Interview with Defected boss Simon Dunmore

Simon Dunmore has been at the vanguard of electronic music for nigh on twenty years now. As a touring DJ, he has played at some of the world’s most seminal nightspots. His biggest and most renowned endeavour, however, is as the boss of the all-conquering Defected imprint. A dizzying label that’s brought more than a semblance of professionalism to the industry in recent years, Defected is as responsible for chart-bothering house as it is more ‘underground’ anthems, with FCL’s ‘It’s You’ serving up a recent case in point. With Simon touching down in London’s Cable soon for a special hometown gig at Connected the 27th April, we decided to get in touch with the man himself…

How are you, what’s kept you busy recently?

All good. Mixing the Ibiza compilation. Programming our new residencies for the summer. Getting together our FCL remixes. Compiling the next For The Love Of House release….absolutely non stop to be honest.

What is the average day in your life like? What are the jobs you do most often?

I am not trying to be clever but I do not feel that I have an average day or life.  The fact of being involved in music from releases, events to managing careers brings new challenges and roles (demands) each and every day.

The label has re-invigorated itself recently by picking up plenty of tunes for big re-releases, has that been a conscious change in direction or…?

I do not think we changed direction. I think that the scene moved back towards us. I think we have been pretty consistent for almost 15 years now.

MK cites you as the reason he got back into the game after you enquired about his back catalogue… how do you feel about that? Is it a buzz?

Did he really say that? His music from back in the day is why the scene has real longevity and why I do what I do….I guess we are even.

Do you spend much time listening to demos for new signings or are you looking for people with something of a profile?

I / we constantly look for new talent. I feel we have the right balance between established and new artists.

How important is Ibiza to the Defected operation? Is it still a key place to be for you?

It is key because clubbing is the true end point of what we all do. Ibiza has become a meeting point for the global clubbing community. Therefore it important to have a presence there.

AS for your own DJing, do you ever get time to search few new music, go out and buy records etc?

All the above gives me access to new music. I listen to my staff and producers we work with, it gives me a broad perspective of what is going on. I often embark on a digital store trawl but the amount of music available is pretty over whelming.

What sort of things you feeling/playing right now?

House…just House.

What else you got coming up?

We are doing a stage at the We Are festival in May. We just sealed a deal for Loco Dice In The House which will be released in July….I am kinda happy about that.

What do you like to do away from music?

Family time. Catch the odd game of football….to be honest there is not much time for much else. 

Simon plays Connected at Cable on Saturday April 27th..

http://www.connectedevents.co.uk/

www.defected.com