The whole world knows that Richard West – the 58-year-old DJ professionally known as Mr C – is a polite man who thinks we should #BeKind to each other, as you never know what they might be going through. We know this because West forever parades his own credentials through his Facebook page – even though he shows little concern for the welfare of those whom he disagrees.

West is known for his habit of apparently speaking out about things going on within the scene – an assessment which Ears To The House considers overly generous. For instance, he spoke out fervently against Erick Morillo in the days after his death in September 2020 – castigating the DJs who were busily idolising or dismissing the rape charge against him as simply a sign of Morillo being “troubled”.

However, there are subjects where West has been surprisingly quiet. For instance, the normally loudly spoken Londoner has had remarkably little to say on the ongoing discussion into techno’s history. As someone who was there in dance music’s early days, his insight could be valuable – but he’s chosen not to provide any.

And now, we might have discovered why he’s decided to hold his tongue – his Superfreq brand have organised a night in London where a number of well-known names from the Detroit techno world are playing…

So what’s the issue here? Three years ago, Derrick May was accused of sexual abuse by numerous different women – allegations that he has never convincingly denied. Since then, many of Detroit techno’s names have stood by him – some publicly, but most have done so in private.

By speaking out publicly, might it be possible that West would end up antagonising those whom he hoped to book? After all, having legacy names from Detroit’s scene at his London event gives it significant credibility – especially in a time where dance music is frequently accused of forgetting its own roots.

It’s hard to establish what West’s own views actually are. For instance, he recently posted on his Mr C Facebook page that “Juan Atkins is the originator of techno!” – but made little attempt in the comments to engage with anyone, leading to suspicions that West was simply posing the question to keep the social media algorithm on his side.

Then again, Ears To The House understands West has spent quite some time trying to persuade Atkins to fly out to London for his July 15th event. So far, Atkins has resisted his advances – Detroit sources tell us that his poor health is currently limiting the amount of work he can do.

Perhaps we shall have to wait until July 16th before West’s real views on Detroit techno history become public knowledge…