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A TASTE OF TASTE WITH...

Avalon Emerson

Cities Skylines, Vaer Watches, Multicolor Pelican Cases, and more.

September 29, 2023

Avalon Emerson
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Avalon Emerson is a Berlin/Bushwick/Catskills-based DJ and musician who’s produced remixes for legends such as Robyn, Four Tet, Fever Ray, and Slowdive, is a regular at Berghain, and played festivals like Coachella and Pitchfork, all while crafting an impressive discography of killer dance beats. With her last album, & the Charm, Avalon found a new sound that’s celestial, lush, and dreamy, and I can’t get enough of it. It’s one of my favorite albums of the year and I think you’ll like it too. On October 7th Perfectly Imperfect is co-presenting Avalon’s 9000 Dreams show (festival?) at the Knockdown Center where there’ll be live performances from her & her band + PI favorites such as Fcukers, Sadie, and Stranger Ranger, and DJ sets deep into the night. Lucky for us, Avalon is here to tell us what she’s been into.

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Cities Skylines
It’s not a game, it’s a simulator. I discovered it this year and it’s one of the only things that lets me mentally check out. Designing five-way six-lane highway exchanges and water treatment systems for 100k digital citizens brings me calm. The metropolis I’m working on right now is called Dirt Roadington, but by now I have upgraded all the dirt roads to nice ones lined with trees and bike lanes. Pairs well with the slight oxygen deprivation of an airplane ride.
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The Bufala Ice Cream at Gazzo in Neukolln
This place became my band’s and my comfort spot in Berlin while we were homebasing it there this summer. The Frisch gestrudeltes Softeis aus Brandenburger Büffelmilch (with shortbread cookies and olive oil, with or without the lemon curd) is the best ice cream I’ve ever had. My mother in law keeps chasing the dragon in Manhattan trying to find a comparable one. Her search continues.
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OWC Envoy Pro Mini
OP Endgame hard drive and peripheral company run out of Chicago. FKA Other World Computing, they make the absolute best DJ USB drive.
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Multicolor Pelican Cases from Color Case
I travel far more than the average human should, so I appreciate a good piece of luggage, and as a DJ-turned-touring musican with a band, I now know the supremacy of the pelican air, and they come in amazing colors these days. They look so good I want to eat them.
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Rummikub
My favorite board game, 2nd place Catan, 3rd place Bohnanza.
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Vaer Watches
Something happened over the last year or so and I started really appreciating watches. As a computer musician and dj I’ve felt a more emotional appreciation for precise time-telling, even though my wife tells me I’m “time-blind”. My daily driver right now is the Vaer D5 Tropic Automatic, I love the tuxedo dial and roulette red date window. Plus it was designed in California and assembled in Arizona just like me!
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DIY Karaoke Night
One of the last times we had a full house at our place upstate I realized that we could plug a couple of microphones into the hereseys and surf youtube for karaoke instrumentals on the projector. We turned our karaoke machine on and didn’t turn it off for 6 hours. When I woke up the next morning my voice was surprisingly intact but I was the embodiment of the icy hot glowing red neck pain diagram from head-banging to nine inch nails and evanescence.
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Dinner at Bovina Farm and Fermentory
One of the most luxurious meals I had all last year, kept me warm until spring. 4+ course dinner with drink pairings, all local fare from the catskills, hosted in a beautiful farmhouse of the couple who make all the dishes and beer. Seats fill up quick, I would even say it’s worth the drive all the way from the city.

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