The other day, I wrote about the release of Phase 1 listings for Defected Croatia 2022, due to take place in August. I couldn’t help but notice it looked awfully similar to the lineup for this year’s festival – leading me to wonder if two for one offers were a thing amongst DJs desperate for bookings.

One new name, however, was Detroit native Ash Lauryn. You might remember she’s been on the blog before – and she didn’t like it. Before petulantly blocking the Amateur’s House Twitter account, accusing this of being a “cheap ass blog spreading lies about me”. To this day, she has failed to point out a single “lie” about her published on the site.

And the fact she’s on a lineup for a festival like Defected Croatia has not gone down well in her native Detroit. One producer who has previously appeared on the label accused her of “chasing money. She’s just looking for a big payday. We’ve noticed her track selections have got more commercial this year – maybe this is why”.

Another source questioned why she was working with a company like Defected, saying “Defected are a bunch of f***ing colonialists. They sign up s*** from black people and it’s rich white guys who benefit. Getting involved with a company like that is a bad idea – I hope the money’s worth it”.

However, the opposition isn’t entirely universal. One of the earliest producers of Detroit techno got in touch with this blog and agreed to be quoted on condition of anonymity. He said “I’m f***ing jealous, to be honest. Ash is brilliant at marketing herself and is trying to push the envelope forward. I, for one, couldn’t be any happier for her”.

As ever, you can make up your own minds on this one…