Do you know who Terry Lee Brown, Jr. is? Some may say no. Yet Norman Feller, under the guise of Terry Lee Brown, Jr., has been creating the sound that has been defining the standard of techno house for years. With his newest full length release, "Chocolate Chords", and his mix CD "Terry's Cafe", Feller has established himself as a production genius and an accomplished DJ. Although gaining notoriety as Terry Lee Brown Jr., 25 year old Feller has been producing tracks since 1993 under numerous production alter egos: Norman, Phasis, DJ Tom and Norman, Lesamis, Lectric Cargo, Watchman, Twisted Minds, and Wax Scientists. All spanning over labels such as Plastic City (Germany, UK, and USA), Phuture Wax, Overdrive, Sony Music, Harthouse, Planet Rhythm, and Time Unlimited. Born, raised, and still living in Darmstadt, Germany, Feller described music in Germany as harder rave music. Some of Feller's earlier works reflected this. "I heard enough hard beats and I wanted to build another style," Feller said explaining his change over from harder to housier music. He noted that house music's groove and tempo initially drew him to it. All it takes is one listen of Chocolate Chords to realize that Terry Lee Brown Jr. does not mess around. His amazing production gives the album such a thick deep rich sound, as if you are tasting chocolate cake for the first time. The production is so clean, in fact, that one of his only criticisms has been that that his music is "over produced", implying that it is too crisp. Feller approaches this criticism with excitement, "When someone says that my album is overproduced, I take it as a compliment...for me that is the way I produce music." His music, because of this quality, definitely takes the listener on a journey. "I produce music for clubs and for home listening, to dance to or relax and lay down to," he explains. Unlike his '96 release, "Brother for Real" (which was voted by Muzik Magazine as one of the top 10 albums of '96), Chocolate Chords was intended to be listened to from beginning to end, tieing each song together with smooth transitions and deep grooves. Brother for Real was more of a compilation for Feller, of tracks written over a 2 year period. Chocolate Chords on the other hand, took an astounding 3 months to complete, explaining in part its unifying sound, fusing techno, jazz, and house elements. Terry Lee Brown Jr.'s music illustrates Feller's wide musical tastes, ranging from symphony orchestration to the likes of Barry White. "I listen to everything...it is very important to listen to more than one style of music," Feller responds, "My father is a rock 'n roller, I listen to rock 'n roll as well." Chocolate Chords exemplifies this diversity. From the eclectic "Looking Beyond", with its damp acid quirks over a soothing warm chords, to "Here We Go" and its ethereal groove, to the pounding kick yet hypnotising synth chords of "Magic Prison", Chocolate Chords takes you there. In a production career spanning only a little over 5 years, Norman Feller has weaved 2 hit albums of his own material, numerous successful singles under various aliases on many labels, and now presents us with his DJing skills on "Terry's Cafe" mix CD on Plastic City. Expect to hear Terry Lee Brown Jr. mixing it up sometime later this year in the U.S. He is likely to appear at Twilo in NYC, so prepare yourselves northeasters. He is also slated to release 3 new singles this year and probably by the fall to the end of the year may yield yet another full length. Norman Feller has taken the reigns of the techno house movement, along with labelmate Timewriter, expect Plastic City to set the standard thanks to these guys. Talented and praised by the likes of Sasha and Digweed, Feller exemplifies a spirit and passion that house music has been searching for.

interview by Dan Deliverance

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