San Francisco, CA · dream-pop · electronic

Avalon Emerson & The Charm

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Techno DJ turned dream-pop bandleader — DJ-Kicks grace rebuilt at song scale, club-honed instincts smoothed into gauzy, sophisticated pop.

Avalon Emerson is an American DJ and producer, originally from Arizona and long associated with San Francisco and later Berlin, who built her reputation on a run of techno and house releases and a mix for the DJ-Kicks series. That club career remains her day job even as she has moved into songwriting.

Around three years ago Emerson put together a band, the Charm, as a deliberate change of pace from life behind the decks. The group's self-titled debut album leaned into dream pop and indie songwriting, with her own vocals at the centre over guitar and synthesizer arrangements built for songs rather than dancefloors.

The production still carries habits from her club background: careful attention to texture, patient builds, space left around each part. But the material is structured as pop songs, verses and choruses rather than extended grooves.

A follow-up album, Written Into Changes, is out on Dead Oceans, described as raising the energy of the project while keeping its songwriting instincts intact.

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