Gareth Emery (GTR)

Gareth Emery is a name ubiquitous with the cool side of modern trance. Still only 24, his work over the last two years as an record producer, international DJ, and label A&R has made him many people's no.1 tip to become the scene's next trance superstar.

background / history:

Coming from a diverse musical background which encompassed classical piano training and jazz along the way, Gareth gave up playing lead guitar in a punk-rock band to start producing dance music seriously in 2001, and immediately attracted attention with his first release. The track, entitled ‘Nervous Breakdown 2002’, was a white label bootleg of The Shrink's infamous classic which found its way onto BBC Radio 1 after being supported by a host of DJs including Eddie Halliwell, Guy Ornadel and Dave Pearce. It was immediately picked up by Nutrition for an official release and later featured on a number of compilations including the Godskitchen Direct mix album.

from early productions...

The release that truly put Gareth on the production map was GTR – ‘Mistral', a track never destined to become an anthem and produced entirely on a laptop computer over the course of a two week holiday in Provence. Nevertheless, the sole CDR that Gareth sent to Paul van Dyk caused such a storm when van Dyk debuted it live on radio from the Nature One Festival, that Five AM Records wasted no time in signing it, helping it to become a truly global trance anthem. Unequivocally supported by DJs including Tiesto, Ferry Corsten and Armin, it not only had immediate appeal but went on to achieve the status of a modern trance classic and can still be heard in clubs to this day. It also featured on a large number of compilations and was hand-picked by Tiesto to end CD1 of his critically acclaimed ‘Nyana’ album.

...to the present day:

In the two years since then, Gareth has maintained a steady flow of releases as GTR, Gareth Emery and Cupa as well as undertaking remix work for major labels like Multiply, Bonzai and Lost Language. He has also collaborated with artists including Solid Globe, Harry Diamond, Jon O'Bir, and CERN, co-writing their late-2003 anthem 'The Message'. His music has found favour with just about every a-list trance DJ in the world, and has featured on compilations from Godskitchen, Slinky, Purple Eye (Ferry Corsten's Washington World Tour), Telstar (Euphoria), Warner, Sony, Moonshine and more.

five am records:

In early 2004, along with Alexis Hooper and Simon Brisk, Gareth became part of a new management collective that bought out and took over Five AM, giving him a leading role at the label that gave him his break two years previously. Under their direction, the imprint was relaunched in June with the release of Gareth's new GTR track 'Reason To Believe' and since then has fortified its reputation as one of the best credible trance labels in the world. Now with nearly 30 releases (previous artists include Binary Finary, Sunscreem and Plastic Boy) Five AM continues to go from strength to strength. As well as continuing to release consistently successful club tracks, it has also run a number of sell-out Five AM Global Tour nights across the world featuring sets from artists on the label, with Gareth as tour resident. More international and domestic parties, an mp3 download store, and the label's first mix CD are in the pipeline for early 2005.

dj work:

Since signing to DJ Connections in early 2003, Gareth has become a regular guest at top UK clubs like Godskitchen, Slinky, The Gallery, Passion, Tangled, Peach and more. In addition to this success in the UK, he has also gained popularity across the globe with a hectic international diary including dates in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and more.

Demand for his DJ sets continues to grow, due not to artificial hype or press, but a genuine reputation for rocking clubs with his unique sound which stays true to the genre by relying on underexposed gems and exclusive personal edits rather than current big tunes. A truly flexible DJ, he is one of a rare breed able to read the crowd in an instant and deliver the goods at any time of night. His varied and unpredictable sets can range from moody progressive beats to pounding tech-trance, which is why The Gallery are just as happy for him to play after Judge Jules as Godskitchen are for him to warm up for Paul van Dyk.

If you haven't already, make seeing a Gareth Emery set a must for 2005. We guarantee you'll be glad you did - see you on the dancefloor.