There’s so much more to the Toronto music scene than what people think. It is such a culturally diverse area, serving as a melting pot for sounds and artistry. One of its wonderful musical ingredients is EMP, a trio consisting of Eestbound (producer), Milly Manson (emcee), and Pree (vocalist). Their sound encapsulates the dark aura and energy that the new era of Toronto artists like Jazz Cartier and Roy Woods have helped to set forth.
Are you familiar with Travis Scott‘s platinum single “Antidote”? Well, Eestbound co-produced it with Wondagurl. Because of this and the music video for their single “Rebellion,” REVOLT wanted to learn more about this rising group.
Why was it important for you guys to incorporate different lineages and heritages within your music and video?
Eestbound: Well in the video, first of all, we wanted to showcase our diversity and in a positive way. How confident we are with what we are doing with our style. And the message that we want to push forward, we want people to have this emotional bond and connection. I feel like these days a lot of people and a lot of artists especially kind of don’t know where they are heading at.
What do you guys bring individually to this trio?
Milly Manson: I would say I bring the aggression. If you listen to dancehall music, it has a lot of aggression in it. They have a lot of emotion to get their point across. I try and take that from the music genre and add it into my own music. But, I kind of add a little twist to it. I’m not as aggressive as them but I add aggression into it because I feel like that’s the best way to get my point across by putting a lot of emotion into the music. I add aggression and hypeness to the group, or I try to. (laughs)
Pree: I am the girl in the group so naturally everybody would assume that I bring that feminine aspect and I do. I’m also like just as aggressive. We aren’t limiting what we can put out, we all bring different things. With regards to my culture and everything, I think I’ll be able to showcase it in the future with the songs that we’ll put out. So, I think I’ll be able to bring that. “Rebellion” is just the first example of what we are able to do.
Eestbound: Culture wise, I don’t feel like I’m bringing a lot because I grew up in Holland. In Holland there’s a lot of hardcore music. I wouldn’t necessarily bring that into it. There’s a lot of EDM in Holland, a lot of traditional country music, typical Dutch music. I don’t feel like I’m bringing any of that with me. I feel like I’m bringing more of the music that I grew up with. My mom was always a huge fan of old school, you name them, Maxwell, Lenny Kravitz, etc. All of these great artists have been inspiring me a lot. As I was growing up, I played guitar, piano, bass and I really go into rock, metal, and all types of music. I feel like whenever I just listen to a song I like, I like it. And I feel like that’s how music should be. Shouldn’t have a stigma and shouldn’t be judgmental about music. Shouldn’t feel like, Oh I can’t listen to it because my friends don’t listen to it. And that’s the view that I always had. All of the songs that I learned to play on the guitar and the whole view of music, I want to bring that into our records.
What distinct message do you want to leave everyone?
Eestbound: That’s a good question. I would say we are about to bring rock ‘n’ roll back, but in a new urban way. When I talk about rock ‘n’ roll, I’m talking about the attitude and energy that it has. It’s so aggressive but so loving at the same time. Makes people feel like they can do whatever they want.
Take a listen to EMP’s latest single “Perfect Timing”: