Ears To The House is sometimes asked just what it is exactly that we have against the dance music press. To which we ask – how much time have you got? We think those who write the stories are often too close to their subjects, and we think they back away from covering certain topics as they fear a backlash from their advertisers.
It also doesn’t help that some writers within dance music seem to suffer bouts of amnesia when it comes to their previous work. Two years ago, Annabel Ross wrote a detailed article revealing numerous allegations of sexual abuse made by Derrick May. She wasn’t the first to make claims about him, but hers were probably the most prominently reported.
Since then, she’s kept herself busy – once accusing the editor-in-chief of this site of being a misogynist. Nonetheless, Ears To The House was the first – and one of very few – outlets who defended her against a disgusting meme being shared by Carl Craig and Alexander Omar Smith. Those within the dance music scene have no right to attack legitimate journalism, regardless of whether they like it or not.
But after reading her current article in Vice – all about allegations of Beatport essentially not being a terribly nice place to work – we were rather mystified to read the following…
“The Belleville Three was made up of Black musicians Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May. In the 1980s, they made trips from Detroit to a burgeoning Chicago house music scene, which was spearheaded predominantly by gay Black DJs such as Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. Back home, the Belleville Three created a new and influential genre: Detroit techno.”
Do we really have to explain what Ross has got wrong here? It seems so. Techno was not invented in Detroit – it certainly evolved in the city, but it was not invented there. Infact, it wasn’t invented anywhere – like all sounds, it evolved from influences such as Germany’s Kraftwerk.
And is there any specific explanation why Ross hasn’t referred to the multiple allegations of sexual abuse from multiple sources that Derrick May faces? She was a crucial figure in bringing the story to the world’s attention, after all. Indeed, the only other reference to him is a curious anecdote where Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels apparently sticks the Belleville Three into a Google search.
We shall have a closer look at this insanely long piece very soon – after we stop pondering whether any music outlet these days employs any editors…
