Stefan Cordery is a house DJ and producer from South London, UK, with tracks signed to Kindisch, Eightmileshigh, Beatlounge, Lost Balloon and, most notably, his own record label, Kinetic Groove.
Stefan’s electronic adventure began at a very early age when he learnt to play the keyboard, intent on emulating the sound of ELO and Jean Michel Jarre – sounds that were omnipresent in the Cordery household when Stefan was a young lad, thanks to his father’s comprehensive collection of forward-thinking vinyl.
It wasn’t long before Stefan was working on his own record collection, primarily amassing house music in its various forms, helping cement the sound that defines his creative output to this day. Growing up with a crowd that was equally obsessed with electronic music, he began to pick up tips and tricks from his friends, learning how to DJ while teaching himself to produce house music in a studio that took shape as he got older.
His first DJ gig on home turf came in 2006, but within a year he was boarding a plane bound for Germany to play for a crowd in Bremen. Inspired by this progression, he set up Kinetic Groove in order to showcase his music and that of his friends. Some of the label’s early releases were supported by key house music players, and a string of parties in London and Germany followed, as well as a successful podcast series spanning two years.
After getting on-board with underground event promoter, Rainbow Value, Cordery played at notorious parties in London and Ibiza, before signing to their record label and completing remixes for their first two releases. He than began to play at the Freitag parties in the East End and secured a residency at warehouse event, Exstatic Sounds, playing alongside some of London and Berlin’s finest talent.
Currently, Stefan is working hard on original material and remixes for his own label and others. With a brand new release due on Kinetic Groove later this month, we thought it was a good time to catch up with him and find out what he’s been up to…
So how are things going for you at the moment in terms of your music career? What have been some recent highlights and how did they come about?
Things are growing steadily for me at the moment and I’m really enjoying the journey. Completing a remix for Kindisch (a sub-label of Get Physical) has been a big highlight. My friend, Ben Hoo, recently released an album with them and asked me to remix one of the singles. I was really chuffed he asked me and being on the same release as David Keno and Marc Ashken was the icing on the cake! The support I’ve had from the industry has been great, too. It’s so encouraging when you get good feedback from DJs you look up to.
How did you start off in the industry? Did DJing, production or promoting come first? What gave you that initial push and how did you get to where you are now?
After many hours of bedroom DJing, I eventually plucked up the courage to convince a local bar to let me DJ on a Friday night. The sound system was terrible, the decks were rubbish, but it went down well with the crowd and I was hooked. Around this time I was also spending many a late night/early morning at clubs like Turnmills and Fabric in London, and also started a music production course at college. This fuelled my passion, not only for playing music, but for making it, too. After this I landed some DJ gigs in London and Germany and I also started up a label called Kinetic Groove. Originally it was intended for my friends and I to release our music, but over time it has developed into a label representing artists from all over the world. I would say that this constant involvement in music on many levels has helped me get to where I am today.
In recent years, the deep house movement in London has exploded and made big stars out of some DJs who had been working hard for years without a huge amount of recognition or international acclaim – what do you think were the reasons for things taking off the way they did?
Deep house is a bit of a bandwagon at the moment. You only have to turn on the TV and see the likes of Ministry of Sound advertising their latest deep house compilation like it’s something new. We all know that it’s been around for ages. The same has happened with drum & bass and electro house. That said, it’s great that artists are getting recognition for their hard work. I just hope that this popularity doesn’t dilute the scene.
Tell us about some of your influences – artists who have helped shape your sound, perhaps some you’ve already had the honour of working with or would really love to work with in the future?
From my early days, I would say the likes of Masters at Work, Todd Edwards, Todd Terry and Grant Nelson. In more recent years, Radio Slave has been a big influence and you can hear it in some of my productions. Today I’m really feeling music by Nikola Gala, Detroit Swindle, Dusky and Shur-I-Kan. I’m lucky as a label owner that I get to work with lots of artists, and I love what our artists are doing at the moment on Kinetic Groove. It would be great to collaborate with all of them in the near future.
What kind of qualities do you try to bring out in your sound, whether you’re playing at an event or making your own music?
I love to make music that makes you want to dance. It sounds like an obvious goal for any dance music producer, but sometimes I hear a tune and it just doesn’t cut it. I love clubbing and I always listen for what gets the crowd moving, then try to apply this in my own productions. If I’m DJing I keep things simple in the mix and let people enjoy the music. I’m not one for lots of effects and complicated mixes.
Your label, Kinetic Groove, has got a brand new release in the pipeline, expected around the end of November – can you tell us more about that?
Yes, we’ve got a great new release by Jose Vizcaino. His first release was with us back in 2012 and we’re really happy to have him back. The release, entitled ‘Ear snack’, features a great original by Jose and remixes by German producer Neils Freidel and US legend Andy Slate (Soulmate, EightMilesHigh), making this a really exciting package. I’ve also completed a remix, too.
What setup are you using to DJ at the moment? What are your reasons for these choices?
I use Traktor Scratch and a Macbook Pro. I know there is heated debate over the use of laptops for DJing, but I learnt to mix with vinyl and I still buy and play real vinyl today. Traktor works for me because I can easily play my own productions or any promos I’m sent. I used to use CDs to DJ but had some bad experiences – you can have the latest Pioneer CDJ player but if your CD is rubbish or scratched, you’re stuffed!
How about in the studio? Is there much crossover in terms of the way you work live as a DJ and in the studio?
I work completely digitally in the studio. If I had the money (and space) I’d integrate some analog equipment, as I’m a hands-on producer. In terms of crossover, I do approach my DJ sets like a producer, technically, in the sense that I do equalise and structure my mixes properly. For production I use Logic and have played around with Ableton, which lends itself well to the DJ style of working. I plan to use it more in future to get ideas down quicker.
Who’s throwing the best parties at the moment?
I went to a really cool party last year called Fluffy Logic. It had no headliners, but a great vibe. They really went to town on decoration and it even had a tea room! It’s parties like that which stick with you because the organiser really made the effort to throw a great party. There’s also a night out of town in Farnham called The Takeover, run by Monk and Saunders (signed to my label). They keep it simple with the line up, not too many DJs, a great atmosphere and a loyal crowd. That’s what makes a great party for me.
What’s next for Stefan Cordery?
I’ve remixed lots of tracks in the last 12 months, which I’ve really enjoyed, but I feel its time to work on more original material. I also want to collaborate with some of the artists I’ve met in my career and have a couple of projects in the pipeline. As for my label, Kinetic Groove, we have some really cool releases planned for the next year and I’m also looking forward to finding more great artists and music.
Thanks Stefan! Join the man himself for a journey through some of the best new house music, including the latest promos and releases from Kinetic Groove on the soundcloud player, below… Full track-listing available on the Kinetic Groove Facebook page.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/118896485″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
