Ears To The House

05/07/2024

Back in the days when Ears To The House was a one-man band - indeed, before this site was even called Ears To The House - we published an article about how Mutya Buena of Sugababes fame was seemingly being kept a distance away from a release she was involved with. Buena herself subsequently got in touch, and she wasn't happy…...

Back in the days when Ears To The House was a one-man band - indeed, before this site was even called Ears To The House - we published an article about how Muty

03/07/2024

Welcome back to another edition of Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or an anecdote circulating in the dance music world. This is where you'll find the sort of stories that are just a little bit too hot for our lawyers... This week, even the most underground dance music heads out there can't fail to have noticed that Taylor Swift is in the middle of a very long tour at the moment....

Welcome back to another edition of Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or an anecdote circulating in the dance music world. This

02/07/2024

Out of all the people one might imagine would end up involved in pioneering hip-hop, Timothy Westwood was an unlikely candidate - but such was the destiny for the son of Bill Westwood, himself a bishop in the Church of England. Indeed, as Britain's Daily Mail once put it, "the only 'hood' he would have been familiar with growing up was the one on his anorak"....

Out of all the people one might imagine would end up involved in pioneering hip-hop, Timothy Westwood was an unlikely candidate - but such was the destiny for t

10/03/2024

DJs Playing Badly: where the DJs fail epically | February 4, 2024

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0yMOxXLd2m/?igsh=MWRoYzY4NDRndzRzYQ==

04/03/2024

As the world continues to muddle through the strangest Monday since, well, the last one, there is at least one person out there who continues to see the positive side of things. Indeed, the only surprise in the Ears To The House office is who exactly it was - for it's none other than Derrick May himself. Yes, Detroit's 61-year-old most occasional DJ took to social media last week to issue a message to the world - and we're not sure whether it's because he really believes it or simply because plank lover Mike Weston has told him to....

As the world continues to muddle through the strangest Monday since, well, the last one, there is at least one person out there who continues to see the positiv

28/02/2024

Welcome back to another edition of Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or an anecdote circulating in the dance music world. This is where you'll find the sort of stories that are just a little bit too hot for our lawyers... This week, which long-time DJ is currently the subject of some unkind questions about his relentlessly burgeoning waistline?...

Welcome back to another edition of Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or an anecdote circulating in the dance music world. This

22/02/2024

Back once again with the ill behaviour - Ears To The House returns this coming Sunday. We've got a few things we want to say...

05/02/2024

A long time ago, launching a record label was a serious endeavour that required serious work. Releasing music used to cost large amounts of money with no guarantees of recouping it - hence why a lot of the early labels were part of bigger media conglomerates or had substantial financial backing. Those days are long gone. All that's now needed is a name, a logo, and some kind of online distribution service - at which point, you can launch your label and get your music onto whichever download and streaming sites that you like....

A long time ago, launching a record label was a serious endeavour that required serious work. Releasing music used to cost large amounts of money with no guaran

29/01/2024

Turning a one-off festival into an annual event isn't something that comes naturally to many - and a lot of people have tried and failed in the process. Kudos, therefore, to Detroit's Movement Electronic Festival, who launched on shaky ground many years ago, but has since become one of the stand-out events of the festival season. But one thing that's hard to deny is that the Paxahau owned festival has changed significantly over the years - not least in the fact their lineup is much more international these days than it used to be....

Turning a one-off festival into an annual event isn't something that comes naturally to many - and a lot of people have tried and failed in the process. Kudos,

29/01/2024

There's not many things that cause sleepless nights to those running big corporations - but facing a potentially even bigger adversary might just be one of them. Just ask Tim Cook at Apple - who found himself in precisely this situation only recently, and found himself firmly on the losing side. A few years ago, the European Union decreed that new devices being sold in its territory would have to use USB-C charging ports....

There's not many things that cause sleepless nights to those running big corporations - but facing a potentially even bigger adversary might just be one of them

29/01/2024

The year 2023 ended in a very muted manner for Derrick May - performing a DJ set on a skywalk at a Detroit steakhouse alongside Kevin Saunderson, D Wynn, and Insane Who Sane. May played a rather slow set for an hour, and even got to meet local celebrity Moorish Mudd - but it was a stark contrast from his glorious appearance in South Korea just four years earlier....

The year 2023 ended in a very muted manner for Derrick May - performing a DJ set on a skywalk at a Detroit steakhouse alongside Kevin Saunderson, D Wynn, and In

12/01/2024

When you sit down and think about it, there are some seriously strange things about house music that you just don't see elsewhere. Such as the propensity to release house records that are about house records - rockers don't make tracks with lyrics defining what rock music is, after all. One of the most famous is Eddie Amador's "House Music" from 1997 - probably the track which made him famous, although the…...

When you sit down and think about it, there are some seriously strange things about house music that you just don't see elsewhere. Such as the propensity to rel

10/01/2024

Welcome back to another edition of the Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or story circulating in the dance music world. Namely, the sort of stories that are just a little bit too hot for our lawyers. Now, DJs having underwear thrown at them during their sets by over-excited ladies isn't unheard of in the dance music scene - but which tech-house bro DJ is currently trying to keep a certain aspect of this under wraps?...

Welcome back to another edition of the Wednesday Whisper - our midweek column where we talk about a rumour or story circulating in the dance music world. Namely

10/01/2024

There are certain phrases and names in the dance music world that make some people very excited indeed - and two names who certainly have that effect are Sasha and John Digweed. The two DJs first met in the early 90s and started working together - honing their technical skills and talents for selecting the right records to play. Indeed, for many years, witnessing the two of them playing together was all but impossible - their own separate DJing schedules simply didn't allow it....

There are certain phrases and names in the dance music world that make some people very excited indeed - and two names who certainly have that effect are Sasha

10/01/2024

Angel numbers are divine messages that are believed to be sent from the spiritual realm. If you’ve noticed that a particular number sequence appears around you repeatedly, you might be experiencing an angel number phenomenon. These are sequences of numbers that are believed to hold a special meaning and significance. The ultimate meaning of the 1942 angel number centers around creativity and expression....

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1r5nsYAwVg/?igsh=dHplMDk5Ym1iMWl4 Angel numbers are divine messages that are believed to be sent from the spiritual realm. I

09/01/2024

DJs in the dance music world operate in a very curious environment. Despite the word "dance" literally appearing in the type of music they're meant to play, for a DJ to actually dance whilst playing in the booth is seen in some quarters as an act of heresy - yet hardly anyone ever questions this. For some reason, DJs - whose job it is to actually make people want to get up and dance - must look serious at all times and not appear to enjoy themselves....

DJs in the dance music world operate in a very curious environment. Despite the word "dance" literally appearing in the type of music they're meant to play, for

08/01/2024

As we get ready to say farewell to another Monday, it's time for our usual look back at the increasingly extensive archives of the dance music world. Each week, members of the team pull out three choices from dance music history, ranging from well-known to those which have been forgotten over the years. This week, our editor is in a distinctly 90s US garage dubs kind of mood - for those unfamiliar with the terminology, dubs are remixes of records that focus more on chord progression and less on the vocals....

As we get ready to say farewell to another Monday, it's time for our usual look back at the increasingly extensive archives of the dance music world. Each week,

08/01/2024

These days, it's incredibly rare to see footage of Derrick May doing anything at all - mostly because no one usually wants to film it. It's a pointless endeavour documenting Detroit's most occasional DJ - most companies won't want to touch the stuff, and many others will get cold feet once the press starts getting in touch about those s*xual abuse allegations made against him around four years ago....

These days, it's incredibly rare to see footage of Derrick May doing anything at all - mostly because no one usually wants to film it. It's a pointless endeavou

08/01/2024

There are some things in the dance music world that just wouldn't make sense anywhere else. For example, parents sending in their children to school know that there are only going to be so many different teachers - you certainly aren't going to find as many teachers as there are students. Yet nobody considers it unusual that there are so many people in dance music trying to teach things to others....

There are some things in the dance music world that just wouldn't make sense anywhere else. For example, parents sending in their children to school know that t

08/01/2024

As 2024 continues into its second week, the biggest set of changes since the last ones are taking place at Resident Advisor. Over the weekend, Whitney Wei confirmed dance music’s worst secret for weeks - that she is now their former editor-in-chief, with Ears To The House told that she finished work just before Christmas. So who's going to replace her in the job?...

As 2024 continues into its second week, the biggest set of changes since the last ones are taking place at Resident Advisor. Over the weekend, Whitney Wei conf

08/01/2024

Toxic positivity is one of those things that's always been in ample supply in the dance music world - and this is why so much of what has happened over the years has gone totally unchallenged. It's why an awful lot of people still believe nonsense about Juan Atkins having created techno, or Resident Advisor somehow being representatives of the culture....

Toxic positivity is one of those things that's always been in ample supply in the dance music world - and this is why so much of what has happened over the year

07/01/2024

Welcome to the very first instalment of DJs Playing Badly for 2024 – our column where, each Sunday, we take a look at DJs who have committed some kind of fail. Perhaps a totally messed up mix transition or they’ve failed to create any kind of atmosphere. You get the idea. This week, it’s the turn of a so-called wall of death to sit in dance music’s favourite ducking stool....

Welcome to the very first instalment of DJs Playing Badly for 2024 – our column where, each Sunday, we take a look at DJs who have committed some kind of fail

07/01/2024

For Detroit's most occasional DJ, 2023 was a year where, as one of our sources previously put it, "everything he touched turned to s**t". So it seemed strangely appropriate that Derrick May's December was to end in the manner it did - a far cry from his gig at South Korea's Seoul on New Year's Eve in 2019. For the past few years, he's had no work at all to welcome in the next year - although in fairness, Covid lockdowns during the winter of 2020 prevented almost everyone else in the trade from doing the same....

For Detroit's most occasional DJ, 2023 was a year where, as one of our sources previously put it, "everything he touched turned to s**t". So it seemed strangel

07/01/2024

You know things are getting desperate when the establishment media start asking the big questions. And no, we're not talking about the dance music press - if the questions aren't about drugs or about the latest trend amongst Berlin trendies, you know that Mixmag and Resident Advisor won't be posing them. Rather, we're talking about the British Broadcasting Corporation. Probably one of the most well-known British media organisations in existence, the BBC suffers from the same problem that much legacy media has to grapple with - it's incredibly conservative and cautious in its nature....

You know things are getting desperate when the establishment media start asking the big questions. And no, we're not talking about the dance music press - if th

07/01/2024

It doesn't take much to upset Richard West, the man who calls himself Mr C. The man himself has managed to sustain a career in dance music since its early days - an impressive achievement in this ever-changing landscape - but it's safe to say he's picked up a few detractors along the way. Then again, West has never been the type to help his own case....

It doesn't take much to upset Richard West, the man who calls himself Mr C. The man himself has managed to sustain a career in dance music since its early days

07/01/2024

Anyone who spends some time exploring history will soon encounter the phenomenon of people discovering a new use for something that's been around for quite a while. Often, the original company or persons involved can be quite flattered to see something they worked on getting a new lease of life. Coca-Cola, for example, started out life as Pemberton’s French Wine Coca and was actually a cure for morphine addiction - indeed, the co***ne wasn't removed from the product until 1903....

Anyone who spends some time exploring history will soon encounter the phenomenon of people discovering a new use for something that's been around for quite a wh

05/01/2024

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…...

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 lab

04/01/2024

If there's one thing that dance music has continued to cling onto like a bad smell over the years, it's mythology. Because there's nothing quite like historical stories that you suspect are mostly untrue to sell tickets for things - especially when those things involve those same legacy DJs from those same historical stories. This is something that's incredibly well understood in Detroit....

If there's one thing that dance music has continued to cling onto like a bad smell over the years, it's mythology. Because there's nothing quite like historical

03/01/2024

Welcome back to another edition of the Wednesday Whisper - all freshened up after a week off for the Christmas break. Each Wednesday, our midweek column talks about a rumour or story circulating in the dance music world - notably the types that are just a little bit too hot for our lawyers. Right, on we go to the first rumour of 2024....

Welcome back to another edition of the Wednesday Whisper - all freshened up after a week off for the Christmas break. Each Wednesday, our midweek column talks a

03/01/2024

Many don't like to face up to this fact, but dance music has been around now for a long time - with the first house tracks being released almost four decades ago. Infact, one of those - and quite potentially the very first - releases from house music history is going to turn 40 years old in the next few weeks....

Many don't like to face up to this fact, but dance music has been around now for a long time - with the first house tracks being released almost four decades ag