Darren Paul Emerson (born 30 April 1971) is an English musician, DJ and producer best known as a former member of the British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

Career

Early life

Emerson began mixing hip hop records at the age of 14, and by 16 was DJing regularly at local venues. He began to explore

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

and quickly acquired a reputation as one of the top British DJs, and demand for his services saw him playing at top clubs such as The Milk Bar, Limelight, and Venus. Emerson has garnered several accolades such as "DJ of the Month" in ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'' and '' i-D'' magazines.

Underworld

In 1990, Rick Smith and

Karl Hyde Karl Hyde (born 10 May 1957) is an English musician and artist. He is a founding member of British electronic group Underworld. Hyde has also released a solo album, made albums with Brian Eno and Matthew Herbert, and contributed towards the sco ...

relocated to Romford, where Martin Prudence, brother-in-law of Smith, introduced Emerson to him, with Hyde inviting Emerson to become the third member of techno band

. Emerson’s experience DJing in London clubs was an inspiration for Smith, who began making music inspired by the sounds of the then burgeoning British

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

scene. With Emerson onboard, Underworld completed their transition from the synthpop sound of their first two albums to the techno and acid house sound of subsequent releases. Underworld's first album to feature Emerson, 1994's ''

dubnobasswithmyheadman ''Dubnobasswithmyheadman'' (stylised as ''dubnobasswithmyheadman'') is the third studio album by British electronic music group Underworld, released in the United Kingdom on Junior Boy's Own on 24 January 1994. It was the first Underworld album ...

'', was their commercial and critical breakthrough, being called “The most important album since The Stone Roses and the best since Screamadelica…" by

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

. In 1995, whilst working on their second album, ''

Second Toughest in the Infants ''Second Toughest in the Infants'' is the fourth studio album by British electronic music group Underworld, and the second in their " MK2" line-up with Darren Emerson. With this album, Underworld expanded on their progressive palette, while dev ...

'', they released the single " Born Slippy .NUXX", which was then re-released in 1996 and became a hit following its inclusion on the soundtrack to ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...

''. Emerson left Underworld in 2000, following the release of 1999’s ''

Beaucoup Fish ''Beaucoup Fish'' is the fifth album by Underworld, released in 1999. Following the huge success of the single "Born Slippy .NUXX" from its use in the film '' Trainspotting'', ''Beaucoup Fish'' was Underworld's most anticipated release. It spawn ...

.'' He cited becoming a father as the main factor in leaving the band. His final appearance with Underworld was on their 2000 live album '' Everything, Everything''.

Solo Releases

Emerson founded a record label called Underwater in 1994; originally started as a platform to release friends music as well as his own, Underwater has gone on to celebrate 100 releases ranging from techno to house and progressive house. Underwater ran a regular party night at super club Pacha,

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

alongside fellow DJ Erick Morillo's Subliminal label from 2001. The duo won 'Best Ibiza Set' in the 2001

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

awards. Emerson also emerged as a much sought-after remix talent, with remixes for acts such as

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...

and

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

. Emerson has released three DJ mix albums on the

Global Underground Global Underground is a British record label and compilation series founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolised the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s and first manifesto for hi ...

label, '' Global Underground 015: Uruguay'' in 2000, '' Global Underground 020: Singapore'' in 2001, and '' Global Underground 036: Bogotá'' in 2009''.'' In 2010 he launched a new label, Detone, focusing on club releases by himself and like-minded producers. He played a regular bi-monthly resident slot at London club

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

until its closure in 2009 and performed at

Sensation White Sensation is an indoor electronic dance music event which originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and organized by ID&T. The original event, which ran exclusively in the Amsterdam Arena for a period of five years until 2005, is now located throughou ...

in Amsterdam in 2007. Since 2017, Emerson has toured as part as part of 3D, a DJ group also featuring Danny Howells and Dave Seaman.

Personal life

Emerson was in a relationship with British TV

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

Kate Thornton Kate Thornton (born 7 February 1973) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known as the first presenter of ''The X Factor'' (2004–2006) and for presenting daytime shows including '' Loose Women'' (2009–2011) and '' This Morning'' (2 ...

from 2004. They got engaged in 2007 but ended their relationship in 2011. They have one son named Ben, born in May 2008.

Discography

Solo releases

*''Psychotrance 2'' (1994) *''Mixmag Live!, Vol. 13'' (1996) *''Cream Separates'' (1997) *'' Global Underground: Uruguay'' (2000) *'' Global Underground: Singapore'' (2001) *''Summer Love 2001: DJ Emerson & D. Dreyer'' (2001) *''Underwater, Episode 1'' (2002) *''H2O (12 inch)'' (2002) *''Underwater, Episode 2'' (2003) *''Underwater, Episode 3'' (2004) *''Underwater, Episode 4'' (2005) *''Bouncer'' (2005) *''H2O EP'' (2005) *''Underwater, Episode 5'' (2006) *''Crashjack'' (2008) *'' Global Underground: Bogotá (2009)

Extended plays

*''Au Go Go'' (2010, Detone) *''Hyper City Missiles'' (2012) *''Deadlock'' (2017) *''Birdcage'' (2018)

Singles

*" Scorchio" (with Sasha) (2000) *"H2O" (2002) *"Home" (2009) *"Hot Dog" (2013, Bedrock) *"Vamos" (2014)

With Underworld

*''

'' (1994) *''

'' (1996) *''

'' (1999) *'' Everything, Everything'' (2000)

''DJ Magazine'' Top 100 DJs

References

External links

* *
Darren Emerson interview about travelling, being a father and music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Darren 1971 births Club DJs People from Hornchurch English keyboardists English DJs English house musicians Living people Remixers Progressive house musicians Electronic dance music DJs