Tramps Like Us Interview with Gareth Emery

LED: You recently decided to forego campaigning for the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll and decided to donate to a charity of your fans choosing instead. What charity did you end up donating to? Do you think this will set a precedent and maybe have producers thinking twice about launching campaigns for poll positions?

Gareth Emery: I was surprised how viral my statement went, as it was never my intention for it to be such a big thing, and neither was I trying to influence anyone else to do the same. I was just basically saying: this is bullshit and I'm out. There were a few other producers who also decided to pull down their advertising and leave the poll, and whilst I guess it's nice they felt the same way as me, I don't want it to be seen as an attack on DJ Mag, because that isn't what it was. It was just my own personal feelings.

Regarding which charity I donated to, the poll is still open on my Facebook page, so I haven't made the final decision on who gets what, but we picked five amazing charities that people could vote on, a mix of household names and smaller local initiatives: Macmillian Cancer Support, Doctors Without Borders, Ignito Project, Daughters for Life and Brainwave. I actually decided all the causes are so worthwhile, rather than give the entire donation to the winner, I will divide it based roughly on how many votes each charity received, so they all get something out of it.

LED: You’ve played down here in San Diego quite a few times. What’s your favorite part about coming down to San Diego?

GE: Great weather, a truly beautiful city with a more laid-back vibe than most big US cities, and of course the incredible crowds that show up every time I play.

LED: You’ve also been touring non-stop all over the world recently. Any plans to get back in the studio anytime soon?

GE: I've been locked pretty solidly to my laptop writing music at every free moment recently, working on my new album which should be released around the start of next year. In my opinion it's full of the best music I've ever written. So whilst I haven't released that much recently, my live sets are full of beta test versions of tracks I am working on for the album…. so listen out!

LED: What does the phrase ‘Tramps Like Us’ mean to you?

GE: It's a Springsteen lyric right? 'Tramps like us were born to run'. That's what I usually think about it… I grew up listening to the likes of Bruce Springsteen via my parents so that's what it makes me think of.

Don't miss GARETH EMERY at Tramps Like Us on Sunday, September 1st!

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