Prior to being an EDM producer, Emery played guitar in a punk band in the mid-nineties. He is also trained in classical piano and has a degree in Politics – talk about multi-talented! He has a distinctive production style, described as a fusion of trance, house and progressive and is generally labelled as a trouse DJ.
In 2002, Emery’s debut vinyl release - a white label remix of “Nervous Breakdown” by The Shrinks - brought him is first taste of fame when it was aired on BBC Radio 1. However, it is his third release under the name GTR called “Mistral” that launched his career. The track was debuted live at the Nature One Festival in 2002, and received support from DJ pioneers Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten. EDM magazines Mixmag, Muzik and DJ magazines also gave it rave reviews. Emery appeared in DJ Magazine’s top 100 poll consecutively from 2006-2013, peaking at number seven in 2010.
Emery owns record label Garuda, through which he has released all of his records since 2009. It is named after a bird-like creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology, which Emery came across during his travels in Indonesia. Prior to this, Emery owned Five AM, through which his top hits “Mistral”, “This is That” and “More Than Anything” were released. Garuda has also released records by Tritonal and M.I.K.E.
Amongst all his activities as a producer, DJ and record label owner, Emery also finds time to produces a dance music podcast, “The Gareth Emery Podcast”. It is recognized as being one of the first dance music podcasts and has been nominated for “Best Podcast” at the Miami Winter Music Conference’s International Dance Music Awards three times.
Electronic house is such a popular genre of music for people to be creating at the moment, that it’s incredibly hard to be at the top of your game. Gareth Emery, who has been climbing up and up in the industry for the last 12 years, is now sat comfortably ranking at number 7 in DJ Magazine’s top 100 poll. When someone’s rated so highly and consistently, you know that they’re going to put on a good show, so I was incredibly excited to see Emery live.
The auditorium was vast, and before he came on stage, the incredible set lit up, and the strobes began panning across the room. There was some hype music to get everyone in the spirit, and then Emery ran on stage to his booth. He was stood up and back lit and began clapping to get everyone in the vibe of the track, which was cool. He started by playing Ying Yang which has several builds and drops, so it got everyone dancing right away. His passion and enthusiasm behind the decks was evident, even from a way back, and he was so into his mixes, which I think enabled everyone to enjoy the music even more. He played tracks off his albums, and also did some new mixes which was really cool. The tracks that everyone knows were the best because the audience seemed united in their appreciation for Emery and his talent.