American R&B duo Emotional Oranges had a lot of firsts last August 23: their first Manila show and their first press conference. Members Azad and Vali are currently on their Asian tour, with additional stops in Jakarta and Seoul. For their Manila stop, they performed at Apotheka Manila for a groovy but almost private party.
Throughout the intimate press conference held at Brunch Bureau, the artists were able to delve into their careers, lives, and passion for their craft. Azad in particular highlighted his excitement for this Manila stop due to his Pinay partner. Meanwhile, Vali gave a shout out to the duo’s Filipino fanbase, seeing if they “could build a relationship” in a deeper sense after the show.
They had nothing to sing but praises for their stay in Manila so far: “amazing, friendly, warm, beautiful, love, food, culture,” as said by the female vocalist.
Better in pairs
The duo started making music in 2019 and have garnered an impressive stack of achievements since then, from performing at Coachella to selling out their debut headliner tour. However, they aren’t the type to dwell on numbers and stats. “Whether or not we were here, we would still be doing music. Whether it took us here or not, we would never give it up. It’s like oxygen.”
Music is evidently a huge part of both Azad and Vali’s lives, if not their entire lives instead. When asked about songs that reflect their journeys, they mentioned “Peak” because it describes what they’ve been through with every country and fan they’ve met so far.
Fruitful collaborations
Another addition was an unreleased track called “Call It Off,” which is a collaboration with NCT’s Jaehyun that will appear on their first full album scheduled for 2025. “Call It Off” in particular resonates with them due to how “we’ve all had that moment where you want to call it off, you wanna call it quits, whether it’s with your line of work, with your relationship, whether with your family, and just kind of sticking through.. I think that’s the inspiring thing about our journey as independent artists,” shared Azad.
This is the second song the K-pop artist and the duo have worked on, with Azad producing Jaehyun’s song “Flamin’ Hot Lemon” for his solo debut album. “Flamin’ Hot Lemon” was born from the Korean artist’s spontaneous desire to write about a popular American snack: Flamin’ Hot Limon Cheetos. Coupling this up with Azad’s desire to write about his first love, they came out with a chill, groovy track.
“When we write some of our records that we know are really big, we’ll pitch it to some of our friends that are also artists and see if they want to hop on,” Vali shared as the duo’s approach on collaborating with other artists.
Getting emotional
Even with numerous collaborations under their belt, both Azad and Vali believe that nobody else aside from each other would’ve been perfect for the duo they have right now. Despite their professional relationship and the occasional squabbles on creative decisions, they maintain “deep love” for one another, which heavily motivates their craft.
“There’s a sense of innocence with (our) name, which you kind of see in our shows. You see a mom in her 40s or 50s with her 9-year-old daughter, a Gen Z couple, people in their late 20s to early 30s,” Azad shared to best describe who Emotional Oranges makes music for.
As the duo takes on greater heights with the Asia leg of their tour, they made sure to recommend songs of theirs for various audiences. “Built That Way” suits their Filipino audience according to Vali due to the mere way they are. Meanwhile, “Wrong Hands” is their pick to introduce themselves to a non-fan or a new listener, considering it “one of the most fun songs to perform.”
Emotional Oranges is set to release their first full album in 2025. You can listen to their present discography on all major music platforms.
