To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Defected Records has announced a series of extra special collaborative releases Together, integrating talent from the label’s storied past and the stars of its future. With the first instalment featuring releases and remixes from a stellar line-up of artists, the first wave will include the legendary Dennis Ferrer and Masters at Work, artist-of-the-moment Kitty Amor, Afro house star Da Capo, long-standing Defected resident and radio show host Sam Divine, turntablist-turned-superstar Hannah Wants, emerging talent YOURS and more.
“We are very excited to celebrate 25 years of Defected with a number of key announcements throughout January, including Together – Defected Records CEO Wez Saunders words – 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 twenty-five 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.”
This carefully curated series aims to capture the essence of Defected Records’ rich history while propelling its sonic legacy into the next quarter-century. Out on 19th January, the inaugural release of the Together series comes as a collaboration between Sam Divine, Hannah Wants and Jem Cooke, ‘Cruel Intentions’. With Sam Divine one of Defected’s longest-running residents, radio show host and continual star of the label’s roster, Hannah becoming a firm favourite of Defected shows, with a string of recent hits on the label and Jem Cooke one of house’s most in demand vocalists and songwriters, this dynamic trio deliver an unmissable launch single.
The series will continue with bona fide house legends 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 pioneering effect on club culture both sides of the Atlantic is indisputable. With the Latin feel of ‘DÓNDE ESTÁ’ appealing to the Nuyorican duo, they deliver three brand new remixes on 26th January. Revisiting one of the label’s seminal records, Dennis Ferrer’s ‘Hey Hey’, Afro house pioneers Da Capo & Kitty Amor and David Guetta’s Jack Back alias will deliver a remix package on 2nd February, before a superstar name TBA closes out the first run of Together releases with an Afro-electronic inspired remix of Fish Go Deep & Tracey K’s seminal 2005 Defected release ‘The Cure & The Cause’ on 9th February.
With Defected’s plans to continue the Together series throughout 2024, introducing more incredible artists and collaborations that will further define the series. At the end of 2024, Defected will close out the year of Together releases with a bespoke, limited-edition vinyl box set celebrating the label’s stalwarts and future stars. A collector’s item for fans and a tribute to 25 years of Defected Records, twenty-five new productions will be presented across 13 double-sided 12” singles, individually sleeved and housed in one hard outer case.
photo: Dennis Ferrer, Kitty Amor and Da Capo
