Hello,
I may be new to this fo.... but i'm certainly an old fan of the band.
Good to see that a great band deserves a great audience, something that i could see while seeing recent topics.
Anyway, i would like to know something that has always "bothered" me.
What was Darren Emerson's role in Underworld?
We all know the history, that Darren Emerson was introduced to the band and they shifted their sound to a more techno, electronic sound.
But was he solely responsible for that change? Or was Rick already experimenting with programming and mixing before Emerson's arrival?
I have seen an article where Rick states that he learnt a lot drom Darren in terms of the beats and the percussion... and Darren learnt the programming part from Rick.
So is it fair to say that, in "Dubnobasswithmyheadman", Rick was the man responsible for the programming and mixing, while Darren was responsible for the beats? And the other albums?
In the "Everything Everything" DVD, if you watch closely, their mixing desk is comprised by two parts. The biggest one is managed by Rick and the other one is managed by Darren. It seems Rick controls the most part of each song and is responsible for mixing the main parts into another, while Darren mixes "detailed" sounds or the secundary sounds and beats.
During the whole DVD, we clearly see that Rick has the most important and proeminent role. He is always concentrated and he doesnt stop, while Darren pauses quite heavily, like he is just helping Rick nothing more.
Maybe this was the reason Darren left. He just wanted a more proeminent role and Djing was what suited best his desire.
Anyway, "A Hundred Days Off" proved once more that Rick was the main master in creating and managing grooves and samples. He was the force behind the band.
So, what was in fact Darren Emerson's role while he was in Underworld?
Cheers guys. I am looking forward for the next album