To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Defected Records recently announced a series of collaborative releases Together, integrating talent from the label’s past and possible stars of its future. With the first instalment featuring releases and remixes from a line-up of artists, the first wave will include Dennis Ferrer and Masters At Work, Kitty Amor, Da Capo, Sam Divine, Hannah Wants, YOURS and more.
Wez Saunders, CEO, Defected Records: “We are very excited to celebrate 25 years of Defected with a number of key announcements throughout January, including Together. As part of the campaign, we are pairing up artists that we have worked with across the last two-and-a-half-decades with newcomers for 25 new releases. This can be in the form of collaborations, features or remixes. It’s a perfect example of what Defected 2.0 stands for - collaboration and togetherness.”
The series aims to capture the essence of Defected Records' history while moving its sonic legacy into the next quarter-century. Out on 19 January, the inaugural release of the Together series comes as a collaboration between Sam Divine, Hannah Wants and Jem Cooke, ‘Cruel Intentions’.
The series will continue with Masters At Work stepping up to remix one of the label’s breaking talents YOURS, as Louie Vega and Kenny Dope revisit ‘DÓNDE ESTÁ’ by the collective. The duo behind some of house music’s most influential cuts, Masters At Work’s effect on club culture both sides of the Atlantic is probably indisputable.
With the Latin feel of the track appealing to the Nuyorican duo, they deliver three brand new remixes on 26 January. Revisiting one of the label’s seminal records, Dennis Ferrer’s ‘Hey Hey’, Afro house artists Da Capo & Kitty Amor and David Guetta’s Jack Back alias will deliver a remix package on 2 February, before the first run of Together releases close with an Afro-electronic inspired remix of Fish Go Deep & Tracey K’s 2005 Defected release ‘The Cure & The Cause’ on 9 February.
Defected’s plans to continue the Together series throughout 2024, introducing more artists and collaborations that will further define the series. At the end of 2024, the label will close out the year of Together releases with a bespoke, limited-edition vinyl box set celebrating the label’s stalwarts and possible future stars. A collector's item for fans and a tribute to 25 years of Defected Records, 25 new productions will be presented across 13 double-sided 12” singles, individually sleeved and housed in one hard outer case.
© justaweemusicblog.com