The 4th December marks our CEO and founder Simon Dunmore’s 30th year in the music industry. His unerring dedication to Defected and to music is a daily inspiration for us all, and we’ve all been honoured to work alongside him. Long may it continue.
WORDS: NICK GORDON BROWN
Simon Dunmore lives and breathes house music. Marrying the sharpest of A&R ears and an astute business brain to this passion has enabled him to create a unique legacy championing the scene he loves. His commitment and level of success over the last 30+ years in the house scene is unparalleled.
Early musical loves included both rockabilly and 2 Tone, before the New Romantic scene led him to disco, from where he found his way to soul music. Avidly collecting releases from the likes of Salsoul and Philadelphia International, he soon progressed to DJing, the money from bar gigs helping to feed the vinyl habit. Promoting events in and around West London, he booked DJs such as Gilles Peterson and Bob Jones, and handed a debut gig to a young duo named Rocky and Diesel. As well as DJs, he also put on soul acts like Sam Dees, Lew Kirton and Jessie James; and soon found himself writing for the lauded Blues & Soul Magazine.
Simon landed a job at the influential Rayners Lane Record & Disco Centre in the momentous year of 1988. From here he moved to Cooltempo Records at the tail end of 1989, where for some five years he played a pivotal role not only with the likes of Shara Nelson, Kenny Thomas, and hip hop legends Arrested Development and Gang Starr; but also in helping the label establish a firm foothold in house (with acts such as Adeva, Juliet Roberts and River Ocean – his first tie up with Masters At Work).
View this post on Instagram
This caught the eye of A&M, who in 1994 brought him in to develop their dance imprint AM:PM. Uniquely within the major label sphere, Simon focused on a distinct musical identity rather than constantly genre jumping in search of a quick hit. House heads quickly learned to trust a label that delivered quality tunes by the likes of Alcatraz, Ultra Nate, Mousse T. and Heller & Farley. Such was the impression that he made on the label hierarchy, that he was also brought into the A&R team for major chart acts such as The Police and Janet Jackson, ensuring the dancefloor played a key part in their respective promotional strategies.
Gaining an insight into how cutting-edge independent labels work inspired Simon to launch Defected. Over two decades Defected has constantly demonstrated the ability to compete with the majors by crossing club tracks into the charts, from debut release Soulsearcher’s ‘I Can’t Get Enough’ (1999) via the likes of ‘Another Chance’ by Roger Sanchez (2001), Bob Sinclar’s ‘Love Generation’ (2005), Fish Go Deep’s The Cure and the Cause (2006) and Storm Queen’s ‘Look Right Through’ (2013), to CamelPhat & Elderbrook’s inescapable, Grammy-nominated ‘Cola’ in 2017. Alongside the hits have been stone cold club classics from the likes of Kings of Tomorrow, Âme, Tensnake, MK, Pete Heller’s Big Love, Masters at Work and Dennis Ferrer; and timeless dancefloor fillers from an international array of artists. Defected (along with sister labels DFTD and Glitterbox) continues to work with the great and the good of house music, be it artists with decades’ worth of experience under their belts with whom Simon has forged long term relationships based on mutual trust and respect; or new breed producers who have grown up with Defected and see working with them as a career goal.
Simon has stuck to his guns, never erring in his belief that there will always be a market for quality house music. Defected’s longevity is also down in no small part to the ability of Simon and his team to adapt to the ever-changing music industry landscape, successfully managing the switch from vinyl and CDs to downloading and streaming; and quickly realising the possibilities of digital marketing and social media. As Simon told DJ Mag when referencing the Solomun mix of Noir and Haze’s ‘Around’, with its 91,000,000 YouTube views, “it was a hit in the modern music industry, which isn’t always about radio play and sales.”
Defected has acquired notable heritage catalogues, including Movin’, Nu Groove Records, Slip’n’Slide and Soulfuric. On picking up the much-loved Classic Music Company, Simon was convinced the label had the relevance and reputation to be a contemporary force. He invited its creator Luke Solomon to work alongside him with Classic as part of the Defected label family, and it has gone from strength to strength with an enviable roster of talent, including Honey Dijon, Oliver Dollar, Folamour and Mike Dunn.
Glitterbox exemplifies so much of what makes Simon special: his enviable knowledge of music and clubbing history, an eye for detail, and innate sense of timing. Allied to his dedication, it has meant that a night that started in 2014 in Ibiza because (as he told Ministry of Sound) “we felt that there was a lack of flamboyance, extravagance and expression on Ibiza and we wanted to fill that gap,” has become a global phenomenon. It is central to Defected’s position as a world class events outfit, which also encompasses touring clubs and festivals worldwide; hugely popular Ibiza residencies since 2005; the mighty Defected Croatia festival, celebrating its 5thedition in 2020; and Defected London FSTVL, launched in 2019 to mark the label’s 20th year.
Winner of the Outstanding Achievement award at 2012's International Music Summit, 2019 saw Simon acknowledged for his Outstanding Contribution at the DJ Awards. While in many walks of life such recognition comes towards the end of a career, Simon shows no signs of slowing down. He remains hugely in demand as a DJ, lighting up dancefloors wherever he goes. Defected is now moving into the media world, activity which will dovetail with both the labels and events. Always adapting, always evolving, while remaining true to the company’s core message: House Music All Life Long.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
