https://avalonemerson.com/andthecharm

Now one of dance music’s most respected DJs, Avalon Emerson first made a name for herself in the storied warehouse scene of her birthplace, San Francisco, before relocating to Berlin in 2013. Over a decade of performances at the famed Berghain led to appearances at numerous festivals around the world which all cemented Emerson, and her evocative, genre- and decade-spanning sets, as perennially in demand. 

In 2020, she released her first full-length collection: a contribution to the longrunning DJ-Kicks series (which Resident Advisor described as “The sound of a well-honed DJ at the top of her game.”), nestled alongside a steady stream of remix releases for the likes of Four Tet, Slowdive, Robyn and more.

Next up was 2023’s Avalon Emerson & The Charm, an instant classic which saw Emerson exploring her singing voice and more traditional songwriting outside of the boundaries of her dance music work.  Created after a move to New York, the resulting & The Charm album was released to critical acclaim, landing on numerous critics’ best-of-the-year lists.

The stage is now set, then, for her to carve out a wholly unique path, and with the help of new label home and indie giant, Dead Oceans, Emerson is poised to connect her various musical endeavors to create an untouchably rich output of material. First up is Perpetual Emotion Machine, consisting of songs created for her DJ sets, delivered via a living, evolving project and announced ahead of her worldwide tour.

Strictly Rhythm Records is house music.  Since 1989 the legendary New York label not only put out records by almost every name in the game, but it also defined house music throughout the 1990s with Erick Morillo, Todd Terry, Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, Armand Van Helden, DJ Pierre, Roger Sanchez, Josh Wink, Ultra Naté and Barbara Tucker.  As well as keeping the underground stoked with a steady supply of club grooves, the label also delivered a stream of crossover hits with Reel 2 Real’s “I Like To Move It”, Ultra Naté’s “Free”, Wamdue Project’s “King Of My Castle” and Wink’s “Higher State Of Consciousness”.  

Relaunched in 2007 after a five year break following a short-lived venture with Warner Music, Strictly Rhythm did what no dance label had ever done: successfully re-launch itself.  The label made many of its classic releases available on digital download for the first time and signed new productions from the likes of Quentin Harris, Osunlade, Bingo Players Vs Chocolate Puma, Dennis Ferrer, Michel Cleis, Dirty South and Bob Sinclar.  
Always an innovator, the label that invented the 12” white label and put out the first ever commercially released DJ Mix CD in 1993 (The Tony Humphries Strictly Rhythm Mix) is still at the cutting edge, finding and promoting the best in house music.

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