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.

As a producer, DJ & label owner Cosmin Nicolae’s dedication to developing a rich and wholly personal artistic landscape provides the driving force behind one of dance music’s most unique & industrious individuals.

Opening the door on Hessle Audio over a decade ago - an outlet that has gone on to become a defining voice within electronic music in the 21st Century, Nicolae’s list of affiliations reads like a who’s who of top tier contemporary dance music record labels. Appearances on Amsterdam’s Rush Hour and Gerd Janson’s Running Back, as well as a brace of singles alongside LP’s Gordian and Simulat on the now defunct 50 Weapons - not to mention work for Semantica and Bleep, have cemented Cosmin TRG deep in the psyche of the ever shifting amoeba that is the dance music zeitgeist.

In many ways, what lies at the heart of Nicolae’s work - beyond the extraordinary pairing of high end sound design and club functionality, is an innate ability to bind his discography - to create a streamlined sonic vision without compromise, one that moves with purpose and vigour outwards to explore in depth structures that exist on the very periphery of House & Techno, Ambient & experimental electronics - but maintain a unique and recognisable finish. Few artists could boast a discography that marries 2016’s ubiquitous In Your Body, an anthemic spoken- word-meets-Tool-Techno leviathan released via Nicolae’s own club-focused Sportiv outlet, with Semnal - a gloriously executed LP of shifting, otherworldly Experimental music delivered under the artist’s given name via the Opal Tapes label.

Cult concept missive Hope This Finds You Well, Nicolae’s 2019 reflection on corporate culture furthers this same dichotomy - a stunning wide-angle Ambient LP on Fizic - the label operated by the artist as a home to more conceptual iterations, that followed hot on the footsteps of a remix for Bpitch founder Ellen Alien & the fourth instalment on Sportiv - both offerings heady club constructions in their own right.

On the road, both DJ sets and live performances mirror this healthy sentiment - with Nicolae as comfortable on main stages showcasing his take on hyper-modern propulsive Techno, as he is presenting the low slung avant-garde preoccupations of his more leftfield alias’. There’s the constant feeling that both these practices feed back into one another, and that from each respective vantage point, Cosmin TRG is able to make the kind of dynamic & intuitive artistic decisions that few can - keeping his work fresh & current without concession - ceding to his own desire to further his vision as a creator of sonic abstraction without losing sight of the dance floor.

Everyone's fate is made of many tales. Although our own destiny might be dwelling in our breast, it also takes strong convictions and the courage to challenge yourself. DJ, producer and label manager Marcel Fengler is the best example that talent isn’t just a matter of luck, but the will to believe in your own passions while constantly developing them. Today, Fengler has not only been quoted as „one of the finest techno DJs“ (Resident Advisor), he has earned international respect for his „well-crafted body of production work“ (FACT) introducing his unique and „multi-faceted personality“ (Electronic Beats). 

While growing up, he was first fascinated by the hip-hop culture, breakdance, and graffiti art, Fengler’s interest shifted towards techno music and the art of DJing after the Berlin wall came down. As a vinyl nerd he began playing records during the early nineties. By witnessing Claude Young mixing with three record players, Fengler followed his path merging both hearts in his chest: turntablism and techno. Carried away by the magic and the togetherness of the first hardcore and trance raves in such clubs like E-Werk or Tresor, he organized his own parties in his hometown Fürstenwalde.

Over the last two decades, Fengler developed a versatile and dynamic style of DJing that made him one of the first resident DJs of Berlin’s infamous Berghain / Panorama Bar in 2005. With his impressive intuition for the very moment, Fengler is capable of changing pace, atmosphere, and energy reacting to the mood on the dance floor: whether industrial-drenched hardness, broken beats, gloomy dubs or melodic and funky grooves – next to his inimitable instinct, Fengler draws from a varied repertoire. The approach of allowing to drift away within the momentum also applies to his first singles as a producer on such labels like Ostgut Ton and Mote Evolver. His debut album „Fokus“ (2013), in particular, was a statement of his ambitious claim, awarding his own tracks with emotional densities as well as unexpected contrasts. 

Bringing together both his melodic groove and beat tracks and his straighter cuts, he founded his own imprint Marcel Fengler Index (IMF) in 2011 – a platform that not only continues evolving his timeless techno approach but represents a creative center introducing new and young talents. A logical step for an artist who’s always interested in looking beyond his own nose represented by his project DIN, the mutual collaboration with Philipp Sollmann (Efdemin), for the contemporary dance project „Masse“ of the Staatsballett Berlin. 

As a DJ and producer, Marcel Fengler stands for imposing surprises and the appeal of variety. For him, techno is both unconditional passion as well as an essential part of his identity. He’s not bound to a linear or one-dimensional sound, instead, he’s constantly seeking for new ways to express his emotional storytelling skills. His willingness to challenge himself and to stay curious, while establishing changes as his secret persistence, is showing his true vision of techno which makes Marcel Fengler to one of the today’s most exciting electronic artists in these days.

https://www.floatingpoints.co.uk/

 hello@floatingpoints.co.uk

Bookings
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Asia: samy@mihn.hk

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