As I sit here listening to “Between Dreams” I feel as though I am seized in the swell of the moving ocean. I can feel the intensity, the insinuation, the innuendo. And I wonder, will I find these same qualities in the man? Where is the Dreamland of Gareth Emery? Perhaps it first lies in the waterfrontage of Southampton, a titled ‘leisure metropolis’ to the very south of the UK – a mere hop from The Continent. A metropolis of leisure would also be a metropolis of culture, and a metropolis of culture is a metropolis of music. Southampton is rich with maritime narrative, where seafaring sketches are welded amongst the seams of its history. Procuring its prosperity from the enfolding English Channel, this leading nautical city is also surrounded by structures that can date back to World War 2, and even farther back in time to medieval and ancient eras. It is a settlement rich in memoirs and steeped in civilisation. It also serves as the base to the GTR ‘factory’ – the headquarters of Gareth Emery’s Dreamland.

Self proclaimed ‘techtranceman’, Gareth Emery has enjoyed a diverse musical upbringing; dedicated to his enharmonic minor scales and Bach inventions; and, no doubt, also exposed to the elements of Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis. Ponder his growing years, swathed in the shades of Dark Side of the Moon, nourished by the bells of Mike Oldfield tempered by the clashing rock guitars of Dire Straits and lulled by the acoustic textures of the Beatles or the Gallagher Brothers. The music in the burgeoning years of our life is that which shapes our perspective and view on mortality. If one were to come to a firm conclusion about the music of Gareth Emery, you can hear so much: the undulating rhythms of the sea, embraced by the reassuring seat of tradition, surrounded by spectacular colours of composition, posed by self-critique and flavoured with the edginess of worldly seasoning. The high frequency side of music appears to be GTR’s forte, “I like a lot of laid back dance too but you need to specialise so trance is what I do. Even though I’ve been into it a long time I still find it can grab you and provide amazing moments in a way that no other genre can do in quite the same way. I hate to use the word ‘euphoria’ because it’s such an over-used cliché, but it really is true – trance does it like no other genre. It’s as simple as that.”

With classical training reinforcing his skills and progressive rock tendencies supplying a critical edge to his music, he is thus inspired and attracted to a multitude of varied genres. Whilst Gareth claims he is excited by ‘decent’ trance and tech-trance (of course!), breakbeat or funky hip-hop, he also focuses on such labels as Hard-Fi, Nine Black Alps or Something Corporate and balances his attachments to high frequency melodies with the baseness of Ugly Duckling, Jurassic 5 or the Herbaliser. His listening collection is certainly ‘pretty varied”. I can almost hear the shrug in his words. “I don’t tend to have one sort of music where I think “it’s at”. If I like it, I’ll listen to it. I guess I got into dance because the 1998-2001 period was an incredible three years for dance in the UK, the music and clubs were just so mind-blowingly fresh, it was difficult NOT to get into it, even though I was quite cynical about dance before that. The scene really was that good!” If one were to take note of that particular period, you wouldn’t be able to help noticing that this is a stage in GTR’s existence when it is permissible to pursue the hedonism of ‘partying’ – ahh! The heady times of turning 18!

Gareth’s ascent has been noticeably rapid with all the firmness and focus of a torpedo.  There may often be whispers over the catapulting status of his achievements though Gareth would be more inclined to point out that “Actually, it’s been tough. Pushing things on to the next level is a different story – that’s much harder. I’m always being self-critical for not coming far enough and comparing myself to people like Armin and Ferry Corsten and wondering why I can’t make it up to their level, however other people remind me that I’m still only 25 and they’ve been in the industry a lot longer to get to that stage.” There is that intensity again. It certainly seems an inherent part of The GTR – for it is certainly present in his music. Nervous Breakdown 2002 was the track to propel Gareth at least towards the footlights, but it was with GTR – Mistral that Gareth would achieve legendary status. Produced whilst on a holiday in Provence, the sounds and structures are highly evolved and there is a contrived seamlessness to it. “Some tunes just flow from start to finish and those are the ones that usually turn out best”. One almost has to wonder whether he had any concept of the impending results. Hailed immediately as am anthem, the appeal of GTR – Mistral was massive, serving to cast his music in bronze alongside avid supporters, Paul van Dyk, Tiesto, Armin and Ferry Costen.

It also appears that Gareth, whilst avowed with self-belief and a refreshing modesty, nevertheless chews over the phenomenon at so quickly capturing the hearts of a dance nation. “I was DJing at clubs like Godskitchen and Slinky after just a year or two of producing tracks, and I remember being surprised how easily success had come”. It would seem that Gareth considers his DJ career to have only launched itself rather recently, when really it would be in his lineage. He mentions that his “parents are pretty open-minded musically”; and there are notes on his website http://www.garethemery.com that he performs alongside his sister. He also remarks that “it would be great to get more of a live feel – I’d definitely like to get up and play guitar or keyboards as part of a live set. If I’m going to go ‘live’ I want to do it properly – a big show with other musicians, not just turning up with a laptop and hitting play.  Where’s the fun in that?” He notes that “It’s always an inspiration watching how people get more out of the technology as it improves”. His bio claims it is when he is behind the decks that the sound of Gareth Emery comes alive. GTR has certainly been behind many esteemed decks “The first time I played at Godskitchen and Slinky were both huge benchmark moments – these were two clubs I’d gone to a lot over the past three years as a clubber, so I couldn’t quite believe I was playing at them, it was incredible. Also, the first time I travelled to Australia to play – I hadn’t done a lot of international gigs previously and I still couldn’t quite believe that I was DJing on the other side of the world!”

His young years persevering at his Hanon exercises on piano have undoubtedly served as a sound foundation to his music: “It’s been hugely advantageous to know about musical theory. It means I can find the right chords easily, program melodies in without struggling, and I usually have a pretty good insight into what’s going to work musically – I don’t usually have to try out lots of combinations to find something that works”. Well, something is certainly working. With a heady list of luminous performances, remixes and contributions to compilations firmly bolstering his psyche, Gareth is prepared for the assured times ahead. “Load of things are coming up. We’re already looking into the new Five AM CD to follow the Five AM Sessions Volume 1. We want to do it bigger and better with a second CD, a possible guest mixer, and a bigger tour. On the production side, I’m currently releasing my debut solo-EP under my real name” (Gareth operates under the alias of Cupas as well as GTR).  “It’s a big personal benchmark, so some more Gareth Emery tracks including vocals ones rather than just club tracks are a definite aim. On the label side of things I’m spending a lot of time hand-picking great music to release on Five AM and our new digital imprint Five AM Digital.”

His intentions for the future continue to be located in the covert side of Music – the Dance arena. “I want to keep on producing underground dance and touring as much as possible, whilst branching out into other areas. I’ve recently built a vocal booth in the studio and have been working on a pop-project with my sister, which has been a great diversion and a lot of fun to do. So essentially it’s a case of ‘more of the same’ whilst moving onwards and upwards towards bigger things. I’m fantastically lucky to be able to tour the world to play music I love and I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Currently in Australia, GTR is sure to have some fabulous tricks in his DJ Bag. “I always love playing in Australia, it’s a great scene here and I think people here often don’t realise quite how good it is! Whilst it might not be as big in terms of sheer size as the UK, I think the vibe amongst clubbers is a lot better and the atmosphere in clubs shows that. Some of my best gigs ever have been here”.

With such laudatory words, Australia can continue to happily and lovingly offer GTR sufficient space anywhere at anytime. The GTR factory may be based across the other side of the world, but Gareth Emery will always find a seat of passion in Australia – so long, as those decks are about.

Gareth’s final Australian tour date is this Friday at A Night of Trance at Arq. For more info check out ITM Whatson.