Meet Emotional Oranges, the Ascendent R&B Duo Hiding in Plain Sight

You don’t know who Emotional Oranges is — nevertheless for the emerging pop-R&B duo that’s steadily built buzz since releasing “Motion” in the summer of 2018, this is exactly as they proposed. Formed in 2016, they dropped their debut EP, The Juice, Vol. 1, this past month, and embarked on a seven-date tour that saw them sell out shows in Brooklyn, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Toronto. Yet the pair’s identity has remained a undefined nevertheless conspicuous silhouette.


“Music should be about music, man,” the male half of the sort, who we're calling A., Explains to MTV News. “I remember in the ’90s, I'd be watching shit — whether it was Prince or Janet [Jackson] — like there could be fans genuinely fainting in the audience because there wasn't the access of being to be able to see what the fuck the moves were on Instagram. You'd rock with the music; you'd rock with the creative.”


Indeed, aside from recent concert photography, the duo’s Instagram plan of action has seemingly been one of concealment and misdirection; at times, the categorize has taken a pop art approach to pop-star marketing, grafting their merch and logo onto images of stars like Marilyn Monroe, Daft Punk, and Angelina Jolie. Their reticence is a familiar music industry trope, although no one can tell you it isn’t working: Their distinct visuals have eclipsed millions of views on YouTube; their sold-out stop at New York’s 650-cap Music Hall of Williamsburg has landed them a headlining gig at Brooklyn Steel in October; and Forever 21 has even been accused of, in so several words, rocking also hard with the duo’s creative.


Run through The Juice, and it’s easy to hear why so several listeners have been so charmed by the duo. They cite Sade, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu as their influences, yet the bass-driven disco on “Motion,” complemented by closesly pitched guitars, may remind you of other artists currently inhabiting the liminal space between pop and R&B: dvsn, The Weeknd, Drake. Produced by Azad Nacify and William Leong, the song finds you at the blissful end of a too-long night, or the starting of a party, as it’s slowly heating up.


That chemistry is, in part, facilitated by the nuanced interplay between A. And B., The duo’s female vocalist. “Hold You Back,” as an example, presents a love triangle we don’t often observe in pop music: a gentleman, jealous of a woman who’s stolen his ex-girlfriend’s heart. A. Says the song took its distinctive shape as soon as B. Re-worked the track he’d started writing.


“I began that song writing about my ex-girl, and then [B.] Came over and she had heard the hook, and was like, ‘No, we should flip this,’” A. Explains.


“We weren't thinking about what anyone thought,” B. Says of their songwriting process. “We weren't like, ‘Oh, let's not mention that lyric because it won't connect with this girl, or that sort of guy.’”


The desire and heartache that colors these moments isn’t unfamiliar to the two, who actually met through a mutual acquaintance: A.’S best friend, who was dating B. At the time. Nevertheless, as that relationship started to dissolve last year, the two noticed themselves in a surprising state: inspiration.


“I had a pretty big breakup, Along with a. Was sort of in the middle of it,” B. Says. “But we used it. I think he got inspired off of it; he came with all these records all of the topics that covered our relationship.”


“It was tough,” A. Says. “I mean, he's really my best friend still, right? He knew as I was doing it. I would keep him updated.”


from there on, they started recording the follow-ups to “Personal” and “Motion,” blocking out 10 days to lay down “Corners of My Mind,” “Someone Else,” “Built That Way,” “Good To Me,” and more.


In the lead-up to The Juice, the pair landed on a larger narrative to symbolize personalized "Motion," and "Hold You Back" on video, using the former two to set the stage for the latter's aforementioned female love affair. Although the “Good To Me” clip, which premiered on mtvU and MTV Live today, relies on their vocal dynamic to visually tell its story, shifting perspectives between the video's male and female protagonists in sync with the song. (As well as one Ghost-like moment, where the woman finds herself daydreaming of a shared ceramics experience with her former lover.)


“This video deals with the haunting feeling of losing someone you're truly connected to,” the order says. “When an intimate connection between two people is very strong, they start to solidify with each other. And once that kind of tight bond is psychically separated, the spirit is still there keeps it up and continues to be connected. Pottery and the idea of building something with your hands felt like the ideal visual representation of our message.”


Now, with the latest video out, and their brief tour wrapped, the duo can shift their focus toward The Juice’s anticipated Vol. 2, which they hope will be out by October, in time for their return to New York.


“A lot of influences on this one are ’80s-inspired, so far,” A. Says of the forthcoming follow-up. “It's like, plucky rhythmic guitars, you could hear a lot more of that. The auxiliary percussion elements you hear in our songs are going to be heightened, so more bounce, even. More 3/4 rhythms. I think we're going to get better as writers, too.”


Yet will they ever reveal their identities? So far, the order is content to hide in plain sight; at their recent shows, there were no gimmicks to conceal their faces. As an alternative, as they hoped, they’ve simply enjoyed the possibility to play for audiences more interested in savoring the music than unmasking them.


“I love this order because it's the songwriting that connects to the people, you know what I mean?” B. Says. “It's not about the artist — it's about the perspective, it's about the story, it's about the music, it's about the vocal, and then it's the experience."