Phatmag: So what have you been up to Emma?

Emma: I'm off to Miami on Monday so for the last few weeks I've been sorting out all my business and getting ready for that really. I'm been making a lot of music, so I've been finishing that and I'm obviously DJing as well, which is like my normal job, like the day job.. I've been doing a lot of radio with Commander B from Choice FM. He plays from about 1 to 3 and then lets me come on about 3 and take over and crush the show. I do about a 40mn mix, speak a little and have a good time really.

Phatmag:Is this a day time show?

Emma: No it's Commander B's night flight, but I'm quite surprise cause a lot people listen at that time, we get a lot of people calling up and the next day it's like I heard you on Choice Fm and like cha you didn't give me a shout and all that. So it's really really Good. Commander B is lovely, he's a really wicked guy. I'm also doing a show for the Dream Team on Radio 1, and that's a prerecorded show cause I'm going away on Monday so I got to get that done this week. MC Face from Mystique is going to join me for that, so that will be really exciting.

I just came back from Switzerland as well playing for Pure Silk, they did a ladies night out there and I played with Lady Spirit and Dynamite, it was wicked we made a really good team.

Phatmag: Are they really into garage over there?

Emma: Well they're kinda getting into it, it's new. When you go abroad it reminds you of the scene about five, six years ago when it was really quite underground and there's only a few people that are into it. I hear someone playing garage in the car and I'll be like "oh my god they're listening to garage", you know what I mean? It used to be so under ground and that's kinda what it's like when I go abroad to America and Switzerland, what ever, it's very new to them.

Phatmag: Do you think having Craig David and Mystique charting have helped?

Emma: Yes, a lot of those things have helped the scene, they've gone mainstream and it's gone abroad and that's definitely helped, well it's done it.

Phatmag: When did you start DJing?

Emma: I started DJing about three and half years ago, in fact it will be four years in June. I've always been into music, I've been going out clubbing and been part of this garage scene since I started back in the day and I've always been one of this annoying club train spotters who really watches the DJ and be like knowing what tunes and label and that. Also another thing was that I knew what music people wanna hear, I know what a good record is and I thought if I was a DJ I'll be pretty good.

So one time I borrowed somebody's records and sort of went of and had a couple of mixes on my friends decks. Not long after that this guy was like double booked at this bar that she plays at every Friday and he was like do you wanna do the first couple of hours for me? and I was like no, I've only mixed like twice in my life and then I thought oh f*** it why not, so I went there. There was probably no one there and I was s***ing myself, I probably didn't mix I think I just let the record run out or something, but the guy said he really liked the music I played but it's probably the fact that I was a girl, so he offered me a weekly, I had to play for four hours and I got fifty pounds for it, I thought wicked, that's going to be my record money, cause I didn't even have my own.

Phatmag: When did you get your first decks?

Emma: I got my first decks about two years ago.... that's another thing, with my first residency I was supposed to do one day a week, well that never happened, I used to be there every day practicing and mixing away furiously before the bar opened , cause I didn't have my own decks. I mean a lot of DJ's were bedroom DJs before they got out, but I was just like straight in there.

Phatmag: So would you say you stumbled across this DJing thing or have you always wanted to do it?

Emma I don't know, it was an opportunity that I got and as soon as I saw it I went for it cause I've always wanted to do it and actually I've always wanted to produce music, and at the time I was doing a course in music technology, cause I was gonna get into that..

Phatmag: Was that in London?

Emma Some place in North West London, but I didn't finish it.......

Phatmag: Why you didn't enjoy it?

Emma Yes I did, but it was so far so I just didn't finish the course, but I done another course in South London, Hurricane Studios and I finish that and I've got a certificate to prove it.... But coming back to your original question, I guess in a way I did stumble into it, but I probably would have got that opportunity again and I would have still done it, maybe it would have taking a little bit longer but I'm glad I did it when I started then.

Phatmag: So was your main intention music rather than DJing?

Emma: In a way it was, I've always wanted to do that as well. I come from a really musical family, my dad's a musician, he's been a musician all his life so I was brought up around that, he had a band and all that. And my gran plays the organ, well used to play the organ for the choir at church so I've definitely got music in my blood, i'm not a nine to five person....

But I've always wanted to do both, so I thought get in the production and then get into DJing. Djing is perfect for learning the structure of music and what the crowd wants... it goes hand in hand with the production.

Phatmag: So how long have you been producing for?

Emma: I've been producing for about a year and a bit. It's very hard actually, it's not as easy as it seems. It's taken me quite a while to get used to being in the studio and get what I want out of the engineer as opposed to what he wants to do or blah di blah , you know, all the little things that you learn and every time you go you learn more and more, so it taken a year..

Phatmag: For somebody who's only just started you've done quit a bit of production and remixes haven't you?

Emma Not enough though... it could never be enough...Phatmag: Who have you been working with?

Emma I've been working with Ricky Collins, Sheiler Prosper, Shawn C who used to be in Kruez, I've done two remixes for Makila, General Levi & MC Creed, and I've done some of my own production with Suzie Q ( a really Wicked vocalist) & MC Bashy and Kofi B which I finished last night, and I must say it's really good, the ladies are gonna like it....

Phatmag: Is it a man hating song?

Emma NO. not at all, it's ladies night thing, it's all about the ladies night, I'll never do a man hating track, well I don't know maybe, after being scorned I may write one...

Phatmag: Don't turn like the Americans...

Emma Haha.. I'll try..

Phatmag: So what's the future for Emma?

Emma Well I'm working hard on setting up stuff in America, I was out there twice last year and I played in Texas, Washington, New York and Miami...