Kaoz Theory レコード& CD

Review: Kerri Chandler has been described quite correctly as "the Stevie Wonder of house music." What he brought to the world of deep house was real musicality, as well as hefty, signature kicks that have a seemingly impossible amount of weight and bounce, but also funk. He is back with a first album in years later on in 2022 but first he is teasing us all with plenty of samplers from it. We get two more tunes here - the first 'Never Thought' with those trademark kicks, a nice vocal and some peak time tech energy. 'Get Lost In It' is a more soulful tune with big diva vocals and raw, stripped back beats.

Review: On this second, more expansive sampler for his forthcoming album Spaces & Places, Kerri Chandler treats us to tracks inspired by - and by the wonders of mobile recording technology, produced inside - clubs including Dublin's District 8, Glasgow institution Sub Club, Lux of Lisbon and NYC's Output. Of course, the standard is uniformly high throughout - it's classic Chandler from start to finish - but our picks of a very fine bunch include the soulful piano house shimmer of 'Change Your Mind', the thrusting, bass-heavy pump of 'Subbie (Rattle The Subbie Mix)', the effortlessly slick and soulful 'Tenacity (Full Vocal Mix)' and the ludicrously sub-heavy snap of 'See The Light (Dub)'. To borrow an old cliche, this is very much, 'all killer, no filler'.

Review: The fourth and (we think) final sampler for Kerri Chandler's epic new album, Spaces & Places, not only features a swathe of cuts from the set, but also a clutch of must-check alternate takes. Of the album tracks, we're particularly fond of the Ministry of Sound inspired piano house workout 'Hurry Up (featuring Dreamer G)' and the locked-in early morning hypnotism of 'Sunrise', which the New Jersey native recorded at Berlin club 'Watergate'. Other highlights across the double-pack include the breezy 'Joyful Life' (and its accompanying 'Vibeapella') and the bonus 'No Guitar Mix' of the mid-90s St German style wonder of 'Dirty', a cut recorded at, and in tribute to, legendary Paris venue Rex Club.

Review: As the title suggests, this four-tracker from the mighty Kerri Chandler is made of material recorded in - but for whatever reason never released - in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He first unfurls 'What Shall We Do', a sturdy but snappy New Jersey deep house number rich in attractive organ stabs, warming bass and bluesy lead vocals from 'Grampa', before unveiling the squelchy acid bass, dreamy pads, colourful melodic flourishes and loved-up harmony vocals of 'Tonight'. 'Into The Night' is a beefier, bolder and weightier slab of intergalactic peak-time deep house, while 'This & That' manages to be both funky, jazzy, loose-limbed and stuttering - a remarkable achievement in anyone's book.

Review: American artist Chris Stussy has risen through the ranks to become a real new school house leader in 2021. Proof of that comes from the fact that he now makes a big step up with an EP on the Kaos label run by the one and only Kerri Chandler. He serves up his signature spaced out sounds across four silky cuts. 'Central Frenzy' gets underway with balmy pads, 'Riva De Biasio' brings nice bendy synths and tropical colours, 'Deviant Shadow' picks up the pace and offers up a sublime tech house sound and 'A Glimmer Of Hope' closes in pensive deep house fashion. A fine EP.

Review: Kerri Chandler's Kaoz Theory label remains a sure bet for the finest house music coming out today, and if you like it jazzy you're in for a treat on this EP. The exact background of this release is a little patchy but it certainly features the musical talents of Moroccan mastermind Youssef Grirrane, whose ascendant piano playing gives this EP its whole identity. On the A side Chandler himself gets busy in the mix, offering up two contrasting cuts which play to his strengths in constructing a rock solid club beat with soul where it counts. On the flip you can hear Mr ID and Grirrane's original works, with occasional moonlighting from Rita Mdn. This is uplifting, musical house music to take you far away from your cares and woes.