Darren Emerson has been speaking about his plans following his departure from Underworld – and has revealed he’s already started working on solo material with DJ SASHA.
Speaking just hours after the split with Underworld was made official, he said: “Looking back over the last ten years, it’s been brilliant. It’s been fantastic and we’ve always had a good time, but when I got back from touring last year, it had just got to the stage where I’d had enough.”
A spokesperson for Emerson told nme.com that he’s been working on solo material for the last three or four weeks.
He said: “He’s working on his own stuff, but there are no immediate plans to release anything. This week alone there were three or four people in the studio with him…just friends of Darren’s really.”
The spokesperson continued: “He’s also stepping up his DJing, not just the big places but smaller venues. He’s getting back to his roots, doing what he did before Underworld and working through ideas.” However, nothing is likely to be released before the end of the year, and it’s unclear whether future releases will be through Emerson’s own Underwater Records imprint.
Before any new solo material is made available, Emerson will release a mix album recorded from a recent DJing set in South America. Titled simply ‘Uruguay’, it will be released through Global Underground imprint Boxed on May 15.
Karl Hyde and Rick Smith will continue under the Underworld moniker, and will not be seeking a replacement for Emerson.
Speaking to NME‘s sister magazine Muzik, Emerson said of his split with Underworld: “I’m not bitter at all. I’m just gonna chill out and have a good time. I’ve been working in the studio with a few studio mates – I was in there with Sasha yesterday hammering some stuff out. There’s all these people who have always been saying ‘We should make a track’ – now I can!”
Underworld will still play this year’s V2000 this August 19&20,and are expected to announce warm-up dates over the next couple of weeks. They also plan to release their long-awaited live album on September 4. For V2000 tickets, go to the nme.com Ticketshop – click here
See the June issue of Muzik, out on May 10, to read the rest of their exclusive interview with Darren Emerson.