Defected’s team are very happy with themselves right now. Anyone browsing their social media feeds yesterday would have been left in no doubt at the feeling of euphoria, due to several of their own tying themselves to the right coat tails. Wez Saunders, the empire’s boss, posted this photo of himself, Honey Dijon, Luke Solomon et al – presumably before celebratory drinks became involved…
So why are they feeling so pleased with themselves? Well, Purple Disco Machine – a long-time friend of the label won a Grammy for his remix of Lizzo’s “About Damn Time”, whilst Honey Dijon and Luke Solomon basked in the reflected glory of Beyoncé Knowles’s victory in the Best Dance/Electronic Album category.
Knowles acknowledged the roots of her house music-influenced album “Renaissance” by saying in her speech that “I’d like to thank the queer community for the love, and for inventing the genre”. Presumably, she’s referring to the same queer community which she conveniently forgot about when she appeared in Dubai recently, as covered by Ears To The House yesterday.
Indeed, the collective silence of the dance music world on this awkward subject continued throughout Monday – but there might be financial motives at play here. Back in September last year, we reported on how Defected was looking towards the southern hemisphere in its pursuit of expanding the touring season.
Since then, we’ve heard rumours that Defected have previously considered the idea of touring in Dubai, perhaps as a stage at another festival. It’s unclear exactly when discussions took place, but we understand the idea was shelved due to concerns at Defected that the whole thing could be a PR disaster.
If this rumour is correct, it might suggest that the likes of Honey Dijon and Luke Solomon have further reason to remain quiet over their new friend Beyoncé Knowles and her own association with Dubai. We remain to be convinced otherwise.
Oh, and by the way, as a side note – when Honey Redmond says she won a Grammy…
She didn’t, meaning one of two things has happened here. The first is Redmond has misunderstood the Grammy Awards – the award itself went to Beyoncé Knowles for her album “Renaissance” to which Redmond happens to be a contributor. That doesn’t mean Redmond gets the Grammy. Yes, she should be very pleased with herself for her work on the album, but no, she didn’t win the Grammy.
The second is Redmond isn’t being entirely honest with her audience on purpose. You can decide on this one…
