Since the beginning of the year, Defected has done something rather unusual – it’s gone quiet. Regular Ears To The House readers might have noticed that the label appears to have deleted everything on its Instagram page today – with visitors being greeted with a sea of black instead of the normal promotional material.

So what’s going on? Well, Ears To The House can categorically reassure you that nothing suspect has happened and that all is well – whilst the company itself is staying silent, a well-placed source with close links to the business reveals it’s “just a bit of a relaunch due to take place shortly”. Sadly, he wouldn’t share any further details – so we shall just have to keep our eyes peeled.

But shortly before this bizarre period of quiet began at Defected HQ, boss Wez Saunders posted a message on his own Instagram page reflecting on the year that’s just gone by. And he made a rather curious claim in it – that they wanted to find a venue in Antarctica, but couldn’t.

Is the claim true, and would it even be possible? Going back to our earlier source to answer the first question, he simply said “I don’t know, but knowing what I do about George [Pritchard], I think it’s entirely plausible that they did at least explore the idea, however briefly.”.

As for whether it’s even possible to do it, the answer is apparently yes. In 2013, Metallica did do a gig in Antarctica- it was appropriately titled the Freeze ‘Em All concert. The concert took place at the Argentine Antarctica Base Carlini close to the heliport and was attended by 120 people – taking place inside a dome to protect the crowd from harsh weather conditions.

Respecting the International Antarctic Protocol, the show had to be played without amplifiers – and everyone in attendance wore headphones, much like at a silent disco. It would certainly have been an interesting look at a Defected event, that’s for sure…