Step into the vibrant multiverse of Miso Extra with her latest sophisti-pop track “Good Kisses”

12 November 2024, 11:00 | Written by Camryn Teder

(Tracks)

(Miso Extra)

Produced by and featuring indie powerhouse Metronomy, burgeoning pop artist Miso Extra’s “Good Kisses” is a beautifully layered track dripping in sweet synthesizers. Meshing the sensibilities of musicians like Hannah Diamond and Kero Kero Bonito, the British-Japanese artist shows again why she’s been dubbed an artist to watch.

Growing up across Japan and the U.K., Miso Extra found grounding in her youth when she played her violin or sang. Still, music wasn’t a path Miso envisioned herself pursuing due to the lack of Asian influence she saw in the music industry. It wasn’t until she understood the healing powers of music that she decided to pursue it full-time. Someone prone to bottling up their feelings, Miso found she could set her emotions free in songs. So, in 2020, she started pursuing music. Now meshing genres like future funk, jazz, hyperpop, and UK garage, the world is being introduced to Miso Extra.

The unique name of Miso Extra comes from an unlikely place: the racism Miso experienced as a child. Where phrases like “me so horny” were used as insults, Miso reclaimed the phrase, turning it on its head into the powerful “me so extra” instead. The alias is also inspired by anime. The Miso persona is not just a musician, but a musical being who champions love and the embracing of insecurities. It’s all a part of the “Misoverse.”

Out on Transgressive Records, today Miso released a new single “Good Kisses”. With her vibrant imagination and informed production skills on full display, this is a song about romantic self-doubt, or, in Miso’s words “about this crushingly insecure feeling you get when someone is not as into you as you are them.” Here lush synths collide with rhythmic drum machines as Miso dives into a bilingual breakdown about her unrequited feelings.

Why is bubblegum pop the perfect backdrop to sing about sad topics like unrequited love? Maybe it’s nostalgic. I feel like I’m dancing in my room with my friends in 2011, wearing fuzzy socks and laughing through tears. Currently on tour with Rejjie Snow, and already championed by large underground acts such as Thundercat, Miso might be new to music, but she’s going all in. With her new single “Slow Down” released just before “Good Kisses”, this is all just a taste of what’s to come from Miso Extra.

"Good Kisses" is out now. Find Miso Extra on Instagram.