This might be hard to believe for more recent readers, but Chicago producer Sterling Void was a crucial factor in how Ears To The House came to be. Back in 2019, our editor started coming across allegations of impropriety on Void’s part – including claims of forging signatures, stealing the work of others, and trying to con people out of money.

Thinking that the dance music press might be interested in such stories about someone so well-known in house music history, he contacted a number of outlets to see whether they wanted them. Tellingly, not a single one ever responded – and he was left wondering just what on earth else was going unreported.

So he started reporting those stories himself. Over the next few months, other people got in touch with other stories that the dance music press weren’t covering – leading to him eventually taking the plunge and launching the website you’re on right now.

So when this story arrived in the inbox yesterday – and thanks to the kind soul who sent it in our direction – we weren’t exactly surprised. For it appears that Sterling Void – real name Duane Pelt – has been up to his old tricks again, and got called out for it by fellow Chicago-based DJ Michael Winston…

Pelt has since removed all links to the “new mix” and any mentions of it on his current Facebook page – a quick search by the Ears To The House team reveal that at least six different personal pages exist under either the “Duane Pelt” or “Sterling Void” names, itself a violation of the social media site’s rules.

No, it’s not quite up there with the time we previously reported on how his mother has died no less than three times – along with a fundraiser for her second “death” seeking $152 to pay for a funeral. But it’s certainly evidence that for Pelt, old habits die very hard indeed…

If you’ve got a story for Ears To The House that the dance music press isn’t covering, do send us an email…