The Smiley logo—broad smile on a round, yellow face—is probably the most immediately recognisable insignia in rave culture. In fact, it’s probably one of the most recognisable images in all of music history. Such is the power of their brand, that since its inception 50 years ago in the days of acid house and the free-rave [...]
World-class house label Defected Records is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Carl Loben corners CEO Wez Saunders for some insights about its inner workings, and asks a selection of associated artists what the secret is to the brand’s lasting success Almost a quarter of a century ago, DJ Mag popped over to Defected [...]
Sam Divine is the Queen of Defected, and she’s helming the UK house music brand’s first season at Ushuaïa Ibiza this season as its weekly resident and key figurehead. For the the first of DJ Mag's 2024 Ibiza cover stories, Divine speaks candidly about her difficult upbringing, falling in love with house music, lifestyle [...]
Defected has promoted Melvo Baptiste to director of music, Glitterbox, overseeing the label’s recordings schedule, talent and curation across its global repertoire of events into 2024 and beyond. Baptiste steps into his new role after seven years at Defected as part of the A&R team. He has also presented and curated Glitterbox’s radio show. “An authoritative voice [...]
The short film from Defected Records explores the artist's rise to Afro House stardom Afro house DJ and previous Mixmag Cover star Kitty Amor's rise to worldwide stardom is chronicled in Defected Records' new short-film, 'Who's Kitty Amor'. Kitty Amor's story as a selector starts in Nottingham, where she studied for university. Specifically Stealth, the club famed for its £1 entry [...]
The Spanish island’s famed dance venue is celebrating half a century of parties and beat-making, from hippy hangout to superstar DJ rite of passage The year was 2010, the last vestige of time in which, when the beat dropped in the club, there would be thousands of hands in the air simultaneously cutting [...]
