Many of the DJs in the higher echelons of this industry are walking, talking contradictions. On the one hand, they retain many of the ideals that clubbers during the second summer of love in 1988 did – some of them were even there at the time. But on the other hand, they’re also desperate to make lots of money too.

In a way, Ears To The House doesn’t entirely blame them for their greed. Being a touring DJ is an expensive game, and many of them have staff they need to pay. In many cases, they’re not just DJs now – they’re bosses with a duty of care towards their employees, not to mention a duty to pay them.

This is why they end up playing in countries such as the human rights abusing Saudi Arabia – Carl Cox received a reported $175,000 for his appearance at MDL Beast Soundstorm last year. And another person with an equally curious record in this area is Peggy Gou – which is further compounded by her changing statements over time.

In September 2018, Gou cancelled a gig at DGTL in Tel Aviv, claiming on social media that “After seeing a number of people whose ideologies I respect initiate a cultural boycott of Israel, I have decided to join them. I sincerely hope that the conflict is resolved as soon as possible.” – she subsequently went on to play at Tel Aviv on June 9th this year, with the Israel-Palestine conflict apparently unresolved.

Early in 2020, she told i-D Magazine that “It doesn’t matter if it’s Israel or North Korea… if there’s people who want to hear my music, I will go. I don’t give a f***’. And yet here she is quoted in Mixmag only this week saying this…

“I feel it’s important we continue to talk about gender, sexuality and race inequality in the music industry and on the dancefloor, as it is important that we continue to encourage and celebrate diversity within the party scene.”

Consistency seems to be too much to ask for here, doesn’t it?