Avalon Emerson is a DJ, producer, artist and musical innovator. Hailing from Arizona, Avalon Emerson’s latent talents were first encountered on the west coast of the USA when she signed to the XLR8R associated label Icee Hot, while emerging through the ranks of LA’s underground rave scene as a DJ. From Los Angeles a move to Berlin beckoned and her recording career flourished with releases on Spring Theory, Shtum, Whities and Ghostly International, while her prowess in the booth left European audiences awestruck.
Avalon Emerson was a triple threat; a producer a DJ and an artist. She’s not a producer who can DJ, nor a DJ with a studio, but rather an artist, that applies her artistry across disciplines. Her talents also extend to making her own instruments and DJ equipment and to visuals, like her video for emoji-vision video “Natural Impulses“. Her dexterity for her artistry is boundless and everything she approaches leaves a distinct mark on the landscape.
Affirmative Action resident, Karima F know this all too well. A return Jæger guest, Avalon Emerson and Karima F have shared the booth on more than one occasion both here in Oslo and in Berlin, and as Avalon Emerson prepares to come back to Jæger for the upcoming Øya Natt special of AA, we asked Karima to pick some of her highlights from Avalon Emerson’s catalogue.
Avalon Emerson – Quoi!
She started off strong and took it up from there! Her debut from 2014, released on San Francisco label Icee Hot, gained her worldwide attention. Stylistically she’s confident, allowing her compositional skills to shine through. This hasn’t left her productions.
Octo Octa – Adrift (Avalon Furiously Awake Version)
If slow build-up and the pay off that follows a drop was a person.
Bwana – Three Way is the Hard Way (Avalon Emerson Remix)
The Canadian producer Bwanas music is excellent in its own right (just check out his latest release under his real name Nathan Micay on Whities – a staple in Emerson’s sets for the last year), but Emerson’s remix from last year is remarkably tight. Classic B-side material!
Avalon Emerson – Hurdy Gurdy DJ Tool
There’s a shortage of good DJ-tools with kooky names. Released on the wonderful Dresden-label Shtum, a sub-label of Uncanny Valley, Emerson has not only made her mark on Berlin by playing a number of jaw-dropping sets for Berghain / Panorama Bar, but also in the old East German suburbs.
Slowdive – Sugar for the Pill (Avalon Emerson’s Gilded Escalation)
Slowdive and Avalon Emerson might be an unlikely pairing at first sight, but the desert rat from Arizona effortlessly sculpts the english shoegazers to something completely of her own.
Avalon Emerson – One More Fluorescent Rush
I’ll let this track speak for itself.