Defected In The House: Simon Dunmore

You guys were one of the first to bring back classic tracks for big re-releases is it rewarding to see so many other labels follow suit years later?

Yeah in that respect I think the scene moved back towards us. We’ve always mixed up our content with classic sounds of the past from some of the electronic music industry’s legendary figures with cutting edge names and fresh talent who’ll be the stars of tomorrow. We have no bias towards anything other than towards music that we love and believe in. We’re constantly looking for new talent and I think we have the right balance between emerging and established acts.

Over the years you must have seen a lot of changes. How do you feel about the current rise of electronic music in mainstream pop culture with dance acts now regularly topping the commercial charts?

What people forget is that the major labels are still a business and in most instances these huge corporations are only out to make as much money as possible. They’re only interested in releasing music that can do serious numbers. Whereas when you have your own label you can indulge yourself with music you believe in as to its quality and that’s a freedom I massively enjoy.

Secondly, It’s funny because in regards to the internet it wasn’t that long ago that people were claiming dance music was dead, a relic of a bygone era and that the scene was on its way out due to people downloading and the whole internet/file sharing business. Now it has turned out to be the exact opposite with the internet bringing together the scene from all over the world and the house music scene in particular seems to communicate well with fans across the world. So in my opinion it gave dance music a new impetus and really introduced electronic music to a whole new generation and parts of the world wherein this type of music wasn’t previously available. Think about it, now if a kid in Rio wants to hear one of our releases or a mix then they can jump on the internet and stream it and find out what it’s all about the same way a kid in London can. That’s why it’s such a globalized industry now. It’s much more open and accessible than ever before.

It must be nice to travel around the world and meet people who are fans of what you are doing.

Definitely. I’m incredibly thankful that people like what we’re doing as without them  and their support we simply couldn’t do it. I think part of our appeal is that we do draw influence from a wider spectrum than just house. House music is and always will be our main focus but you can definitely hear influences from disco records, soul records and lots of different jazz records with a lot of our output.

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