039:DJ KERRY
Los Angeles has earned the title of one of the greatest dance music cities in the Western Hemisphere. Whether its Venice or downtown, in LA you feel you are at the edge of the world, at once, vast, inspiring, and dangerous. Los Angeles’ status as one of the entertainment capitals of the world has drawn creatives for the past century, a place where the average person pursues their fantasies. For decades, this Western melting pot has been a perfect landscape for global underground dance music to take shape and push into new territory.
With a vast array of performance venues, restaurants, clubs and warehouses, there is a bit of something for everyone in the city of Angels. Influences from different parts of the world are apparent in every part of the soundtrack of this ultra modern city; young artists from every corner of the globe continue to emerge out of LA’s booming dance music scene.
One of these artists is Kerry Simester, known by her alias as DJ Kerry. According to Dublab, where she hosts a radio show regularly, “DJ Kerry has made a name for herself in the underground scene of Los Angeles by throwing successful parties, such as Nitty Gritty, Rice & Beats, Hang Together and most recently, The Basement.”
The Basement has drawn the attention of many, including us, for its underground ethos and outstanding lineup. We’ll let Kerry tell you more about the party in our interview, but suffice is to say, that the setup, sound and lineup of DJ’s is killer, artfully pulled together and curated by Kerry herself, in an authentic setting that stays true to the underground spirit.
We have no doubt that Kerry will begin to be a household name as time moves forward, but for now, we want to let her shed some light on her work as an artist, dj and party professional. You can catch Kerry tomorrow with our pals, Woolfy and Dan Hastie aka P.R.O.J.E.C.T.I.O.N.S. , at a special pool party. Make sure to check the socials! Listen to Kerry’s groovy mix of house, disco and outernational sounds, while you peep the interview below to learn more about her. And follow her. Thanks Kerry!
KERRY LINKS: IG | RA | BASEMENT LA
Hi Kerry! How are you? At the time of writing, you were just getting back from some travels abroad to Croatia. How was the Love International Festival? It looked amazing.
Love International is one of my favorite festivals to go to. I like it because it is a bit smaller and catered more to the nu-disco/disco scene that I like. In addition, the festival is even more amazing as it sits right on the Adriatic Sea in a small town that isn’t inundated with loads of tourists. Also, this festival is pretty intimate in comparison to loads of others and so many of the DJs that inspire us or we aspire to, are tangible and usually everyone is super nice. I haven’t encountered any DJs yet that have been rude or so full of themselves that they don’t engage. In addition, the festival is pretty organized and usually pretty much on schedule with the set times. Only suggestion I would like to make is that they make posters at each stage for the set times for each day. It’s nice to know who the artist is playing if you are not familiar.
Were there any highlights for you from the Festival?
There were many highlights! One was the Bears and Space boat party, Victor Rodriguez and Chris Bowen SLAYED it!! I went in 2019 to their boat party as well and not sure which set was better!! Another highlight was seeing all the LA heads play at the festival, feels good to see your peers on the stage doing what we love! Crazy P had an awesome show on the Beach stage, I really enjoyed Alison Swing’s set along with Felix Dickinson’s… gosh.. so many good sets, I could go on and on!
Traveling has been so limited for so many due to the pande... (I don't even want to say it out loud) so I imagine it is inspiring and refreshing to get away. How does traveling internationally impact you when you return home to LA? Does it reframe things a bit?
Jet lag is definitely no joke! Ha ha! Aside from that, traveling abroad allows you to hear what others are playing and so it makes me feel like I need to do more homework when I get home. Inspires me to dig more and to continue to find music that has that “kerry” sound.
Alright, so tell us a bit about you. You are based in Los Angeles - are you from there originally? How did you get into the world of underground dance music? How do you feel about LA's dance music scene at the moment?
I was born in Vietnam and then moved to Seattle when I was 3. I grew up there and then moved to Los Angeles after attending the University of Washington and have been in LA since. I have always been into music since I was a kid, I always bought the 12” record because it had an extended version or another version of the song, or a song that wasn’t on the album. So I have been collecting records since I was 8 probably. I used to make mixed tapes in high school and that probably got me into the idea of mixing. Believe it or not, I used to call all house music “techno” because I really wasn’t into it until I went to NY with my buddies at the time and they introduced me to the ball room scene and Latin Quarters. From there, I realized house music comes in many different variations. I started going out to more and more house parties in LA and felt a lot of DJs were playing similar to one another, often playing the same tracks. So it had me thinking I could give it a try and so I gave it a shot. I think it’s really important to have your own sound if you can.. don’t play what everyone else is playing. Sure, you can play a ‘hit’ every once in awhile to keep the crowd ‘trusting’ you, but educate them as well, as I often say, “you never know what you might like,” so don’t be afraid to give the audience something they just might like!
I often found myself going to undergrounds because in LA the party ends at 2am so I learned about the different promoters and DJs and eventually it became my go to spot to hear music that engaged me. I personally think LA has one of the best music scenes, there is something for everyone. In addition, with all the parties every weekend, sometimes its a bit overwhelming, especially with a top notch headliner at each party, you can’t go to all of them! But what is nice is that most of the parties are well supported and pretty packed! So I am thankful for the scene always supporting the different parties.
Although I haven't been to your Basement Party, it looks correct - underground, focused on the music, great artists (shouts to Juan, Tony and Simon!). Can you tell us about the Basement, it's ethos and how it came to be?
The Basement has been going on since 2018. I originally had a loft in DTLA and did a lot of parties there but they were pretty small. I had to move out since the landlord didn’t want to renew my lease. Upon looking around, I found a listing that said, “possible recording studio” and so my friend and I took a look at the space and found out it’s a house that was turned into a duplex with a basement. The basement was completely raw and had no real walls, electrics, the floor was all dirt and uneven, but I felt it had potential! And so 4 years later, here we are! I originally had a roommate, Rick Wren who helped me with the launch of the Basement. He was pretty integral in helping me sort out the sound and figured out the spacing for each speaker and such. Additionally an old friend, Thomas Klepper helped me rig the booth monitors. Currently, my neighbors Kelly Kel and Marc Seelig in the duplex next door, help with bartending during the parties. It really is a collaborative effort to make the Basement as special as it is!
I found a way to keep the Basement with underground vibes but it’s really the sound that I think makes it worthwhile. I have 4 Klipsch La Scalas, 2 Klipsch Heresys as monitors and one big K horn (not a klipsch but one made from the exact measurements from the Klipsch blueprint) that is used as a bass only with no mid or tweeter (Phillip Cejudo helped with this find). Throw in some balloons, laser rays and a fog machine, a few folks that love the music and you have a party called the Basement! Ha ha!
I also made the Basement a membership party and so membership currently costs $50/year which includes free entry to all the events. You don’t have to go through too many loops to become a member but I do think it shows who really wants to be there. I don’t want the Basement to become about the scene but more about the music, and so I try my best to curate folks that are about the music.
Give us some insight into your favorite moments at the Basement? A particular moment or memory from your parties? How many parties in are you, by the way?
Wow.. a few of my favorite moments.. hmmm… that’s a tough one just because every party has been really good for me. But I can say, one of my favorites was my birthday celebration in 2019 with Thomas PM (he worked with Ubiquity) and Flip Lynch. I say that one because Thomas died a couple months after and its one of the best memories I have with him. Another set comes to mind is with Dewey Chan, he always represents! Woolfy vs Projections was awesome too, they were the first artists to play live at the Basement. I have to take a look at the flyers to see how many parties I’m in but I try to do one once a month but since the pandemic that squashed that! I’m trying my best to stay on track now, even though for 2022 I’ve missed two months, due to travel and Covid.
How does the Basement fit into the larger LA scene?
I think the Basement fits in the larger LA scene just because not all the time folks want to go to a big warehouse, especially once you get spoiled with the sound. No disrespect to the other promoters or parties, I still go to them as well, but sometimes we just want something more intimate and so the Basement is a perfect place for that.
What can we expect from this mix? How would you describe your style?
This mix is pretty groovy, I usually incorporate music with instruments in my mixes, I love the guitar and keys. Hmmm.. my style, I guess more on the disco vibes but lately I’ve been playing a little ‘harder’ but each song still has a groove for me. I get bored pretty easily and so I really try to choose songs that take me somewhere.
What's next for Kerry? Where should we find you and what should we look for?
I’m still trying to do the Basement each month. I may expand and try and have some out of town guests. Right now it’s a local driven party. I like giving the locals an opportunity to shine and do extended sets since we often don’t get those handed to us. In regards to just DJ Kerry, I am hoping to travel more and possibly get more gigs outside of my hometown. :)
