Darren Emerson Interview

Darren Emerson talks acid house, Ibiza and babysitting for Andy C...

Underworld member, Underwater boss, long standing friend of The End and general dance music legend Darren Emerson is back in the main room for his first gig of 2008 here, so we decided to hook up for a chat. We got the lowdown on amongst many other things his new improvisational live project with jazz maestro Jamie Cullum, the joys of fatherhood and on the bottomless well of musical visionaries that is Essex…

Endclub: How are things?

Life’s pretty manic but good right now!

Endclub: So have you been doing a lot of gigging?

Darren Emerson: I’ve been in the studio a bit, doing a remix and trying to tweak that a little bit, late nights in the studio work for me as I’m used to the late nights anyway. I’ve also been doing some festivals, like Sonar. I’ve also got another little project going on, a band thing with Jamie Cullum, that little jazz dude; it’s me, Jamie and his brother Ben. We’ve started this improv thing, so we don’t even rehearse, that’s the whole idea, we just go straight in. I’m programming all the beats. Jamie’s been doing his album in LA, so first time we got together was the sound check at Sonar, and we had an hour to go through things, we were right in at the deep end, you know what I mean?

Endclub: Really! So a bit like Jimpster does with The Bays?

Darren Emerson: Yes, proper improv, I’m leading the way I suppose. It depends where my beats go, if I take them down it’ll be a bit more mellow, or I can go with some techy sort of vibes…

Endclub.com: And how did it go down at Sonar?

Darren Emerson: Really, really good actually. I was really happy with it. It was a bit nerve wracking, but I’m working with professionals, Jamie, anyway, big him up, he was fantastic, really professional and good to work with. They are lovely guys as well. It was weird being back in a band! You know, usually I just go on as a DJ, just go off by myself, no tour manager, so it was weird having my passport signed off and checked in again by a tour manager…I thought, haven’t done this for a long time!

Endclub.com: Compared to many dance acts, you did do a lot of live gigs didn’t you, really early…

Darren Emerson: Yeah it was 1992-ish we started, the first live gig we did was when I had a residency at Ministry, got the Underworld boys down and we did a live jam in the actual booth. The first time the whole idea was not to go on to a stage so people wouldn’t realise it was a live band, and then as time went by we ended up a band that was doing stadium gigs and pyramid stages, it was good to do. It’s nice to do something a bit different, you know, I’ve been DJ-ing since I was a kid, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing the live stuff. I think we are going to do a few more live sessions, next is Lovelands festival in Holland…

Endclub.com: I was at that Glastonbury years ago where Underworld performed – the year where the dance tent flooded with sewage / rain water. Nasty…

Darren Emerson: Yeah, I remember it was pissing down with rain and the football was on. I had a Winnebago in the dance area, and they sent a lorry to clear the mud and the shit, but instead of sucking up the shit they reversed it, and blew it out all over the dance floor. So basically the dance floor was full of shit that year! I remember that night very well – we had to walk from the dance tent to the other stage where we were performing in the slosh because it was so muddy. What a walk that was…

Endclub.com: It’s a real mission getting around isn’t it…

Darren Emerson: Yeah…the other time I played Glastonbury was about 4 years ago, I did about a half hour live Ableton set and DJ’d as well, and I haven’t been since. Looked a good one this year though didn’t it? I watched a lot of it on the telly, it looked really good. When I look now though, and see Jay-Z doing the pyramid stage - we did the pyramid stage as well - and I thought “I’ve done that”…that was mad.

Endclub.com: How about Ibiza? You’ve been out there for a while too, firstly with Erick Morillo, and then Underwater nights at Pacha, are you going there this year?

Darren Emerson: Yeah I love Ibiza. People go, “where’s your album?”, and since I left Underworld I was going to do an album, but then you start DJ-ing and you go off on a different tangent. What we did for four years was we ended up living in Ibiza for the summer, three or four months every summer. Doing Pacha with Underwater, now that was good fun, but I don’t think I would do it again; I want to do other things now. I say that, I’m out there at the end of this month actually with Carl Cox, I’m doing his birthday party at Space. In between I’ve got to do this Jamie Cullum thing, then I’m back over there for a bit of a break with the kids, funny isn’t it, Ibiza, me and the kids…

Endclub.com: Different sort of Ibiza then!

Darren Emerson: Yes it’ll be his first holiday, little Ben! I’m just going to chill. Then I’m off to Rio and Sao Paolo, straight from Ibiza I’m going to Asia, Japan, Bangkok, the islands, Korea, then back to Singapore. So lots of travelling, and trying to get into the studio a bit more.

Endclub.com: Are you working on anything?

Darren Emerson: I’ve had an album sort of sitting around, it’s quite band-sounding, dance-y, that sort of LCD sound with a human feel to it. I’ve had it sat there for years, and so I thought I should get it out. I played Steve Dub, the Chemical Brothers’ engineer, some of it and he loves it, he thinks it’s really interesting and exciting. So we want to get that boxed off and released. Now Steve’s heard and likes it that will give me a kick up the ass to get on with it. Every time I do interviews, I say “yeah I’ve got an album coming out next year” but I’ve been saying that for the last 5 years so I’d better get on with it! I’m doing a Global Underground mix as well, scheduled for November.

Endclub: You’ve done a couple of those before haven’t you, a Uruguay and a Singapore…

Darren Emerson: Yeah, not sure where to do this one yet, just looking for a couple of nice hot resorts so we can get a bit of sun! Knowing my luck I’ll probably end up in Margate or something…

Endclub: So let’s talk about Essex. Andy C with his drum & bass label, you, the Prodigy's Keith Flint, Jay Kay and Damon Albarn, all born in Essex. What is it about Essex that produces such musical visionaries?

Darren Emerson: I don’t know, I don’t know, but these people are fantastic…Andy C has done so well with Ram. It’s quite funny actually, I used to babysit for Andy way back. We’re both from Hornchurch, and I used to knock about with his sister Sarah, we used to hang out together and we babysat Andy a few times, we used to have a kick around in the back garden and that when we were young…. and I didn’t know it was little Andy until years later. I knew he was doing okay but I didn’t know he was Andy C! Keith I’ve known for a quite a few years. He’s got some stuff coming out again, him and the Prodigy. I know Liam’s been working hard although I haven’t heard any of it yet. It’s nice that all these people come from Essex, isn’t it…

Endclub: Although having said when we googled 'famous people Essex' Ross Kemp and Darren Day also came up. Anything you'd like to add?

Darren Emerson: Nope, no comment…haha.

Endclub.com: Moving on…this year the world celebrates 20 years of acid house. What do you think London / England would be like if Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling et al had returned from Ibiza and instead of inventing rave had thought “nah, fuck it let's just have a cup of tea instead and go to Margate on our holidays next year?”

Darren Emerson: Paul and Danny definitely brought back the Balearic feel, from Alfredo and from Ibiza. That Balearic sound really got me into all types of music, guitar music, alternative music. I used to go down to Paul’s night, he was doing his party Delirium, and then Future, and he was playing stuff like The Cure and stuff mixed up with early house music. I wish it was still like that now, because it wasn’t so much about the mixing then, it was the records. It was records like Carly Simon ‘Why’ mixed up with Fast Eddie, a good old mixture and more of a party set in a way. Alfredo from Amnesia used to play what he liked and that was the Balearic feel. I loved it. It’s not so much like that now, there’s this genre and that genre of house music, and I like mixing it up a little bit. That’s why I don’t pigeon hole myself when people ask me what I play, I just like house music really. House and techno. I don’t really know, I just like what I play! Paul and Danny definitely brought back a good vibe.

Endclub.com: And how did it feel at the time?

Darren Emerson: You had London parties Spectrum and Shoom, what Danny was doing, that was fantastic. I was always into the house scene and the music anyway. When I was quite young I was going to these London clubs for the first time, it was a right eye opener I can tell you. Coming from Essex and going into London at a young age, seeing all these weird clubs, with transvestites and all that thinking “this is a bit weird” but I liked all that, I liked the weirdness of it. Now you go into a club and see all sorts, back then it seemed quite new and different. I loved going to Space in Ibiza for the first time, when there was just a Sunday morning, no outside terrace, that was just a cloakroom. Fantastic. Of course I was DJ-ing as well, and started doing quite well for myself, and before I knew it I was DJ-ing in Space, early birthday parties and that, waking up, going out at 8am to Space. I have really fond memories of those times. Later I started doing a night in Essex called Twilights, then started doing The Milk Bar with Nicky Holloway, then started doing parties with Andy Weatherall, Boy’s Own and stuff like that. Just worked my way up the London scene. Great, great times!

Endclub.com: We have to mention brilliant Brit cult movie 'Trainspotting' and the seminal 'Born Slippy'. Together the film and the soundtrack really captured people's imaginations and a moment in time.

Darren Emerson: Exactly. It shows the luck of things really, when you get a good visual like that, and audio that work together. That last scene in Trainspotting, where Ewan MacGregor’s walking over the bridge, away with the money, to a new life, it’s great when it works like that. The track and the film put us on the map definitely. I don’t really go too deep with it, we were always doing okay anyway, big gigs and other stuff. I get asked to play ‘Born Slippy’ every time I play, all around the world. Every time. And it’s a great track but to be honest I’ve heard it so many times, I love it still but…Course I do play it, in stadiums, when there’s thousands of people who really do want you to play it! And when you go on YouTube, put Darren Emerson in what comes up? ‘Born Slippy’… and I’m thinking, I’ve really got to draw the line here…ha ha…that Underworld track ‘Dark and Long’, what about that? But it’s been brilliant, you know, really good to see it’s still doing well.

Endclub.com: Are you like Slade, with 'Merry Christmas Everybody', able to just live off the royalties of ‘Born Slippy’ forever?

Darren Emerson: It’s a bit like that, yeah…ha ha, could be a lot worse! Not a bad track is it? At least I don’t cringe every time I hear it; it’s not the Birdie Song or anything. The Underworld boys are still touring and doing their thing, looking younger every time I see them actually, don’t know how they do it, they’re supposed to be older than me!

Endclub.com: Well thanks for the chat, congratulations with the little one, and we’ll see you in a couple of weeks.

Darren Emerson: Yeah I’m really looking forward to that, down on the 12th July with Tim Deluxe and Paul Woodford, good mates to be there with. We go back a while. Actually I haven’t seen Tim for ages, he’s gone off the radar. Last time I saw him he was in the studio doing cover versions of Bodyrox ‘I Like the Way You Move’ but getting all his mates in and doing Arsenal chants over the top. He was getting right into it; doing proper mastering and then proper Gooner chants over the top. He could make a fortune doing that with all the Arsenal fans actually…I bet Layo would buy one.

Published: 7/07/2008

More from...