You’ll struggle to find many people who have made quite as big a contribution to the ongoing story of house music than Kerri Chandler. The New Jersey native has been DJing – usually with the aid of a supplementary keyboard to add his own dazzling live overdubs – since the mid 1980s, and serving up killer productions since 1990. Within his bulging back catalogue you’ll find tons of soul-flecked deep house gems, raw dancefloor dubs, and workouts the pass the test of time with flying colours.

In case you’ve not been paying attention, Kerri is big news right now thanks to the release of his first album of original material since 2008: the vast love letter to club culture, venues and soundsystems that is Spaces & Places. The album was recorded ‘on location’ in 24 club spaces around the world over a number of years, with each track being inspired by – and specifically designed for – those venues. It’s a brilliantly simple idea, made even more magical and immersive by Chandler’s decision to mix the streaming versions (specifically those featured on Tidal and Apple Music) in Dolby Atmos, the audio company’s next-generation surround sound system.

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to sit down with Kerri via Zoom to discuss the album, his career to date, his love of soundsystems and the specific inspirations behind some of his tracks – both brand-new gems from Spaces & Places, and such classics as ‘Inspiration’ and ‘The Shelter’. You can now listen to edited highlights of our conversation in the latest episode of Join The Future on Noods, either via the embedded Mixcloud player below, or by heading to the Noods website. A written feature, which includes quotes from the conversation plus my flowing prose, can also be read online right now at Juno Daily.

We’d recommend you check out Spaces & Places. If you have a chance to stream it via Apple Music or Tidal, do that. If you want the download version, you can find it here on Junodownload. The four vinyl samplers can be found via the following links: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 (note that each of these samplers also contains bonus mixes not featured on the streaming or download versions of the full album).

Join The Future: Season 2, Episode 9 – Kerri Chandler in Conversation

Tracklist
1.Kerri Chandler – Track 1
2. Kerri Chandler – I See [Razzamatazz] (Instrumental)
3. Kerri Chandler – Hurry Up [Ministry of Sound] (instrumental)
4. Gate-Ah – The Shelter (Dub)
5. Kerri Chandler featuring Arnold Jarvis – Inspiration (Original Mix)
6. Kerri Chandler – WhSun of Sound [Plan B] (Vocal Mix)
7. Kerri Chandler – Subbie [Sub Club] (Rattle The Subbie Mix)
8. Kerri Chandler – Never Thought [Printworks] (Original Mix)
9. Kerri Chandler – Back To Earth [Knockdown Center] (featuring Aaron Braxton Junior)
10. Kerri Chandler – Who Knows [Barbarellas] (featuring Dora)
11. Kerri Chandler – Dirty [Rex] (DJ Deep’s Son & Dad Edit)
12. Kerri Chandler – Bar a Thym (Original Mix)