen by accident.”
- Mixmag
From DJ Little Man to big room regular
Growing up in New Jersey through the 80’s and 90’s, Kerri was heavily influenced from a young age; both from his father who was a DJ as well as an influential dance music culture that was emerging at the time. An undisputed prodigy turntablist, Kerri began spinning records in his early teens and even played his first public show aged 13 at Rally Record Club in New Jersey, with the nickname DJ Little Man.
At that time, a new sound was taking root. Defined by driving 4/4 drum arrangement and rapturous gospel vocals, house was spreading across the US and could be heard resounding the walls of its most famous clubs: from Chicago’s ‘Warehouse’ to New York’s high flying ‘Paradise Garage’ and Kerri’s local proving ground in New Jersey, ‘Club Zanzibar’ - house music was in and Kerri caught the wave to become one of its key progenitors.
Early on, there was just a lot of crews and hip-hop battles and DJs and stuff, and I'm a turntabalist at heart. House came in, and all of our parties, you had to play both. You had to know how to play both, or you got beat up.
From his first release in 1991 to the establishment of a leading house music label shortly after, Kerri’s career could only go in one direction. His lasting relevancy, unceasing schedule of international gigs and revered discography of club classics is a testament to this. As a result, Kerri’s name has become synonymous with a soulful, infectious house sound that graces dancefloors the world-over and has earned him the estimable nickname of the ‘Stevie Wonder of House’.
From club classics to soulful house hits
Kerri is known as one of the originators of the Jersey house style with its up-tempo syncopated rhythms. His sound has evolved from this and taken many directions throughout his career while staying true to its core - going from a quintessential 90’s house style to a more modern take that happily fills the floor of clubs like Ibiza’s DC10. As a result, fans turn to Kerri to be reminded of the spirit and soul of house as it was conceived, and to witness its effortless combination with modern influences.
I don't just start off with some crazy stuff… I build it. You make your waves and you know, peaks and valleys.
No Kerri classic is complete without a soul-shaking chord stab or progression. From the 8-bar synth lead in ‘Bar A Thym’ that slowly rises and falls in a wave of cowbell-infused energy; to the unmistakable organ lead and spoken word vocal chops in ‘Rain’; to the smooth modern club pulse of ‘You Are in My System’ - Kerri brings impeccable arrangement, craft and dancefloor verve to his sound design.
Alongside a productive career in the studio, he is also widely known for his masterful DJing and expressive liveset performances, integrating turntables, keyboards and reel-to-reel equipment. This has led him to play at some of the world’s most esteemed clubs and on some of the most prominent festival stages, developing a career that unlike his contemporaries from the 90’s house movement - is far from over. Recent appearances include Boiler Room, Resident Advisor, DJ Mag and Defected Records alongside a constant stream of gigs around the world.
Chord stabs with AstroLab
Kerri has equal respect for the analog and digital world and his workflow reflects this, utilizing both in the studio and while playing live, often seen making use of an array of live keys and analogue mixing gear.
As a producer and performer, Kerri’s live setup is designed to recreate his signature sounds wherever he goes, from big room venues to intimate club gigs. For him, this is what makes AstroLab so relevant to his workflow, able to seamlessly bridge studio experimentation with live performance. This means being able to take an evocative house stab from the studio to a liveset with all the custom parameters and effects you would want, but without the computer.
This takes care of so many things that I do on the road. This is like me taking my studio in a hardware device where I have to worry about plugging in, you know, a computer.
Performance features and more
Kerri introduces the chord feature, where he inputs one of his iconic chords in order to map it across the entire keyboard range. When set, a single key input triggers a chord attuned to the scale of the original input.
He uses the familiar progression from ‘Bar A Thyme’ to showcase AstroLab’s macros and effects and recreates the filter opening modulation featured on the original track.
We are then shown AstroLab’s multi instrument features, where Kerri combines an american grand with a lush string pad. The result creates a totally new sound and energy, going from a clean and crisp piano to a smooth and moody piano-string combo.
And finally, AstroLab’s companion mobile app is shown as a simple and easy way to control and edit sounds.
A personal connection
Kerri is a true legend in the scene and he is as relevant today as he ever was, which reflects both his skill and mastery as a DJ and producer and the lasting allure of a soul-infused house sound. For Kerri, it’s all about doing what he does best and keeping the spirit of the scene alive, while also being able to share his inspiration with the crowd. That’s where he’s at his happiest, seeing the crowd react and embody his deep house grooves.
To see people enjoying what I've done or watching people sing something back I've done or humming a certain melody. That to me just made it so worth it for me.
Big thanks to DJ Mag for letting us use footage from Kerri’s legendary reel-to-reel set in 2022, which you can watch here.
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