Over the past couple of days, I’ve received a few complaints about my recent coverage of Defected and their forthcoming festival in Croatia. They seem to harbour the truly weird impression that I would be happy to see Defected Croatia being cancelled.

Far from it. It would sadden me immensely if they had to cancel for the second consecutive year. Reading about festivals deciding to postpone for another year is not something I enjoy. For better or worse, they’re part of the lifeblood of the scene now. If they’re in trouble, we’re all in trouble.

And I’m well aware there are financial implications too. Now, there is absolutely no suggestion from me that Defected is in financial trouble, but the cancellation of Croatia last year and all the other events the label is associated with are bound to have hit the company.

As much as I criticise Defected on this blog, it’s because I want them to do well. I don’t believe they’re a bad force in dance music, but I think they could do a better job in representing the scene. The launch of labels like Sondela, for example, could be a very good thing if done right.

Seeing tweets like this from Simon Dunmore…

Site build underway… Just over 2 weeks! 🇭🇷 #DefectedCroatia pic.twitter.com/TCP3qvKwKz

— Simon Dunmore (@SimonDunmore) July 20, 2021

It makes me smile. There’s no other way to put it. I hope it all goes ahead and they end up with a successful and safe event. I also sincerely hope that everyone going remembers the pandemic isn’t over and takes the necessary precautions.

Everything clear now? Right, back to business…