SIMON DUNMORE Biography
A man of many talents, Simon dunmore is
a Promoter, producer, remixer, writer, DJ, A&R and MD of the
acclaimed Defected Label
Simon Dunmore's music career began with the spinning of soul and
funk tunes at his local bar in west London, back in 1982. Taking
it to the streets, he moved on to promote his own rare soul and
groove nights, simultaneously working behind the counter at the
Record & Disco Centre in Rayners Lane.
Even then demonstrating his commitment to the
scene, the young Dunmore produced a soul 'fanzine'. Although in
effect a few photocopied pages of cut & pasted charts and reviews,
aspiring DJ's, producers and promoters of the day found it an essential
soulful house resource. It also led to his penning of a monthly
column for Blues & Soul. In December '89, Simon joined Cooltempo
Records - the much respected Chrysalis dance imprint. In his five-year
tenure here, he signed tracks from artists including Juliet Roberts
and Masters At Work; and promoted Adeva, Innocence, Arrested Development,
Gangstar and Shara Nelson. He also did some remixes of his own,
under the guise of Touchdown. In '95 Dunmore moved to A&M's
pioneering AM:PM imprint, where he signed the top talent of the
day and headed up the label's remix central.
His releases at AM:PM included Ce Ce Peniston
'Finally', Ultra Nate, 'Free', Heller & Farley 'Ultra Flava
remixes', MJ Cole 'Sincere', Mousse T 'Horny', Sounds of Blackness
'The Pressure', Janet Jackson 'When I Think of You', The Police
'Voices Inside My Head'. Four years on, and it was the takeover
of AM:PM that fed Dunmore's determination to set up his own independent
label. Having had a 10-year education with the majors, he thought
it was time he did something for himself... Defected Records opened
its doors on 1st January 1999, and in four short years has become
such an institution, that releases on other labels now get described
as 'Defected style vocal house'.
Dunmore's philosophy for his label is "We
just sign records that we like... simple as that..". In doing
so, he has signed a significant cut of todays best, including those
from MAW, ATFC, King Unique, Full Intention, DJ Chus, Ministers
de La Funk, Brian Tappert, Junior Jack & Kid Crème, Soulsearcher,
Jay-J, Kathy Brown, Julie Mcknight, KOT, Kidstuff & Liquid People.
He has also led artist development and the label's album push via
collaborations with Roger Sanchez, Sandy Rivera, Bob Sinclar, Dubtribe
Sound System & Shakedown.Although best known and much respected
for his talent-spotting genius, Simon Dunmore remains an authority
behind the decks. As a DJ he is a Southport veteran - having been
in the mix there for the past 15 years, and also appears regularly
across the UK and Europe.
A set from Simon will encompass everything
from soulful vocals to deep house to tribal beats - a direct reflection
of his label's output and his own love of house. As he says, "The
breakdown comes, hands go in the air... it's a great moment, a great
feeling..." |
