Top DJ Todd Terry heads for Stereo Lab Phuket
Todd Terry - more than just house.
Stereo Lab, the disco on the sand at Surin Beach, which earlier brought Hed Kandi to the island for the first time, has scored another hit, booking Brooklyn-born deejay Todd Terry for a night on December 2.
Terry first drew international acclaim with his house mix of Missing by Everything But The Girl, but insists that his skill and style stretches much wider than house.
“I don’t know how to break this to you, but there’s more than a little bit more to me than four to the floor,” he writes on trustthedj.com. “True – I did the house mix on Missing a few years back. The critical acclaim around that track meant that some people think I am representative of mainstream house music. Sorry to disappoint you; here’s the other side to the story:
“My first dance cut ever, Flight 16, came out on Cutting Records, which I co-owned at the time. When I made it, it didn’t really have any kind of genre. People tried to call it different things, but it was pretty much in the middle of everything. It had elements of hip-hop, elements of house and elements of jungle. Basically, it was breakbeat – but not in any form that you’d know now.
“DJs should be playing hip-hop, reggae – everything. We shouldn’t let people put us into pigeonholes or genres. That makes us too narrow-minded. After all, we should be playing for the people. They pay our wages.
“When you see my DJ sets, you’ll hear everything from Public Enemy to Armand Van Helden to Photek. And just when you think you’ve heard it all, I’ll drop something totally fresh and new and leaving the dance floor will be the last thing on your mind.”
People obviously like his style – or styles – because he’s been making a good living in the biz since the 1980s. That’s a long time in the world of deejaying.
Todd Terry appears at Stereo Lab on December 2, starting at 9pm (or, knowing Stereo Lab, more likely 10 or 11). Entrance is free, and VIP tables (also free) can be booked by calling 08 9218 0162.
