EMOTIONAL ORANGES INTERVIEW: Internationally recognised R&B-Pop duo Emotional Oranges are preparing for their much-anticipated debut album, set to drop later this year. Get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Azad: Groovy, soulful, warm, thoughtful and emotional. This sounds like some ChatGPT ass response but I’m not good at these type of questions [laughs].
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
Azad: I’ve realised a lot of my worst lyrics come when I’m well-fed and highly caffeinated. No but in all seriousness, I get up early as hell and find myself writing down ideas/recording voice notes before the sun even comes out some days. I love my mornings and feel the most in touch with whatever my source is.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
Vali: ‘West Coast Love’ is one of those records that truly embodies Emotional Oranges. The production taps into a deep nostalgia, while the melodies drift effortlessly, like watching a sunset over the Santa Monica pier in California. I may be from NYC, but the West Coast is where I found my greatest loves — both in music and in life.
What inspired you to make that song?
Vali: I was in the studio with our engineer at the time, Dan, running through a few tracks Azad had sent over for me to freestyle on. ‘West Coast Love’ was the third one we played with, and every melody you hear was born in that moment; probably one of my favourite freestyles I’ve ever done. The original lyrics were inspired by my first crush — back when I was growing up in NYC, hanging around the Manhattan Plaza basketball courts in Hell’s Kitchen. There’s also an Azad verse that was never released.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
Azad: This entire record, as warm and optimistic as it may sound, is about lost love; a relationship that I really wanted that unfortunately never even got a real shot. Every time I listen to the album top to bottom I’m reminded of what could have been.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
Vali: The best experience was singing ‘Killing Me Softly’ acappella for my mom at our sold-out show at Webster Hall in NYC. That song was the soundtrack to so many moments in my childhood, and getting to share it with her, in that space, was pure magic. Worst experience was Dallas, 2019. I had a brutal stomach virus, and right as ‘Just Like You’ started, I knew I had seconds before disaster. If I didn’t run, I was throwing up on the front row. So I sprinted off stage, grabbed the closest thing — a Whole Foods paper bag — threw up (bright blue Gatorade, for the record), and ran back just in time to hit the chorus. I’m pretty sure our playback engineer screamed in fear while it was all happening. But Azad didn’t even realise what happened until after the show.
What is your favourite song to perform?
Vali: I love performing ‘No Words’. Under the deep blue light, held by Azad, I’m no longer on stage — I’m somewhere else entirely. It feels like stepping into the world of Avatar and Blade Runner at once, pressed against my loft window, staring out into a neon-lit alley above a ramen shop. Every time, it’s a portal.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
Azad: I’m going to take liberties and answer all three separately. Artist would be Sade, her whole catalogue is undeniable and has basically soundtracked my life since I was a larva. The song that I’ve played the most is probably Janet’s ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’; I wanted to make people feel as good as I do when I heard that. Album would be ‘Reasonable Doubt’. Hov’s hunger was palpable; the imagery in the lyrics was something else. When I ran out of fuel in my early 20s, I leaned on that album heavily and followed all the breadcrumbs he left behind.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
Vali: Our name is all about feeling — raw, unfiltered emotion. We’ve all been there: heartbreak, unrequited love, the thrill of flirting, the rush of falling for someone. Then there’s orange — warm, nostalgic, electric. Sunsets, citrus, the chips and soda you grew up on, the basketball you bounced as a kid. Put it all together, and you get Emotional Oranges — a universe where every feeling has a colour.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
Azad: Running a combo coffee shop/vinyl bar with an elite studio in the back somewhere in Shibuya. That’s still a dream of mine that I hope to one day make a reality.
What’s success to you?
Azad: Improving my health along with safety and happiness for my family and friends. Being able to sleep at night knowing I’ve done the best I can.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
Azad: When my solo career didn’t work out, talk about ego death. As bittersweet as it is to write that, there’s a lot of beauty in how I’ve grown over the past decade. I learned to create space to allow my dreams to evolve. Just because you fantasised about something as a kid doesn’t mean you’re giving up on yourself if you decide to pursue another path.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
Vali: You can find us everywhere — Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube — just search Emotional Oranges. We love connecting with everyone, whether it’s through our music, live shows, or just sharing random moments online; we both have our personal pages, too. We’re not shy, come say hi and welcome to the citrus cult.
