Why Avalon Emerson refuses to stay in one lane

How Avalon Emerson balances DJ stardom and indie pop Sat 4 Jul 2026 at 5:23am The life of a creative polymath must be exhausting. Excelling at one thing is hard enough; shifting disciplines out of an internal urge to push yourself further is a huge undertaking. But people like musician Avalon Emerson are so compelled to follow their instincts that they barely have a choice. "It's crazy," the American techno DJ and indie rock musician admits. "The touring DJ life is already a lot of travel, a lot of being dropped into constantly different contexts, and I do feel relatively comfortable doing that. "Ratcheting that up by a factor of 10 … maybe it speaks to some weird part of me that [it makes me] want to do it even more, but it feels good." For years, Emerson has been at the echelon of electronic music as a DJ and producer. Her brand of melodic, genre-spanning club music has made her a regular at the most revered DJ booths on the planet, playing festivals like Tomorrowland and clubs like Berlin's notorious Berghain. Stars like Robyn, Four Tet and Fever Ray have turned to her for fresh and forward-thinking remixes. That wasn't scratching the full itch. So, during COVID lockdowns, Emerson turned her attention to a whole new kind of music: dreamy, jangling indie pop with layers of guitars and synths, shades of shoegaze, and vitally, her own casually commanding voice. It turned out she was really good at it, and by 2023 had made her debut album as Avalon Emerson & The Charm, which quickly became a favourite of tastemakers in the media and on the US and European festival circuits. An approach for the modern ear While her new music was markedly different, some supporters were immediately on board with Avalon Emerson & The Charm. "I wasn't really sure how it would shake out when I did the first album, but a lot more of them came along than I think I was expecting," she says. Maybe that's because the tribalism that pitted rock music against newer forms like electro and hip hop feels less pronounced each year. "We all listen to all kinds of music, and it's easier to do that than ever," Emerson considers. "My DJ sets aren't very genre specific, label specific, scene specific or trend specific, so it's already pretty eclectic. So, if you're a fan of that kind of thing, I think it lends itself to also being interested in the Charm project. "I think people are in general quite musically omnivorous. I mean, I am. Maybe I'm just being optimistic about it." This year saw the release of Avalon Emerson & The Charm's second indie rock album, Written into Changes, an equally accomplished and alluring piece of work with perhaps a little more ambition, reflecting Emerson's confidence with the form. "I wanted it to be bolder than the first record," she says. "The first Charm record was a bit of an exploration into this new project and like songwriting in a more traditional sense versus dance music. I loved it, and I loved going on tour. It was hard, and tons of learning, but I wanted to do it again." Is change as good as a holiday? There are only so many hours in a day and spreading time across different creative endeavours requires some careful coordination. Far from being a hindrance, the duality of Emerson's creative endeavours works in her favour. When the muse isn't responding on one side of the equation, she has somewhere else to channel her energy. After completing her first indie rock album, she was confronted with something she hadn't had in a while: creative space. "After that was all over, it was like this kind of void. Like, 'Oh wow, that thing is done,'" she recalls. Having scratched one creative itch, the other one then re-emerged. "I had a few days at my old apartment in Berlin, and I found myself wanting to make dance music again," Emerson says. "I hadn't naturally felt that since probably before Charm 1." So came Perpetual Emotion Machine, a 2025 EP that featured a collaboration with electro royalty Moby and, more importantly, saw her reconnect with the dancefloor again. "It was really comforting because it made me realise that I wasn't sick of dance music or sick of DJing," she says. "I just needed a little bit of creative energy in a totally different arena. "It just flowed out of me for the next few days. I wrote and made a bunch of songs, and more that I can't put out because I can't clear them. "That was a cool discovery that I wasn't really expecting, but I love it." Emerson knows her creative boldness is beneficial. That staying still and playing in the same sandpit is less likely to be the path to her best work. "That's what gives me a lot of creative energy, getting a little bit outside of my comfort zone," she says. And she thinks other people could benefit from embracing bold changes. "That's where I think a lot of creative energy lies for everyone," she says. "It's growth and expanding what you can do and who you work with. Doing bigger projects or things that are in a totally different arena. I think that's where a lot of creativity lies in general." What about the flip-side? Are there voices in her life — or in her head — warning her away from a broad-ranging creative life? "My bank account!" she laughs. "It's so expensive to tour. I'm like, 'Why am I doing this?' I wish it wasn't like that, but I guess it's just the economic powers, you know, living under the boot of capitalism. It sucks, but that's how working in the arts is unfortunately." It's exhausting and financially draining work, but for Emerson, it's a trade-off she'll keep choosing. Avalon Emerson performs DJ sets at the Mode, Freeform and Overtone festivals this October Avalon Emerson & The Charm's new album Written into Changes is out now