Graham Cordery has kept a low profile over the last few years, all that is changing this summer as the last few years of work start to pay off. Sticking to the music he loves has worked for Graham, the soulful sophisticated sound has made his night SHE at YU one of the most well respected of the regular house nights. It just got so much better though, as last week Tank and Defected chose Graham as the new resident for Defected in the House. I caught up with Graham over a glass of red to chat about his plans for SHE and of course the new residency.. Defected in the House..
So Graham, are you excited about Defected in the House launching?
I’m excited just thinking about it, I can’t explain it’s the label, its the club. Its such an opportunity.
You’re a fan of Defected?
I’m extra pleased about it being Defected. The Defected in the house series is more long lasting than many mix albums out there, not just the a sides, but the b sides they make no exception on quality and are more imaginative than just filling an album with peak time club anthems featuring the likes of John Cutler. Labels like Defected and Soulfuric make the most references back to the roots of house, disco, soul and funk, which I love. That’s the sound I play.
How would describe your sound?
Well produced credible music, It has to soulful, smooth – no harsh sounds, it has to be music – I always try to make a smooth sound. Quality, not just the lastest sound.
Did that develop over time?
No, I was fortunate to spend time in clubs in the north of England. Back to basic’s, up yer ronson, hard times – which are all in Leeds, a lot of US garage DJs, people like Masters at Work, were playing, so I quickly realised the sound I loved.
Is that why you set up SHE?
She was influenced by a club I played called Traffic, I came over to Australia and found the house nights were totally different, more of a west coast, Chicago house sound. Not there is anything wrong with that but there was also a big gap in the House music being played. SHE fills that gap.
As will Defected in the House?
Yes definatley, although Defected brings a more European and London sound to the clubs, in a club like Tank people won’t have heard this music consistently its party music, its assessable, but its still different. As are the DJs involved, different styles, many of the Defected DJ’s are house purists, skilled artists who make reference’s but don’t need to actually drop big tunes relentlessly through their sets. Its good time music without the cheese. We’ll be treated to seeing some of the best DJ’s in the world playing on a weekly basis, which is fantastic news for the scene.
She has recently moved from Le Panic to YU, has that changed the night as well?
It’s true that SHE has morphed out of my orginal conception, which was a one off soulful house party, I never imagined that a year later the night would be an event with 1000 people, so its hard to know where to go next! It’s been an amazing year, acts like Soul Central “Strings of Life” Andy Ward have been great for what I’ve been trying to achieve, they’ve had commercial success but as a dj they are still tuned in to the sound at SHE, as do acts like Groove Junkies. They keep the night unique. The difficulty is that there are people that ideally that I’d I want to play to take it SHE to the next level but at the same time its hard to be able to do that as an independent promoter. Australia is isolated, the costs are high, to get people like Ron Carroll, MAW, Tony Humphries.
What Defected artists are you most excited about warming up for?
Louie Vega and Kenny Dope – Masters at Work. They have never made an exception when it comes to quality, for almost 20 years they’ve stuck to their own unique sound and making real quality, soulful music. For example the album in 97, “nu yorican soul” was a concept album, more than you’d expect to hear from house producers – funk, latin soul, your talking about musicians not formulaic house music, Joclyn Brown on vocals – guesting on a album that were essentially house producers. Masters at work is as good as it gets. The greats of my generation.
Defected in the House, launches on October 28th at Tank, You can catch Graham Cordery playing alongside Copyright and John Devvechis.
