The nu-R&B experimental singer Miso Extra, has released her debut album ‘Earcandy’ on 16 May. The album follows her two EPs ‘Great Taste’ in 2022 and ‘MSG’ in 2023.
‘Earcandy’ features 12 bubbly tracks which blend KPOP with UK Garage and R&B. The 30 year old singer was born in Hong Kong to her British father and Japanese mother and is now based in the UK with both cultures influencing her sound and musical influence. Her record label, Transgressive Records, describes her influences: “J Dilla, the late MF DOOM, Daft Punk and Kelis. Aside from music, anime has been a huge inspiration, with all these references woven into her work today.”
This playfulness and animation comes through in the album with standout tracks such as ‘Good Kisses’, a blend of Japanese and English lyrics with an addictive hook as she sings “Am I trippin’?’ over a bouncy R&B beat. The song has quickly become a fan favourite since its release in November 2024, amassing over 600,000 listens on Spotify.
Miso Extra talks positivity in creating with Dork Magazine. She shares: “The vision is just having fun making music and just making,”. She goes on to say, “This album is about being youthful and hopeful but also with the naivety that comes with that,”.
This notion certainly comes through in airy anime-inspired tracks such as ‘POP’ which she describes as “cutely aggressive”, toeing “the fine line you’ve got to tread with love and obsession”.
As well as this, she explores a relatable naivety in ‘Done.’, taking a strong Y2K R&B influence. The singer shared her thoughts with Flood Magazine, stating that she got inspiration from popular 90s/ 00’s girl group Destiny’s Child for the track. This is clearly seen in the hook “don’t waste my time”, which has similarities to the message of many of the band’s hit songs, namely ‘Bills, Bills, Bills’ from 1999. Similarly she features R&B voices such as London singer Tyson who accompanies her in ‘Candy Crushin’’. She goes on to explain the album’s relationship with euphoria, stating that ‘Earcandy’ is “euphoric”, whilst ‘Slow down is “euphoric exhaustion”.
The singer’s artistry in production can be seen in her incorporation of AI sampling in tracks such as ‘Playboi’. With Flood Magazine she says, “I wanted the AI section to feel as if you’re asking Siri or ChatGPT for answers”. She has showed her production prowess when performing a DJ set with ID*Room, available on YouTube.
Miso Extra will be performing in the UK at Rough Trade West and is set to embark on a UK/EU tour in June. Tickets can be found on her website.
