Ears To The House https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Wednesday Whisper: rumours, just rumours | February 28, 2024 Wednesday Whisper: rumours, just rumours | July 3, 2024 How much further CAN Tim Westwood fall? Amidst ongoing police probes into sex assault claims, British DJ is now reduced to appearing at Birmingham club – with free entry before 12.30am… DJs Playing Badly: where the DJs fail epically | February 25, 2024 What is it with DJs thinking everyone wants to celebrate their birthday? Now Nervous Records boss Mike Weiss joins the bandwagon – with party at Brooklyn’s Silo next month… You’re supposed to be based in Detroit, not London! A first glimpse at Movement’s lineup reveals Britain’s Fatboy Slim, Chicago’s Honey Dijon, Italy’s Joseph Capriati – and even Mr Human Diazepam is going… “Everything he touches is STILL turning into s**t!”: After another January of festival announcements nears its end, why hasn’t a single date from the Belleville Three tour been revealed yet? Fresh from victory in legal battle with Apple over USB-C chargers, EU sets its eyes firmly on Spotify, demanding they pay more money to artists – so should Daniel Ek quake in his boots yet? There’s still milk in old cows, it seems! Charlotte De Witte launches Époque to promote Belgium’s old techno scene – but their first release is her own rework of Push’s 1998 trance anthem “Universal Nation”… What’s got you feeling so positive, then? Derrick May tells Facebook that “it’s good to be alive” – despite having almost no work lined up and no money (but at least Carl Craig’s standing by him!) Is there any cash cow the house music world WON’T plunder? Sharam reworked 1997’s “House Music” by Eddie Amador – despite already having done two remixes during his Deep Dish years… As Sasha and John Digweed get ready to play together at Poland’s Gdańsk in April, the REAL question that everyone’s talking about – when will Sasha go bottle blonde like his DJing pal? Aren’t they just twitching their knobs instead? Derrick Carter queries the trend of DJs dancing in the booth – saying that Jazzy Jeff and Masters At Work wouldn’t do it… Jesse Saunders proudly proclaims house music will be 40 years old this month with the anniversary of his “On And On” release – but do his grandiose claims stand up to scrutiny? DJing on a bridge between buildings, almost no techno played on the night and a VERY subdued atmosphere: Derrick May’s latest New Year’s Eve – as reviewed by someone who was there… Another complaint from Mutya Buena incoming! As Mixmag publishes a gushing article about the Sugababes – but a vital detail about why “dance music has always been a part” of them is STILL missing… Movement tickets won’t sell themselves, you know! Paxahau fire up Detroit propaganda machine with reference to “originator” Juan Atkins – ready for their flagship event later this year… It WAS a nice little earner for you, though! Mr C says selling his plush LA house “broke him” in his resolutions for 2024 and vows to “be kinder to myself” – but will the ratty musician extend that to others? Maybe bigger is better in this case! Mitxela creates a USB-C MIDI synth that’s about the size of a raspberry – but even its creator admits the “pointless” device only has one function… And some STILL think it was a hoax! Steve Laviniere spent his fourth Christmas away from home after catching Covid-19 in March 2020 – but a fundraiser this weekend hopes to help… You can’t just keep rinsing the 80s and 90s forever! As streaming’s tentacles continue to influence the way people listen to music, where ARE the classics of tomorrow going to come from? Wednesday Whisper: rumours, just rumours | January 3rd, 2024 Here’s Three They Made Earlier: old tunes and older tunes every Monday | January 8, 2024 A TV show with Derrick May that hasn’t been cancelled! Local celebrity Moorish Mudd paid a visit to see Mayday’s grand return to New Year’s Eve at a steakhouse skywalk – but why was there no interview? A brand new year comes with, er, the same old discounts? Pete Tong’s DJ Academy – fresh from its Christmas sale – is offering money off AGAIN to welcome in 2024… Was Whitney Wei the last ever editor-in-chief at Resident Advisor? After she amends her Instagram profile after leaving the job, her former employers will soon be announcing the replacements… Turns out even being an EDM superstar can still get you rejected! David Guetta reveals that Katy Perry turned down the chance to appear on 2011 hit “Titanium”… The Defected backed Faith fanzine doesn’t confront the big issues facing dance music, nor ask any difficult questions in its puff piece interviews – so what IS the point of it? How many more of these stories will there be? Wes Green accuses Steve Poindexter of cheating him out of credits for 1989 release “Computer Madness” – and the story just gets murkier… Thing with illusions is that you can’t keep them up forever! Peggy Gou’s New Year set for Apple Music was promoted by XL over the weekend – and they had to switch their comments off… DJs Playing Badly: where the DJs fail epically | December 31, 2023 Just don’t stick one of her voicemails on your track! As Honey Dijon continues cosying up to Madonna, a cautionary tale from an era when Junior Vasquez used to do the same thing… Not exactly the renaissance of underground dance music, then! Britain’s vinyl sales continued to rise in 2023 – with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran the best sellers… DJs Playing Badly: where the DJs fail epically | December 26, 2023 Saturday Recap: because the week is busy| December 30, 2023 So where IS Derrick May’s New Year’s Eve gig for 2023? Er, at the Hanah Steakhouse in Detroit alongside Kevin Saunderson – but not Juan Atkins, for some reason… Will Donald Trump be releasing one as well? Barack Obama put out a list of his favourite tracks of the year – and John Summit’s “Where You Are” is apparently on it… Nice to see the important topics being discussed! Lithuania’s Somniac One asks her fans for their opinions on DJs’ horizontal activities – and a lot of her industry colleagues are VERY quiet… You DJs realise you’d be nothing without singers, right? Defected proudly showcase Jazzy singing “Giving Me” – whilst Belters Only are reduced to background bit players… Why DO they continue to praise this man? Back In The House posts yet again about Erick Morillo doing a $300 Paris gig in 1995 – but make no mention of THOSE rape allegations… Did Defected REALLY try to find a venue in Antarctica? As label mysteriously goes silent on Instagram, Wez Saunders makes suspect claim in end of year address – so we looked at whether it could actually be done… So what’s Tim Westwood doing with himself these days? Er, welcoming in the New Year in Birmingham – and even letting people come to the club for free until 12.30am… DJs Playing Badly: where the DJs fail epically | January 7th, 2024 Have we had too much to drink this Christmas? Defected are selling earplugs on their site – but one of our colleagues thinks there’s something they’ve missed… “Neither something sought nor encouraged!”: Lucozade’s less than charming response in unearthed letter to British raver who suggested they embrace Britain’s acid house scene in the 1980s… Britain’s government announced a crackdown on drink spiking days before Christmas – then the Home Secretary joked about giving his own wife a date-rape drug… Merry Christmas from Ears To The House! What’s with the high paying jobs all of a sudden? Resident Advisor’s hiring spree hasn’t stopped over Christmas – and Whitney Wei’s replacement is to be announced soon… But we don’t want to pay out more money! Spotify throw a temper tantrum by pulling out of two French festivals – and all because France has put a streaming levy on the site… As the dance music world fawns over Ron Carroll’s death from a heart attack at 57, our Editor delivers a few home truths – and explains why we’re not coming back anytime soon…