New Zealand-born DJ and producer Emerson Todd is set to return to Australia over the Christmas period, where he'll be touring in support of his latest mix effort, EQs' Electric 05.
Todd's summer visit will be his first back to Australia since relocating to London earlier this year. Since the move, the one-time Lost Baggage resident and prominent Sydney fixture has had several tracks released, with his work finding homes on Cocoon, Get Digital and We Come In Peace. Todd's forthcoming Australian visit will him play several dates in his former Sydney hometown, including a slot supporting Damian Lazarus' AGWA Yacht Club performance. Additional shows will take place in Melbourne and Brisbane, with a slot at New Zealand's Rhythm and Vines Festival on New Year's Eve capping off the tour.
To find out what he's been up to since leaving Sydney a few months ago, we caught up with Todd over the phone last week.How's London treating you?
I really, really like it. It's a beautiful city, and it is great being able to travel so quickly and easily to places. The most surprising thing is how many Aussies and Kiwis are living here. There are so many of them, so I've been able to catch up with friends from New Zealand that I hadn't seen for fifteen years. I'll be back in Australia from December to mid-January, just for the tour. I'm looking forward coming back, and especially the sunshine.
How has 2009 been? Last time we caught up with you, you were planning on 2009 being a big year career-wise.
I'm a really goal-driven person, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things done. It's a yes and a no to that question. I've had some really cool things happen, and had some great moments. At the same time, as the music industry goes, I've had some downtime where things hadn't gone as well as I'd expected. The important thing is, though, is that things are progressing, and moving along well. I feel like I'm moving forward.
Moving forward with DJing or production?
I look at both of them as the same thing. They're the same business to me.
How has your increased production output affected your DJing?
These days you have to produce to become a successful touring DJ. It's where you make your name. It's hard to get your name out there any other way, at the moment. I had a day job when I was in Australia, just because I couldn’t make a living out of DJing. Well, I could've, but not from playing gigs that I wanted to do. Since moving over here, I've had a lot more time to work on production. Writing good music just takes a bloody long time.
How have your DJ sets changed since moving to London?
One of the things I enjoy the most is being able to play to different crowds in different cities every weekend. It helps you to really work on your sound. When you're a local DJ playing to the same crowds, you need to work a lot harder to change your sound, and can’t play the same stuff over and over again. When you're playing to different crowds, you can really work on defining your own sounds.
Tickets to Todd's AGWA Yacht Club appearance are now available for purchase via RA Tickets.