Miso Extra, real name Emily, looks cosy when she answers The Forty-Five’s video call – smiley and a bit sleepy, cradling a cup of something warm and soothing. “My brain is fried. Bear with me. My operating is slower today than usual,” she implores, as her family cat Yuzu saunters into view.
The London-based artist, a producer and performer who sings and raps in English and Japanese, has every right to be a little bit dazed. She’s just finished up supporting electronic innovator Kelly Lee Owens on tour, whizzing off to Paris partway through to perform with Toro y Moi for a special headline show. We’re catching up as she readjusts to reality now that she’s away from the whirlwind, as she steps back into a more typical rhythm.
Still, it won’t be long before she’s lost in a flurry of activity again. Her hotly anticipated debut album, ‘Earcandy’, is due out next month (16 May) via Transgressive, and she’ll soon be gearing up for a series of summer live dates, including a performance at Brighton’s Great Escape festival and shows in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.
‘Earcandy’ was written last year in the midst of a sticky London summer. “I have really distinct memories of it being those few days when it was so, so hot and everyone was just melting,” Miso says. And you can really feel it: the album has the giddy air of a fling, exploring ideas of romance via a glittering mosaic of yearning, flirtation and lust. Miso thinks the summery sound might have seeped in semi-subconsciously. “I do think the brighter nature of it comes into play with it trying to be fun, but it’s also playing into that idea of being a bit naive as well,” she explains. Harbouring a crush makes naive fools of us all.
Born in Hong Kong to a Japanese mother and British father, Miso moved from Japan to the UK, growing up in Buckinghamshire. As a child, she learned to play the violin but Miso’s love for music developed naturally over time. “It was very much left up to me to kind of explore that on my own terms,” she says. “I think I just left myself open to receiving influence from others. That’s probably lent itself quite nicely to the reason why my music sounds so eclectic, because it’s come from so many different places.”
With its moreish mix of pop, dance and R&B, ‘Earcandy’ is aptly named. It harnesses noughties nostalgia reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s more boogie-friendly ballads and an edgier dancefloor-friendly sound, with hints of K-pop and garage, and nods to electronic boundary pushers like A. K. Paul – who also co-wrote Miso’s track ‘Ghostly’ – MIA, and Solange. There are fruitful collaborations with Metronomy (‘Good Kisses’), DJ BORING (‘Slow Down’) and R&B artist Tyson (‘Candy Crushin’’), and consistent throughout is an addictive catchiness – one that promises to lure plenty of new recruits into Miso’s ‘Umami Army’, the tasty nickname for her growing fanbase.
With so many food metaphors bouncing around, I ask her what it is that makes music so tasty. “Ear candies!” Miso exclaims. “Little treats in there, like little nuggets, having melodies that feel ‘mmm,’” she says playfully. “They just hit. It just sits in my ears and it’s just delicious.” It’s hard to describe as it’s somewhat intangible – the multitudinous elements that make you hit replay on a particularly delicious track. “It’s just that addictive quality,” Miso explains, “trying to put stuff in there that people find familiar, presented in a slightly different way.” Such compositions are a little like found art, she adds, a fresh recontexualisation of elements that we’ve likely already crossed paths with.
Miso’s taste for evocative wordplay reflects her affinity for visuals – and imagery is key to her artistic expression. She’s a cinephile and has always been drawn to the whimsical escapism found in Studio Ghibli films that she loved to lose herself in growing up. “The visuals lead me to think about ‘how would this sound?’” she says. Anime in general sparks her creativity. “I think it lends itself to really pushing the boundaries of imagination,” she says. ”Even illustration, drawn art and 3D design as well. It’s pretty limitless in terms of the rules of physics,” she says. “You can just do anything. And I quite like the open-ended possibility with that. I think that, in turn, inspires me to be like, cool, there are no rules, let’s go!”
Her aesthetic awareness unsurprisingly extends to her sartorial choices. Whether taking part in a COLORS SHOW, performing on tour or featuring in a fashion brand campaign, Miso effortlessly cuts a cool figure and clearly has an intuitive eye for style. “It’s your war paint, right?” she says. “To some degree, this is your uniform to help channel your creativity.” I ask whether her moniker, a tongue-in-cheek critique of the prejudice she’s experienced as a mixed-race woman, acts in a similar fashion. “Yeah, it’s kind of like, OK, I am extra – despite trying to conform for the longest time,” she says. “Traditionally speaking, there’s a history of Asian women trying to conform, to fit in – and not just Asian women, marginalised communities as a whole” she adds. The name Miso Extra acts as a disarming response – a knowing wink that sends backwards attitudes packing.
Now that the album’s almost out, how is she feeling? “It’s been fun. The first album is very daunting, because you think ‘oh gosh, you’ve gotta make this good,’” she says. “And then I received a really good piece of advice from a musician friend. They were like, ‘Just make whatever you want, and just make it as broad as you like.’ Give people as much breadth of your creativity as possible.” The project’s colourful blend of clubby anthems, flirty electronic R&B and quirky pop indicates Miso followed this guidance, whipping up a truly delectable record set to brighten up dancefloors and reawaken the senses. “I just like things that make you feel good. A lot of the time I was asking myself, ‘Would my friends put this on and would we want to dance to this?’ And if the answer was yes, I was like, cool, you succeeded.” The sound of summer’s incoming, can you taste it?
‘Earcandy’ is out May 16 via Transgressive
