Avalon Emerson -- DJ-Kicks (Avalon Emerson) [Dj Mix]: Review

Avalon Emerson -- DJ Kicks mix

[!K7 Records]

Out of the club and into the home studio, Avalon Emerson is the newest import for the latest installment of the DJ Kicks Mix series. Her entry into the series is tight, exciting, and exactly the much-needed pick-me-up to lift our spirits in the everlasting pandemic season. Emerson finds the perfect playlist of glittery pop anthems and aquatic boombap grooves to make its 81-minute runtime flow like a breeze.

Emerson’s studio discography up until now has really only stayed minimal. Although she is a veteran of both the Berlin and LA EDM scenes, not much of her own work has been recorded. Because her home plate has always been at the head of the club, she’s been plenty busy performing live and hasn’t focused on streams like other DJs.

But this DJ Kicks Mix was exactly the right move to get her extraordinary DJ skills down on paper. This whole mix flows absolutely seamlessly like one big party and each song is handpicked to make this record a comfortable but energetic escape from lockdown. Emerson teases the journey ahead on the cover, staring out of a helmet and towards the bright lights ahead.

Standouts from this mix include the first track, Emerson’s take on the Magnetic Fields’ classic “Long Forgotten Fairytale” which is a delightfully melodramatic opener to the journey. “Level 5” by Oklou bounces with these catchy arpeggios that make it fit well in any club setting with sentimental PC-esque vocals that ground it. DJ Sense’s “Finest” rocks an old school vibe between its pitched soul vocals, record scratches, and driving DnB beat. Warp’s very own !!! (pronounced ‘chk-chk-chk’) brings the heat on “Hello? Is This Thing On?” with this bizarre guitar line as you hear a sample of someone saying his own name to the beat.

Some of the best takeaways here are Emerson’s own tracks. Each of her songs perfectly exude her spacey vibe in spades. “Wastelands and Oases” directly follows her opener and uses grainy strings to pull the listener out into the stratosphere. “Poodle Power”’s hulking vigor is in its cascading beat that breaks between abstract and concrete as extraterrestrial synths fly overhead. “Rotting Hills” feels like a small aside on the mix that places this desolate ambience over an elaborate set of percussive sounds.

Avalon Emerson’s DJ Kicks Mix is an expansive, psychedelic experience that takes the flashing lights of the club and puts it in any EDM fan’s living room.

RIYL: Oneohtrix Point Never, Hudson Mohawke, Four Tet

Listen To: “Long Forgotten Fairytale”

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