February 9 sees the release of the latest album from Global Underground, one which marks a welcome return to the decks for Darren Emerson. Titled Bogota, this is the Underwater boss’s third GU album – following on from Uruguay and Singapore – and it’s something of a return to form. His last couple of Underwater mix albums were a little bit, well, watery, but Bogota is Darren back at the top of his game. We’d heard from Slam’s Stuart McMillan that Mr Emerson’s DJing had been ramped up a notch over the past few month, and this album proves that.
No doubt Bogota itself helped. The Colombian city is enjoying rapid change. Historically a cultural epicentre of South America, it’s now a growing metropolis with a thriving club scene. Having made the time-honoured transition from big outdoor events to a wealth of individual clubs, it’s boom time for electronic music in Bogota – and as ever, Global Underground are there to capture the atmosphere.
Darren’s two-disc mix kicks off with a sprinkling of Hmm, Skyscraper – a nod to his past life as one third of Underworld – before taking in some deep house and techno via the likes of Anja Schneider & Sebo K, Pete Heller, Kerri Chandler, John Selway & Vincenzo Ragone and Maja. On disc two, Funk D’Void’s mix of Itamar Sagi’s One Million Oaks on Soma kicks things off, followed up by tracks from Underwater’s Jamie McHugh, Spirit Catcher, Josh Wink (with a taster from his new artist album) and Joris Voorn. There are also a couple of tracks from Darren on here, just to show that his production’s still as good as ever.
Watch out for Darren touring the album in the new year. And don’t miss his last ever set at The End in London on January 10.
Bogota is out on February 9 on Global Underground. Visit www.darrenemerson.com, www.globalunderground.co.uk and www.myspace.com/dazemerson
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