Todd N. Terry
Born 18th April 1967 in Brooklyn, New York, pioneering American house producer & DJ, Todd Terry is one of the producers who helped to define New York's house music during the 1980's. Terry's productions can be described as a varied collection of samples blending the sounds of classic disco, the more introspective Chicago sound pioneered earlier in the decade, plus plenty of hip-hop attitude and sampling piracy.
Much of Todd Terry's early work in the late 1980's is considered a milestone in the development of both progressive and modern deep house. Todd Terry has been responsible for releasing two of the most respected crossover remixes of the house era: "I'll House You" by the
Jungle Brothers and "Missing" by
Everything But The Girl by the mid 1990's.
Among his fans, Todd Terry is known as 'Todd the God', 'God Terry', 'Todd Godrry', 'Godd Gerry' (or, occasionally, simply 'God', because he might be a Five Percenter, but this is unconfirmed).
Todd's tracks "Something Goin' On" and "Keep on Jumpin'" were both UK Top-10 hits as well as US Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1's, with the vocals provided by
Jocelyn Brown and
Martha Wash. Freestyle diva
Shannon was the featured vocalist on the Top Twenty hit "It's Over Love" in 1997.
In 1999 Todd Terry released "Resolutions", successfully embracing the then-still avant-garde drum 'n' bass aestethics.
Terry also has several aliases such as
Swan Lake,
Orange Lemon,
Royal House,
Black Riot,
CLS,
Masters at Work (2) (although he later gave this moniker to
Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez &
Louie Vega in 1990),
Dred Stock,
House Of Gypsies,
Lime Life,
Hardhouse and the
Gypsymen.
Todd Terry became one of the best-paid DJ's in both Europe and the United States. He normally performs on four turntables, mostly playing his own tracks.