When it comes to old school sounds and a knack for shuffling through vinyl, one of the best DJs we can think of in town is Sherman C. of Selector Records and Telomere Plastic. We met Sherman while he was out jamming to good House Music. He said that night, he learned that we had the same passions for playing records, spreading good vibes, and general appreciation for mixing records, and blending sounds and styles.
For Sherman, his sounds can get a little wild. He’ll often play deeper sounds that’s more on the trippy side of House, like Groovy, Minimal, and Chicago/Midwest styles. He loves Acid House and has been known to play some Electro and Breaks. Stylewise, he loves to play on vinyl records. This is the most comfortable for him, especially when he can find crazy records he did not know existed in his record store (which you should definitely check out!). He says that sometimes it can be a bit tougher pulling records for sets this way, but it’s worth it.
Sherman stands out by taking exciting risks. He will play some fairly obscure sounds vs. a track that most people will recognize and challenge his audience, which is super enticing and sets him apart. He grew up around music and this made him want to learn about it in more depth, which encouraged him to dig further and find components of music that sounded unique and different rather than what was on all the time. He carried these early learnings and insights with music into his present day career – he wants to carry the tradition of excitement that blows his and his audience’s minds.
He started buying records on vinyl in 1993 after being exposed to the rave scene in Seattle. He wanted to try and find some of this kind of music for his own personal collection. He was always into records and tapes as a kid with various genres: punk rock, hip hop, and more. In 1994, he got his first taste of actually mixing records together and he’s not been able to stop since.
DJ Spun from San Jose was the first DJ he ever noticed, as he was the headliner at the first rave he went to in 1992. Sherman cites DJ Spun as his original and main influence as far as underground dance music goes.
In Seattle, Sherman has played at some notable underground venues, like Vinylized, a true rave venue that was, in his words, “kind of crusty, multiple rooms, hard to find, gritty, and had a crazy basement.” This venue was only around a few years, but it helped shape the beginnings of his DJing career in the city as he got to practice his wax-playing skills in a safe and fun environment. It was a true gem.
He also has dabbled in the production side of music and has some tracks in the works right now. They’re more on the Electro tip of the spectrum, but we cannot wait to hear them. The main tools he utilizes are Critter & Guitari Organelle to run custom patches and his own sample kits. He’ll then run those through various effect boxes, one being the Electro Harmonix Memory Man. Also in his toolkit is a Roland Alpha Juno-1, Sherman Filterbank, Bass Bot TT-303, and an Octatrack MK2 to spice things up.
Sherman opened up about a production “slump” he’s been in for the past couple of years. We mention his record store briefly above, Selector Records, but this is his baby and it’s been all-consuming for him lately. He shelved the production and worked hard to make the record store his main means of income, but he’s recently jumped back into the production game and has felt re-inspired by the fresh energy and music coming out of the pandemic. Genuinely finding joy in noodling around with different hardware, he hopes to accomplish some projects very soon. He’ll have some tracks coming out on a couple various Telomere Plastic releases soon.
We asked Sherman if he could collaborate with any artist in the world, who would it be, and he said, “hands down, Mark Ambrose and Max Gaef.” We really appreciate Sherman’s perspective, knowledge about music, and his approach to creating a vibe. We hope you can check out his record shop, Selector, and join one of the fun pop-up events he throws there soon.
