20 key Kerri Chandler productions

Kerri’s roots may be in soulful house, but he’s always had a thing for thuddy kick drums, too. ‘Track 1’ from the ‘Atmosphere’ EP, is a case in point. The pounding beat wouldn’t be out of place on a techno record, then the slinky keyboard riff slides in, then a sax, a delicious contrast of rough and smooth. Perhaps to emphasise this isn’t your average deep house tune, his finishing touch – seldom used in dance music – is a tinkling of harpsichord. If you only have room for one KC track in your collection, it must be this.

Chandler has made series of entries into the pantheon of dancefloor grooves that their producers couldn’t be bothered to name. This is one of his best. ‘Three’ (out of four) is a filtered disco banger that has a touch of Armand Van Helden about it. The label instructed, “Warning: play loud.” Raw, dirty house music strictly for club use, in other words. Three more EPs in the same vein followed.