20 key Kerri Chandler productions

The beginning was modest. Kerri’s first release (on his first label) initially had a run of 500 copies. Jabbing strings lead into a thudding kick-drum and a bumping analogue bassline, while Chevelle provides the not-always-entirely-in-tune, gospel-inspired vocals. Tony Humphries, then one of NY house’s biggest DJs, picked up on it, and it was signed to Atlantic, which released it as Three Generations, establishing Kerri Chandler as a force in the house scene.

If ‘Super Lover’ was a rough-hewn thing, ‘A Basement, A Red Light And A Feeling’ was perfectly formed. The six tracks were credited to different artists, but Kerri Chandler had a hand in all of them. ‘I Loved You’ by Grampa is brilliantly odd: a male vocalist seems to have Paul Robeson’s ‘Ol Man River’ in mind as he croons over lilting pianos. Along with the other five tracks, it’s sublime, the high-water mark of Kerri’s early years, and one of the high points of New York house, full stop.