Darren Emerson

Darren Emerson is one of the most influential figures in dance music, with a 17 year career that has seen him work with everyone from Depeche Mode to Jamie Cullum. 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 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, Limelights, and Venus. Darren has garnered several accolades such as "DJ of the Month" in The Face magazine, and i-D magazine.

In 1990, Martin Prudence, brother-in-law of Rick Smith, introduced him and Karl Hyde invited him to become the third member of techno band Underworld. While working on their second album, 1996's Second Toughest in the Infants, they released the single "Born Slippy NUXX", which was an instant hit following its inclusion on the soundtrack to the movie, Trainspotting.

Darren parted ways with Underworld in 2000 and then concentrated more on his solo career as a DJ and remixer, and also as a label owner. "Global Underground: Uruguay" and "Global Underground: Singapore" soon followed on the Global Underground label, with "Episode 1" on his new Underwater label following in 2002. He continued to release tracks by himself and new artists on the Underwater records label and eventually gained its own night at super club Pacha, Ibiza alongside fellow DJ Erick Morillo, to hold a joint Underwater/Subliminal Records night. During its second summer at Pacha, his Underwater Records night won 'House Event' of the summer at the DJ Magazine awards. After its success, Darren Emerson decided to host its own full night at Pacha, Ibiza which became an extremely popular night on the island.

Over the past few years, Emerson has been busy touring the world whilst preparing for his own solo debut album. He rarely plays in the UK apart from his previous bi-monthly resident slot at London club The End which closed down in January 2009. In 2007 he performed at Sensation White in the Amsterdam Arena.

In 2009 he released a third compilation for Global Underground - 'Bogota' and in 2010 he launched a new label, DETONE, on which he has so far released the club tracks Gracelands, Decisions, Hard For Slow and Au Go Go, featuring the vocals of the lead singer from Empire Of The Sun. Meanwhile, he continues his relentless globe trotting DJ schedule and has also begun hosting DETONE club nights at East Village in London.

Darren Emerson is one of the true pioneers of the music industry today. From rocking Glastonbury with Underworld and the perennial classic "Born Slippy" to topping the UK charts with his own label – Underwater, he has never let down his followers and has always tried to bring the whole house music industry one step forward. Open your laptop and enjoy him doing what he does best…