EX.795 Avalon Emerson

EX.795 Avalon Emerson

From RA Exchange by Resident Advisor

April 15, 2026 · 45 min · Season 2 · Episode 9

About this episode

Avalon Emerson discusses her career evolution, new album, and the challenges of the music industry.

The musical polymath talks creative left turns, the collapse of music media and her new album as Avalon & the Charm, Written into Changes. A decade after her first feature appearance in Resident Advisor, Avalon Emerson returns for a long-form chat about the arc of her career and her surprising left turn towards indie pop. After leaving a successful career in coding in the early 2010s, the American DJ and producer became, seemingly overnight, a headline act touring the world's best clubs. By 2016, she was one of the most vital voices in underground dance music: a regular at Panorama Bar, a master of art of the eight-hour set and an artist releasing tracks that defined an era of emotive techno. Recently, Emerson has surprised fans and critics by making yet another unexpected pivot as Avalon & the Charm. After debuting the dream pop band in 2023, she's back with the second album, Written into Changes, leaning even further into songwriting, live instrumentation and collaborations across the music spectrum. In this candid conversation, she unpacks the new release—the vulnerability of lyrics exploring regret, setbacks and love lost—alongside the financial realities of…

People in this episode

Host: Resident Advisor

Guest: Avalon Emerson

Topics covered

  • music industry
  • career transitions
  • indie pop
  • songwriting
  • live performance
  • music journalism

Keywords

  • Avalon Emerson
  • indie pop
  • music media
  • live instrumentation
  • songwriting
  • emotive techno
  • music journalism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Resident Advisor

Books & works: Written into Changes

Places: Berlin, upstate New York

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