Kerri Chandler

Kerri Chandler has been among the most revered house artists since he debuted at the dawn of the ’90s. Influenced by his DJ father and jazz musicians in his family, Chandler has been involved with music since childhood. The native of garage-central New Jersey was a club DJ by the age of 13 and began producing tracks shortly thereafter with help from fellow Jersey-ites like Tony Humphries and Michael Watford. His tracks for King St., Strictly Rhythm, Large, Nervous and his own Madhouse Records made him one of the top producers in the garage scene by the mid-’90s, with a discography including club landmarks like “(You’re My) Inspiration,” “Hallelujah,” and “Stompin’ Grounds,” as well as more introspective, jazzy works like 1993′s Atmosphere EP. Proper full-length projects have been rare, limited to only Hemisphere (1996), Trionisphere (2003), and Computer Games (2008). Chandler has refined his approach primarily across dozens of 12” releases, with characteristically fluid and funky likes of “Bar a Thym” and “Mommy What’s a Record” among his later highlights. As a DJ, he has remained a global draw and has quietly amassed a large discography of commercially released mixes — sets for Obsessive, Soul Heaven, Watergate, and !K7 among them — that trace the developments of contemporary house music. ~ John Bush & Andy Kellman