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Music

Listen To Avalon Emerson's New EP, as She Talks San Francisco and "Warehomies"

"I was quite disappointed when I discovered the $14 drinks, and strangers handing me their phones to play the new Kanye song."

Producer, DJ and software developer Avalon Emerson moved into a warehouse in San Francisco from her Arizona home in 2009, and hasn't looked back since. Picking up DJing from some of her "warehomies" and getting into the habit of throwing her own parties, she quickly got a pretty intimate and organic sense of what makes a dance floor go off. These heaving underground spaces have literally been home to her, and you can hear it in the simmering techno she produces.

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Having put out her first EP, Pressure/Quoi!, on local label Icee Hot in February this year, Emerson caught the attention of ears the world over with a style that's pretty skeletal on the face of it, but gels together so effortlessly that it's not hard to imagine it engulfing a warehouse of space. Her newest, Church of SoMa, pays homage to the SF district that Emerson's craft was born in, and has love in every contortion of its tribal cries, rolling percussion, and the soft-breathed snippets of Emerson's own voice.

We caught up with her to ask where we should be going out for a dance in SF - if we don't want to be charged $14 for a drink.

Producer, DJ and software developer Avalon Emerson moved into a warehouse in San Francisco from her Arizona home in 2009, and hasn't looked back since. Picking up DJing from some of her "warehomies" and getting into the habit of throwing her own parties, she quickly got a pretty intimate and organic sense of what makes a dance floor go off. These heaving underground spaces have literally been home to her, and you can hear it in the simmering techno she produces.

Having put out her first EP, Pressure/Quoi!, on local label Icee Hot in February this year, Emerson caught the attention of ears the world over with a style that's pretty skeletal on the face of it, but gels together so effortlessly that it's not hard to imagine it engulfing a warehouse of space. Her newest, Church of SoMa, pays homage to the SF district that Emerson's craft was born in, and has love in every contortion of its tribal cries, rolling percussion, and the soft-breathed snippets of Emerson's own voice.

We caught up with her to ask where we should be going out for a dance in SF - if we don't want to be charged $14 for a drink.

THUMP: For those of us who haven't been there, please tell us all about SoMa and why you dedicated your EP to it.

Avalon Emerson: Well, it's less about the South of Market area of San Francisco and more about a special little warehouse within it. When I was a little 19 year-old straight out of Arizona, I moved into this 14-person house that stretched across a whole city block. It was a beautiful time in my life and introduction to a big city and dance music. It was mostly inhabited by Europeans who loved to have big parties.

I had just barely cut my teeth DJing parties back in the desert, but over the next three years, this warehouse was the place I learned how to really program a night of music for people looking to have fun over the course of an 8 hour night. It was not until I turned 21 that I was legally able to DJ at "real" clubs in SF. I was quite disappointed when I discovered that the $14 drinks, 45-minute long set times, and strangers in primary-coloured tube dresses handing me their phones to play the new Kanye song, was not the jam. 

There's so many elements going off in 'Church of SoMa', and yet at the same time it's so stripped-back. What's your production process like - where do you start?

Avalon Emerson: I start with a small handful of sounds, synth voices, and samples to get the personality of the song set. I usually get the meat of the song done in a night or two, then I spend the rest of the 75% of the time getting the sound, effects and mix right.

That's your vocal we can hear on the track. Do you do much singing? Is it something we'll hear more of in the future?

Avalon Emerson: Yeah, I sing a little! Sometimes the most frictionless route is to just sing the little vocal piece I have going on in my head instead of translating it to a synth line.

What's coming up for you and your digital imprint Non Seq in 2014?

Avalon Emerson: Thank you for calling me out on it! I haven't really released anything just for free on my SoundCloud at all this year, it's sad. I have some ammo up my sleeve though, expect some treats soon.

Which tunes are getting the most love in your sets right now?

Avalon Emerson:  Matrixxman - 'Soul M8' on Soo Wavey

Marquis Hawkes - 'Feed the Beast' 12", on Dixon Ave Basement Jams

Trances - 4/5 EP, on Hivern Discs

Rat Life edits, on Uncanny Valley

If we're ever in SF, where should we definitely be heading for a dance?

Avalon Emerson: I can always count on Honey Soundsystem, Icee Hot, and of course, my party, Play it Cool!

You can follow Aimee Cliff on Twitter here: @aimecliff

THUMP: For those of us who haven't been there, please tell us all about SoMa and why you dedicated your EP to it.

Avalon Emerson: Well, it's less about the South of Market area of San Francisco and more about a special little warehouse within it. When I was a little 19 year-old straight out of Arizona, I moved into this 14-person house that stretched across a whole city block. It was a beautiful time in my life and introduction to a big city and dance music. It was mostly inhabited by Europeans who loved to have big parties.

I had just barely cut my teeth DJing parties back in the desert, but over the next three years, this warehouse was the place I learned how to really program a night of music for people looking to have fun over the course of an 8 hour night. It was not until I turned 21 that I was legally able to DJ at "real" clubs in SF. I was quite disappointed when I discovered that the $14 drinks, 45-minute long set times, and strangers in primary-coloured tube dresses handing me their phones to play the new Kanye song, was not the jam.

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There's so many elements going off in 'Church of SoMa', and yet at the same time it's so stripped-back. What's your production process like - where do you start?

Avalon Emerson: I start with a small handful of sounds, synth voices, and samples to get the personality of the song set. I usually get the meat of the song done in a night or two, then I spend the rest of the 75% of the time getting the sound, effects and mix right.

That's your vocal we can hear on the track. Do you do much singing? Is it something we'll hear more of in the future?

Avalon Emerson: Yeah, I sing a little! Sometimes the most frictionless route is to just sing the little vocal piece I have going on in my head instead of translating it to a synth line.

What's coming up for you and your digital imprint Non Seq in 2014?

Avalon Emerson: Thank you for calling me out on it! I haven't really released anything just for free on my SoundCloud at all this year, it's sad. I have some ammo up my sleeve though, expect some treats soon.

Which tunes are getting the most love in your sets right now?

Avalon Emerson:  Matrixxman - 'Soul M8' on Soo Wavey

Marquis Hawkes - 'Feed the Beast' 12", on Dixon Ave Basement Jams

Trances - 4/5 EP, on Hivern Discs

Rat Life edits, on Uncanny Valley

If we're ever in SF, where should we definitely be heading for a dance?

Avalon Emerson: I can always count on Honey Soundsystem, Icee Hot, and of course, my party, Play it Cool!

You can follow Aimee Cliff on Twitter here: @aimecliff