Simon Dunmore

Defected, In The House

2008.06.11 ::: Words by Toni Tambourine

Defected boss Simon Dunmore is a fanatical collector of vinyl, with over 10,000 records organised by label, and with those he most loves and respects, Motown, Philly, Salsoul, Strictly Rhythm, taking centre-stage. Simon has always had a vision that his own label, Defected, will one day be as revered and respected as those other labels, and that the Defected section will have pride of place in the collection of any self-respecting dance music fan.

Simon began DJing in 1982 and has been working as an A&R man since 1989. This experience, along with an open mind and an ear for a hit go some way to explaining the massive success of Defected, the label he set up in 1999.

Simon’s soul-boy background in West London led inevitably to working in a record shop [the Soul & Disco Centre in Rayners Lane], DJing and promoting his own nights locally and around London, and into journalism, firstly for Blues & Soul, then with a self-produced fanzine, The London Soul Circular. Simon’s suggestion that CeCe Rogers’ Someday was a soul record that should get played on the Northern scene led to him being in receipt of a death threat! He laughs about it now, saying that ‘Whenever I dip into the modern soul scene these days those guys are still playing exactly the same records. I couldn’t ever imagine not being interested in new music.’ For Simon, house music was a natural progression from the jazz, soul and funk he’d grown up with, and he embraced the new era with open arms. It’s an attitude still with him today -always open to new sounds, new artists, and looking forward, not back, though never forgetting his musical roots.

His first A&R job came at Cooltempo, where Simon signed Juliet Roberts and much-loved tracks like River Ocean’s Love and Happiness and Alyus’ Follow Me, as well as working with a varied roster that included the likes of Arrested Development, Gangstarr, Adeva and Shara Nelson. At this time he also remixed the odd track for the label, along with colleagues including Gerald Elms [whose Guitarra G track Simon later signed for Defected, resulting in a massive club hit].

1995 saw a move to AM:PM, the dance division of A&M, where signings [and hits] included Ultra Nate, Mousse T, Alcatraz and Farley and Heller. When the Universal corporation that took over A&M decided to pull the plug on the label despite its high profile and evident success, Simon and colleague Janet Bell decided the time was right to set up on their own. Defected was born on the 1st of January 1999 and a no.8 chart placing for its first release, Soul Searcher’s Can’t Get Enough, was initial confirmation that their gamble was about to pay off.

More than 8 years later, no-one could doubt it, as Defected has become established as one of the premiere dance indies in the world, with a whole string of successes behind it, a whole host of sub-labels, including the recent partnership with US giant Strictly Rhythm, probably the most recognizable branding in the dance music scene, and a virtual patent on the funky vocal house sound that dominates the clubs.

Simon still DJs, with a long-standing residency in Lausanne, regular appearances at Southport where he’s been playing since the event was launched, and of course at Defected nights, though he’s never been one to crave the limelight. A family man, he’s just at happy at home playing with his iPod these days, transferring the collection to yet another new format. Simon mixed the Eivissa 04, 05, 06 and 07 compilations for Defected, as a personal statement both of where the label’s roots lie and where it’s at right now, and as a taster for Defected’s residency in Ibiza, where the label is now ‘In The House’ at Pacha, probably the world’s best-loved nightclub, on Tuesday nights.

Ultimately though, Simon has become well respected as the consummate A&R man, happy to take a back seat and nurture success in the artists/producers he’s signed. ‘Whenever I’m trying to persuade someone to sign with us,’ he says, ‘I always ask them to have a look at the roster of people on our books already. There are people that I’ve been working with now since the A&M days. That doesn’t happen if you don’t treat them well.’

Ever the enthusiast, Simon describes ‘...the buzz of being one of the first people to hear a piece of music you love, and then helping to make it go all the way to become a club anthem,’ as being his prime motivation. It’s a journey he’s made with more than a few tracks now, and a knack that he shows no sign of losing.

Nocturnal: What happened in your career before you started Defected Records?
Simon: I first started in the business as most people do Djing, working in a record store and putting on parties etc .I was working in a shop called Record and Disco Centre first off. It was a very influential shop and I made some important contacts. It was through working there and the contacts that I made that I got a job at cool tempo records in 1989. Soon after The head of A & R left and by default I got his job. I was completely out of my depth but worked all the hours under the sun to make it work.
I was at cool tempo for 5 years and worked with acts like Arrested Development, Gangster and Kenny Thomas and signed things like Juliet Roberts, River Oceans’ Love and Happiness and some cool club records. In 1994 I was approached by A&M records to run the AM:PM dance department. There I was doing remixes for Janet Jackson, Sting and the Police, Ce Ce Peniston and Sounds Of Blackness, whilst signing Ultra Nate – Free, Mousse T – Horny, MJ Cole Sincere etc. Then in 1999 AM merged with Island Record. I was offered a position with Island but felt it was time to move on and actually felt confident enough to set up my own label and on January 1st 1999 Defected Records was started

Nocturnal: Everybody wants to be a DJ or have their own label- what is the reality of being a label boss?
Simon: You have to have a business head. There’s no point in just having great ears if you have no business sense - your business will fail. If you’re lucky enough to have great business acumen and good ears then you’re off to a good start. With A & R you can’t indulge yourselves too much. You have to strike a balance between tracks that are commercially viable and will keep your business afloat and tracks that have kudos and credibility, that sometimes can lose you money but are great to have on the label.

Nocturnal: Do you think the role of A&R manager has changed over the years?
Simon: Dramatically. Certainly when I first started out being involved in Cool Tempo and then AM:PM, really and truly you just had to sign records. You know, you’d hear a record, you’d like it, you’d give it to your marketing guy and they’d take care of everything and you’d go back on the hunt for the next record. And that worked in those days because record sales were such that even if you didn’t have a hit record, you could probably hit enough numbers to make it a justifiable signing and make the business work. Now you have to have more of an overview. You need to have an idea of how to market the track when you sign it, you’re probably doing parties so you need to link the promotion in with them, touring the artist. You have to come up with a multitude of methods for exploiting the records you sign. If you sign a record and it’s a hit, should the guy then do a compilation? The sales and revenue generated from the tracks just ‘aint enough any more; you have to look at all the periphery.

Nocturnal: Ultimately we all know what goes on in Ibiza but what does it mean to you and why is it so important?
Simon: It’s very important to me because I was lucky enough to go out there pre acid house in 1988 with Nicky Holloways club ‘Special Branch’. Since then it’s evolved a lot and during a weeks period you can see almost any DJ you want. It’s become a Mecca for house music aficionados. It’s such a promotional and marketing opportunity for a label like Defected but also the island really is a magical place. It’s not a hippy island for no good reason; the amazing beaches, picturesque coves and the historical aspect is something people don’t talk about. So it’s a special place to me for many reasons.

Nocturnal: Defected In the House is every Tuesday at Pacha Ibiza. Why choose Pacha over all the other venues in Ibiza?
Simon: For us Pacha is the only venue that we consider, because it’s a pure disco. There are great clubs in Ibiza obviously, but none of them really have combination of clubbing and fashion that I think Pacha has. Space is a great club, but for the music we play and the demographic of people who want to come to our nights, to see our DJ’s and listen to what we do, Pacha is the perfect home for us.

Nocturnal: Rumour has it that your artwork and décor has been inspired by Indian buddist gods this year? Can you elaborate on that?
Simon: Well India is a very influential and persuasive setting. The history, culture and general atmosphere of the country simply sucks you in and puts perspective on the way we live our lives in the west. The art associated with Buddism and Hinduism has influenced fashion for some time now, so there is nothing new there. What I did enjoy was the freedom in which people express themselves and hopefully we can bring a little of this to Iberia this summer.

Nocturnal: Tell us about the tracks that you are most excited about on the new Eivissa 08 album this year?
Simon: Almost all the tracks originate from producers or remixers that we have close connections with and it is not about the profile names but about a new breed of talent that is coming through. more and more we are using our travels to meet new producers, it excites me to be involved with dj / producers from all 5 continents. Dance, and in particular House, is probably the most global musical format.

Nocturnal: Now that you’re a grown up, how do you behave on a night out in Ibiza?
Simon: It’s weird. When I do things like go to school and pick my kids up, which is one of the things that reminds me I’m a grown-up, and people asked me what I got up to at the weekend, and I say I was up all night at a club, they look at me as if to say ‘Aren’t you a bit old to be doing that?’ It’s tough, because sometimes you’re in a club and your surrounded by people who are 20 to 30 years old, and you might look at a chick and think ‘Yeah ok!’ and then it hits you that you literally could be her dad! It’s tough, it’s really tough! But you live with it. I feel comfortable in the DJ booth, but sometimes I feel uncomfortable out of it. The bottom line is I love to see people having fun to music, and if it goes off to one off to one of our records it a real buzz. I’ve never wanted to make records, but I feel that what I was always good at was identifying music and telling people about music. When that happens in a club and I can see people react positively I get a real good feeling and don’t feel so uncomfortable any more.

Nocturnal: Last question Sunset or sunrise?
Simon: Sunset definitely. Unless I’ve actually got up to see it rise. Sunrise is great, but at the end of a pretty heavy night... you tend to suffer the day after, so sunsets are a pretty cool moment for me.

::: Related Links

::: www.defected.com

::: 2008.03.25 » WMC 2008 | Defected In The House @ SET [Miami]