Big deal alert! I'm still pinching myself over this one...
Recently, I had the honour of sitting down with the one and only Kerri Chandler at Ocean Drive. A true innovator and one of the foundational pillars of House music, I first saw him play at fabriclondon on the night of my 18th birthday.
Fast forward nine years, I’m sitting on a balcony in the music capital of the world with the legend himself, asking him the questions I wish I could've back then.
A pioneer in every sense of the word, Kerri has always been ahead of his time, whether that comes from how he performs or the music he releases.
From New Jersey's Club Zanzibar to the iconic clubs around the world, Kerri offered some awe-inspiring stories, words of wisdom and everything to do with his new Ibiza mini-residency at Club Chinois, Kerri Chandler presents Kaoz Theory.
Lissy Lü chats to... House music royalty Kerri Chandler at Ocean Drive
I've just heard that you have a whole bedroom suite here named after you? That is pretty cool!
"Oh, it's great! Ocean Drive surprised me with it. And then they put up artwork and everything. I have one of my reel-to-reels in a case on the wall, along with a lot of my pictures. I told them every time I come back, I'm just going to bring something to add to the room. Yeah, it's amazing."
What did you bring this time?
"It's always a surprise. I don't like to give it away, but there are lots of books and interesting things around the room. It's fun for me to come up with ideas for what to bring next."
Your journey from growing up in a rough area of the city to where you are now is well documented. Did you ever see yourself leaving and conquering the world with your music?
"Not by music. I always thought I'd be an engineer or some kind of electrician or something related to physics. That was always my heart. It still is.
My job became my hobby, and my hobby became my job. I got very lucky early on.
The first place I played overseas was Ministry of Sound in 1991, and that was when my first releases started coming out. So, I got lucky early on. Around that time, I started my label, Madhouse Records, with Mel Medalle."
"I made this track called My Love, My Life, which was on Top Of The Pops.
Mel invited me to come over. I wanted to have my own record label. Mel ran Champion Records. He said, 'Why don't you come on over, and we'll hook up some kind of tour? There's this new club called Ministry Of Sound.' And that was it. That's where it all started."
Was it very different to what you were used to at the time?
"No, that's what surprised me more than anything. It was literally the Paradise Garage in reverse. It was the same exact room, with the same system I was used to playing with and everything. It was a Richard Long system. And I was so comfortable with it.It was so easy for me.
I was like, 'Oh, wow, this is just like home.'"
Was there any difference between the crowds?
"The crowds were wonderful. I was so surprised.They were doing things that we didn't do at home. They were blowing horns and putting up these big signs and all these other crazy things. Really, really nice. But they let me play the whole night. And I was like, this is incredible."
Early influences
You've spoken in the past about how your father was a big influence on you. What was the best piece of advice he gave you that stuck for you?
"He gave me two pieces of advice that always stood out the most.
The first was, 'The squeaky wheel gets the oil', meaning you have to make noise in order to be noticed or in order for others to know that something is wrong and to be able to do something about it.
The second was, 'Keep your tools in great condition, because these are the tools you work with. Make sure they're clean. Make sure everything works the way it's supposed to. Take care of your tools, and they'll take care of you.'
To this day, everything I've bought or have since I was a kid is in mint condition, because of him. I kept everything in cases and I kept everything spotless."
I read in a previous interview that you were 13 when you began warming up for your father in New Jersey nightclubs, balancing on milk crates...
"Oh yeah, chairs, milk crates, whatever they could stand me on. They dressed me up in a suit, and I'd just stand there while they handed me records. I didn't know what half of the records were.
It all started one weekend when my father busted me playing on his decks. I was standing on a chair in the living room. He was like, 'What are you doing? Get down from there!' And I said, 'Well, I'm DJing.' He tells me, 'You don't know what you're doing. You're going to break my things.'
Then he says, 'Well, show me, show me what you're doing. And if you don't know what you're doing, I'm going to crucify you.' So, immediately, I just started mixing records, and he was blown away. It looked like he wanted to cry. So, starting that weekend, every week, I got to play.
I'd study his records, which became my records, and we would go to the record pool together. Those were some of the best times I've had."
Do you remember any of the songs that you played? Do you still play any today?
"Oh, yeah, absolutely. Martin Circus was a big one for me. I loved early Disco, Salsoul, Prelude and West End, which are still some of my favourite record labels today."
You played some very iconic clubs, like Paradise Garage and Ministry Of Sound, as you mentioned. If you could relive one moment in time, what would it be?
"Well, this is going to sound funny, but I've always wanted to keep moving forward. I have so many wonderful memories from different clubs.
I've always had the best times, and I want other people to have the same feelings I had. So, I try to recreate the same kind of experiences that I've had for a new audience. I respect the past, but I look forward to the future."
Kerri Chandler presents Kaoz Theory at Club Chinois
Let's talk about the Kaoz Theory residency at Club Chinois. You had the opening party with Claptone back in May. Why did you decide to do it in 2024?
"It was something we were planning on doing when we felt that time was right. Just to bring all my friends over and have a good time. It's a big statement to commit your name to a club. So far, it's been very successful.
The pre-parties at Laylah are a lot of fun too. I play a lot of Disco, Brazilian and rare grooves there."
What is it about Club Chinois that makes it special?
"The first time I went there, the club was called HEART. I won a couple of DJ Awards, and that was the venue where they held the award ceremony. I thought it was a great place at the time."
Kerri Chandler collecting his DJ Award at the end of summer 2019
"I met the owners, and they suggested doing a night there. But the timing wasn't right and HEART closed before we were able to make it happen. Then, a new crew opened Club Chinois, and they had a whole new vision of the place.
I liked the direction they were planning to take, and it all just came together. The timing was finally right."
How did you go about creating the line-ups?
"I called a lot of my friends and asked if they were interested or if they could do it, because a lot of these guys, like The Martinez Brothers and Black Coffee, have their own thing going on on the island. They can't really do it. But, I have so many friends who are great DJs and producers.
My team got everybody together who was available within the time frames."
What DJ format will you be playing in? Will we get to see some reel-to-reel?
"Well, perhaps. You never know. Maybe near the closing? I have a lot of stuff I want to try, things I haven't necessarily done before."
Staying adventurous, passing on knowledge and words of wisdom
Can you give me an insight into what you like to do when you're on Ibiza. What's the most exciting thing you've done whilst you've been here?
"I have to say that I discover something new here every time I come back. I think the most daring thing I've done is I've been out on a small boat. I can't swim. I went parasailing once, years ago. Same thing again. I can't swim. So if I hit the water, it will be a problem."
Do you have any future stars of house music you think we should look out for?
"Oh, wow! There are too many to mention. If I start mentioning people and I miss someone, they're going to be mad at me, but there's Devon Miles from my record label, Kaoz Theory, with his new release, Beautiful. And there's Nae from South Africa with the single Caged Bird."
How did you start your relationship with these artists?
"I'll hear something of theirs, or sometimes they'll send me something they've done. Or I'll meet someone, and it'll just be a conversation. If there's something going on and I hear a talent that no one's ever seen and they share it with me, that's great."
Do you have any advice for young, aspiring artists in the kingdom trying to make their way in the industry?
"My advice would be to have influences, but not follow trends. Know your equipment, learn how to troubleshoot, learn to play an instrument, practice, practice, practice until it becomes second nature, and network. That would be my advice."
You're playing at Defected later and you've already played at Palmarama's opening party and appeared at Glitterbox. Does the music you play differ from party to party, club to club?
"It's always different. It all depends on the mood. It's really about the crowd and what I can have fun with. If the crowd is up for it, I'll experiment a bit and play some surprises."
There are four dates remaining in the programme for Kaoz Theory this summer: 15 and 22 August and 3 and 10 October. Gorgon City, Prunk, KiNK (live), DJ Deep and Dennis Quin join Kerri between now and then.
Tickets are on sale now and available to purchase below, where you can also find line-up for each date.
PHOTOGRAPHY | by CM. Robinson and Mario Pinta
