EMNW interview: Meet the Japanese nu-metal duo already selling out London and Tokyo

EMNW throw nu-metal and rap metal together with punk, ska, and hip-hop, with Emma and Menu trading verses over the top. The duo’s official Japanese profile describes them as “cute looks × ferocious sound”, a tag Menu accepts, but won’t be limited by.

The pair came together in March 2024, Yokohama-born Emma with Menu from Okinawa, and have worked from the outset with producer and former TOTALFAT guitarist Kuboty under the banner of a Reiwa-era mixture revolution. Within two and a half years, they have gone from their first show to Fred Durst’s DMs, by way of the ROOKIE A GO-GO stage at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL and a sold-out night at The Black Heart in London.

Debut single ‘Choushi doudai?’ arrived in November 2024, followed by near-monthly releases through 2025 that included a cover of Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin”. Self-titled debut album ‘EMNW’ followed in March 2026 and carried them through 25 dates across Japan to a sold-out final at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM on June 15th, where they premiered ‘LOVING TO GET US BY’.

That song became their major-label debut single through Sony Music Labels on July 31st, though it was cut months earlier, in one London studio day wedged into their first UK tour in May. EMNW were handed some of those songs two days before they recorded them. Sam Matlock of electro-punk duo WARGASM produced and co-wrote it, and Charlie Russell, who has worked with Kasabian and Jamiroquai, mixed.

EMNW opened the Spotify Stage at SUMMER SONIC 2026 on August 14th, and a nine-date tour follows this autumn, finishing at Zepp Shinjuku in Tokyo on December 3rd. Electric Bloom Webzine spoke to Emma and Menu before SUMMER SONIC about recording in London at EMNW’s usual breakneck pace, what Sam Matlock told Menu about pronunciation, comparisons with BABYMETAL, and why there is only one answer when you ask about their biggest dream.

Before forming EMNW, you were both active in very different musical settings. When did you first feel that your voices and personalities could work well together as a duo?

Emma: There isn’t really one specific moment I can point to, but when we listen back to our demos and guide vocals, I really like how naturally our individual personalities blend together as we take turns singing and rapping.

During live shows, we’re so focused on performing that we actually don’t get many chances to really listen to each other’s vocals. That’s why, when we’re recording or listening back to demos, I often find myself thinking, “This is a balance that only these two can create”.

Menu: Our voices are completely different from each other, so from the beginning, I had a feeling that it would be interesting if we sang together. And when we actually did, our individual qualities didn’t disappear when our voices blended. Instead, I felt like they brought out the best in each other even more. That’s when I started thinking, “Maybe there are things only the two of us can do”.

Neither of you began your careers in mixture rock. What did you have to learn or unlearn when adapting your voices and performance styles to the genre?

Emma: I’ve been learning a lot by watching the live performances of artists who came before us. There are still a lot of things I need to improve on, but above all, I try to keep challenging myself. Things like jumping around on stage and doing the metal horns during our shows were also largely influenced by watching those artists.

Menu: When I actually started singing and performing in a mixture rock band, there were so many things I had to learn all over again, like rapping and singing while moving intensely. Especially during live shows, I’ve become much more conscious of using my entire body to deliver the music, instead of just singing. Since starting EMNW, I feel like the way I use my voice and the range of my expression have expanded quite a lot.

Looking back at EMNW’s first shows in 2024, what do you think would have surprised your past selves most about the final of your 25-date tour at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM?

Emma: I think it would be the fact that so many more people are supporting EMNW now. More and more people have been coming to our shows, and I’m so happy and grateful for that.

I also think my own performance has changed quite a lot. If the 2024 version of us could watch one of our shows now, I’d be happy if they thought, “They’ve really grown”.

Menu: I think the biggest surprise would probably be, “You guys performed overseas, made your major-label debut, and even appeared on Music Station!”. None of that was something I could have imagined in 2024. And on top of that, we did a 25-show tour and are now having the final at LIQUIDROOM. I think the version of us back then would be pretty shocked by that too.

“This is a balance that only these two can create.”

– Emma

EMNW have performed with experienced musicians who have played with bands including TOTALFAT, Dragon Ash, PALM, Skindred, KEYTALK, and Alaska Jam. How have they helped you develop as live performers, and is there any advice from them that has stayed with you?

Emma: We’ve learned so much from them, and they’re really the people closest to us in terms of learning and growing. Surprisingly, we don’t actually get advice that often, but we communicate with them a lot on a regular basis, and I still treasure the things they’ve said to us.

More than anything, we’ve learned so much from the way they approach live shows and music. And whenever the support musicians tell us that they can see how much we’ve grown, it makes us really happy and gives us a lot of motivation.

Menu: They’ve given us so much inspiration. In particular, I’ve come to realise that performing live isn’t just about technical ability. It’s really important that you yourself are the person standing on that stage. When I watch experienced performers, everything has a sense of conviction, from the way they stand and hype up the crowd to the way they use pauses. It’s made me want to create a live show that can only work because it’s EMNW even more.

You both appeared as guest vocalists on ORANGE RANGE’s ‘CURRY Tabetai feat. Soy Sauce’. What was the experience like for each of you? Menu, did sharing Okinawan roots with ORANGE RANGE make the opportunity feel especially personal?

Emma: Of course, I already knew the song and knew who ORANGE RANGE were, and I had actually watched them perform at festivals as a member of the audience before we formed EMNW. So I never imagined that the day would come when we’d get to perform together. It was a really valuable experience, and I’m incredibly grateful.

Menu: It feels like a dream. It was a truly special experience. ORANGE RANGE have been a familiar presence to me for a long time, and since I’m from Okinawa myself, being able to sing together with people who share that Okinawan heritage felt really meaningful to me. And I was so happy that we got to add our voices to this particular song. It was a moment when I really felt that this kind of future could exist at the end of the path I’ve been on with music.

What did working with Sam Matlock and Charlie Russell bring to ‘LOVING TO GET US BY’ that was new for EMNW?

Emma: We made the song while we were on our UK tour, and it incorporates EDM elements that we hadn’t really used much in EMNW before. Working with artists from overseas gave the song a more global sound, and it became a track that made us feel like we were discovering new possibilities for EMNW.

In the rap section after the first chorus, starting with “Here comes this devil again~,” I’m also trying out vocal expressions that we haven’t really used much in EMNW before, so I’d definitely love for people to pay attention to that part when they listen.

What made it feel like the right song for EMNW’s major-label debut?

Menu: We didn’t originally record it thinking, “Let’s make this our major-label debut single!”. But when we heard the finished track, everyone agreed that this should be the first one. We want to take our activities even more global from here, and there are elements of this song that make us feel that it has that kind of potential. I think it’s a really great song to begin our major-label career with.

You wrote the song during your UK tour and recorded it in London. Did recording mid-tour mean a tight turnaround?

Menu: It was pretty tight, yeah. We were in the middle of our UK tour, and there were even times when we were given the songs we were going to record just two days beforehand (laughs). But EMNW has been moving at pretty much this pace since we formed, so we were already pretty used to it. Even under those circumstances, I’m really happy that we were able to record such a great song during the tour.

There is more English in the lyrics than on your earlier songs. How did you approach the pronunciation, rhythm, and vocal delivery?

Emma: I’d say it’s basically about listening to things over and over, imitating them, and gradually making them my own. Both of us grew up listening to a lot of Western music, so we never really felt that much resistance to singing in English.

Menu: Sam was also there during the recording, and when I was worried about my pronunciation and asked him, “Is this right?”, he told me, “Pronunciation doesn’t matter! Just do whatever you want until you feel good about it!”. Because he said that, I was able to let go of all those distracting thoughts about making sure I didn’t pronounce anything wrong or that I had to sing in grammatically correct English. I think it allowed me to stop overthinking and just express things the way I wanted to. I’m really grateful to Sam for saying that to me.

How did you decide which vocal and rap sections each of you would perform?

Emma: Basically, our producer Kuboty comes up with the initial vocal arrangements. But we also actively give our own opinions about who should sing which parts.

For example, on ‘LOVING TO GET US BY’, Sam came up with the basic vocal arrangement, but the rap section I mentioned earlier, starting with “Here comes this devil again~,” was originally supposed to be Menu’s part. I suggested, “If possible, I’d really like to do this part”, and ended up taking it. Sam listened to it and said “Nice”, which made me really happy.

There are also lots of smaller details that we all discuss together, like “This part would be better if we sang it together”, or “This would stand out more as a solo than in unison”.

Menu: For the debut single, the vocal parts weren’t actually finalised until the day of the recording. We started with the vocal arrangement Sam had prepared, and then tried things out as we sang, thinking, “This part suits Emma better”, or “Menu sounds better here”. We kept experimenting until we found the version that sounded the coolest, making the most of the differences in our voices and expressions.

EMNW are often introduced with the phrase “cute looks × ferocious sound”. Does that description still work for you, or has it started to limit how people understand the group?

Menu: I still think it’s an easy-to-understand way of describing us. But I don’t think “cute × ferocious” is enough to fully express who we are. EMNW mixes all kinds of elements, like rock and rap. We want to keep that contrast, but at the same time, we want to show so many different sides of ourselves that people can’t just put us in a box and say, “This is what EMNW is”.

When artists combine a cute or pop image with heavy music, people are often quick to compare them with acts such as BABYMETAL. Have you received comparisons like that, and what did you think when you first heard them?

Emma: We get that comparison quite often. Since we also have this “cute × ferocious” concept, I think there are definitely some similarities.

They’re Japanese artists who are active on a global level, so honestly, I’m really happy when people compare us to them.

Fred Durst reacted to your cover of Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin”. What was your immediate reaction, and has there been any contact with him since?

Emma: I never imagined that Fred himself would react to it, so I was shocked, and I was just really happy that he had seen it at all.

When Fred shared it on his story, more people discovered EMNW, so it became a really big opportunity for us. He’s also sent us DMs since then and left comments on our ‘Rollin” video. We’re incredibly grateful, and it still makes me really happy whenever I think about it.

Your overseas shows have taken you to the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand. What have you learned about EMNW, from performing outside Japan, that you didn’t expect?

Emma: We received a much warmer response than we expected. There were so many moments when I felt that even though the language and culture are different, we can still connect through music, and that made me really happy.

After experiencing shows overseas, I’ve become even more eager to take our music to all kinds of different places, and I’ve started wanting to see even bigger things than before.

Later this month, you open the Spotify Stage at SUMMER SONIC 2026. How do you plan to win over the first crowd of the day?

Menu: I think most of the people there will be seeing us for the first time, so I want to put on a show that makes them think, “What the hell are these two!?” from the very first moment. I want people to feel, “Today is going to be so much fun!” at the very beginning of their SUMMER SONIC day, so we’re going to throw all of EMNW’s energy at them from the start.

The final of your autumn tour at Zepp Shinjuku will be the largest venue on an EMNW tour so far. How are you feeling about playing on the biggest stage of your career?

Emma: This will be the first time EMNW performs on the Zepp stage, so I’m already really excited. It’s also a place I’ve been to many times as a fan to watch shows, so it feels really special. I want to make it an amazing show.

Menu: When I think about how far we’ve come, I’m just really happy, and I want to make it a stage we’ll never forget. If we could tell ourselves when we first started EMNW, “One day, you’ll be standing on the stage at Zepp Shinjuku”, I don’t think we would believe it. I want to put all of our gratitude toward everyone who has supported us up until now into that performance.

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“I want to make it a stage we’ll never forget.”

– Menu

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What is your biggest dream for EMNW?

Emma: To perform at Coachella!

Menu: To perform at Coachella! I want to stand on that stage someday as EMNW, surrounded by artists from all over the world. That’s why I want to keep challenging ourselves so that people all around the world, not just in Japan, will get to know EMNW.

Final question. You’re at the top of a mountain. What are you yelling out from the top?

Emma: KAMASU!!!

Menu: KAMASU EVEN HARDER!!!

EMNW’s major-label debut digital single ‘LOVING TO GET US BY’ is out now through Sony Music Labels. The EMNW To KAMASU “LOVING TO GET US BY” TOUR 2026 opens at CLUB RIVERST in Niigata on October 31st, finishing at Zepp Shinjuku in Tokyo on December 3rd.

EMNW
LOVING TO GET US BY

Release Date: 31/07/26
Label: Sony Music Labels
Stream: Links

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