Avalon Emerson’s musical identity was forged on the dancefloor, but her outlook has never been limited to the confines of the club. A San Francisco native who grew up in Arizona and first found her artistic footing while DJing at raucous Bay Area warehouse parties, Emerson—who moved to Berlin in 2014 and quickly became a regular behind the decks at the city’s famed Berghain—now stands as one of dance music’s most celebrated contemporary figures. Her 2016 breakthrough “The Frontier” was named one of the decade’s top 20 tracks by Resident Advisor, and in the wake of its success, she’s also been tapped to remix the likes of Slowdive, Robyn, Four Tet, Christine and the Queens, and Octo Octa, among many others. With that resume, Avalon could have easily stayed in the dance music lane and continued to relentlessly tour as a DJ, but even before lockdown suddenly brought parties to a halt, she was itching to do more. With her upcoming project, Avalon Emerson & The Charm, she’s left the DJ booth altogether, venturing into an intimate strain of synth-pop informed by her love of avant-pop auteurs alongside showcasing her singing voice to the world - which she introduced on her acclaimed 2020 DJ-Kicks mix.