Stephen Wynne Jones: Back once again, having played nearly every venue going in Ireland, including the Redbox, where you play this Sunday- what do you think is so special about the Irish crowd?

Darren Emerson: They know how to have a party, full stop. They like to go out, let their hair down and enjoy the music. Theyre not very stuck up, snotty or try to show off that much- they just get in there and let themselves go, which as a DJ is always welcome. Thatﾒs what you want, thatﾒs the type of crowd you want to be playing to, you know? The feedback is always great, and thatﾒs always going to influence how well you play (touch wood) and everyone has a great time all round.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Aswell as the Redbox this Sunday, you have a busy few weeks ahead, what with the Miami Winter Music Conference directly afterwards...

Darren Emerson: Yeah, its going to be pretty cool. Iﾒm doing Belfast Saturday, Sunday in Dublin, and then about 5 in the morning on a flight to Heathrow and then straight over to Miami- so Iﾒm sort of out from Saturday onwards for a good while. Weﾒve got a nice setup over there in a club called Nerve, holds about 400 people- a good hot, sweaty nightclub. Iﾒm a regular out there, but itﾒs only Underwaterﾒs third time out there so it should be quite interesting.

Stephen Wynne Jones: And then onto Ibiza, with the Underwater launch......

Darren Emerson: When your working with people like X-press 2, Lottie, Jon Carter, Layo and Bushwacka its always going to be a good laugh. Weﾒre looking at experimenting a bit in the back room aswell, bringing Tim Westwood over (Radio 1) which is pretty cool, cos it hasnﾒt been done that much before. Tim and I are going to be doing back to back sessions- Iﾒve kind of brought him in under my wing... we have a good laugh. The Redbox on Sunday is also going to be a back to back for instance- a lot of people thought he might be playing the Pod, which is rubbish seeing as we work so well together.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Are you nervous at all about establishing Underwater as an independent night free of Ericﾒs (Morillo) Subliminal night?

Darren Emerson: Itﾒs a bit weird, iﾒm not nervous, weﾒve got such a good line up I donﾒt think you can be nervous. Ericﾒs a bit different to what we do, you know, a bit more commercial, shall we say. At the moment, I think, weﾒre on fire as a label- things are going so well. As long as the people are up for a party weﾒre the ones to provide it! I think youﾒre always going to get that in Pacha, although last year, Tuesdayﾒs were Paul Oakenfold, and he only showed up a couple of times- it was still good though.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Somewhere amidst all this youﾒre finding the time to release a solo album, when can we expect it?

Darren Emerson: Yeah, Iﾒve just got back from Australia where I was doing some work in a mateﾒs studio. Bit of sunshine always helps. Hopefully it should surface around September-ish, it should be pretty much done by then- only Ibiza does take up a lot of your time! Iﾒve taken a few months off from DJ-ing to work on the album, but my studioﾒs not finished yet- so Iﾒve ended up taking time off for no f---ing reason. Itﾒs going to be a fierce studio though, itﾒll be the nuts.

Stephen Wynne Jones: You mentioned going out to Australia there to work on the album, and your Global Undergrounds have been inspired by Uruguay and Singapore- do you find all this globetrotting inspirational to your music?

Darren Emerson: Iﾒve been very lucky, cos I started DJ-ing when I was very young, and so Iﾒve been lucky enough to be travelling all my life- I think it is, rather than being stuck in the same place. Going to Australia really chilled me out, you escape the rat race, things come to you. You definitely pick up things, you know, you buy some Latin music in a little stall in Brazil and it really inspires you- you get a taste of the world.

Stephen Wynne Jones: When the album does come out, the response is going to partially revolve around your old days in Underworld, people are going to be asking ﾓcan he cut it without the other two?ﾔ.....

Darren Emerson: Ha! No, they should be saying can Underworld cut it without me! It donﾒt look like it!

Stephen Wynne Jones: What did you think of their new album?

Darren Emerson: I thought they only really had one good track on there, the first single. The second single seemed, well, pretty laughable. To me it seemed they haveﾒnt really progressed. I havenﾒt listened to the whole album though, maybe it will surprise me yet. Only the first single seemed to sound like the old Underworld with all of us together. Maybe Iﾒve just moved on, Iﾒm doing something very different.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Underwater, as a label seems, to me, to be encompassing a lot of different styles.......

Darren Emerson: Thatﾒs what Iﾒm all about, I donﾒt listen to one style of music, and I donﾒt feel the need to release one style of music. I listen to a lot of rock at home, Iﾒm a big fan of The Strokes. Iﾒm a bit open minded, thatﾒs why I started with Underworld- when I first joined them they were a weird rock band and we took it from there. Iﾒve got loads of stuff to work on, everything from mad dark stuff to mellow, ambient tunes....once my studio is bloody built.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Who would be artists to look out for on the label over the coming months?

Darren Emerson: Iﾒm really happy to be working a bit with Robert Owens on a couple of tracks for different people- he was always one of my favourites from the early Chicago days, when he was in Fingers Inc., its a privilege to have a man of his stature working with us. Tim Deluxe and Mutiny both have albums coming out. Sam le More, Paul Woolford, Gus Gus are all going to be releasing stuff. Ian Brown is going to be working with Gus Gus on a mix aswell which should be interesting. Sharam Jay, from Cologne is one to look out for, his single ﾓShake Yourﾔ is going to be my Ibiza track, itﾒs very me.

Stephen Wynne Jones: And the Underwater Episode 2 compilation is due out aswell.....

Darren Emerson: Yeah, thereﾒs lots of stuff to get out teeth into. My mix on the compilation is going to be comprised of 11 tracks all on the Underwater label, so itﾒs like a showcase of the releases to come out. Itﾒs good for the label, if anything it makes us look pretty strong.

Stephen Wynne Jones: As an independent label, you must be a bit concerned about the recent ﾑbrandingﾒ of clubbing by Cream, and Ministry of Sound.....

Darren Emerson: Nah, I donﾒt really care much for Ministry and that lot. I think the reason Cream felt the need to move on was that they all just turned into promoters, they do big events- theyﾒre just businessmen. Theyﾒre not out clubbing anymore- of course, Iﾒm running a business, but my love and passion is still in the music, thatﾒs always what comes first. Iﾒm an artist on my label, and I think that an artist running a label is always going to be more passionate then somebody behind a desk. Iﾒm having more fun now then iﾒve ever done- its nice to have musical freedom, to do the things that I want to do. If anything Iﾒm getting a bit stressed doing all these new things- I should calm down a bit.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Well, thereﾒs no better place to calm stress than Dublin on Paddiesﾒ weekend.

Darren Emerson: Ha! No I think thatﾒs probably one of the worst places to go for that! I know your Paddies day, everyone loses the plot altogether- pissed out of your heads on Guinness! Iﾒm escaping the madness early enough, but Iﾒm going straight to Miami. Bit of a scary prospect.

Stephen Wynne Jones: Any Irish in you at all?

Well, I donﾒt know, I could have, Iﾒve never really looked into it. I could be a Celt- I keep up with all the other Celts drinking!