Here at Ears To The House, we try to see things from as many angles as possible. Which is why when we first discovered that Annabel Ross was being sent by Mixmag to cover Movement Detroit – all at their expense – our first reaction was almost one of sympathy.
The harsh fact is a large number of names in Detroit techno still support Derrick May – despite the fact he is accused of sexual abuse by multiple women. Annabel Ross was one of the journalists whom rightly brought this story out in the open – and rest assured that she won no friends in the city by doing so.
So what was responsible for Mixmag’s decision to dispatch Ross to the event? A dance music press source tells us “It’s a strange one. Mixmag have their own staff. They have their own editors. The decision to send Annabel caused a stir when it was first announced. How did they honestly think Detroit techno’s world would respond to her presence?”.
The lack of actual journalism in Ross’s article was reported here yesterday, and it was also covered very extensively by the mischievous Michael James. However, it turns out there were two people whom Ross was very keen to speak to at Movement – but would they be as keen to speak to her?
The two women in question were mysteriously rising star Ash Lauryn and her sister Ann-Marie Teasley – who produces music under The AM alias. A few years ago, Lauryn was a relative unknown, yet now performs internationally – whilst branding herself as a Detroit star despite being from Atlanta.
As for Ann-Marie, Ears To The House understands she also hopes to follow in her sister’s footsteps. So, how would these two young women respond to Ross when she approached them for an interview? Would they be willing to speak to the favourite doyenne of the dance music press?
The answer to that question, as Ross painfully found out, was an emphatic no. The accounts that we’ve received from our regular Detroit sources conflict somewhat on what happened – one claimed that Ross was warned not to bother asking them, whereas another said the two sisters simply politely turned her request down when approached.
Both sources, however, were adamant that the sisters had been put under pressure not to speak to Ross – although neither could definitively state who was applying this pressure. What is known, however, is that Movement and Annabel Ross have an uneasy history – caused by the decision to ban her from last year’s event after Carl Craig’s temper tantrum over her appearance.
Was the cherry blossom poisoning from licking Detroit’s boots – as one source put it yesterday – worth it for Annabel Ross? It’s increasingly looking like it wasn’t…
