Fearless Music, Vol. 25 & 26



There are more than one artist named Emok: 1. DJ Emok is co-founder of the record label Iboga records. Together with label partner Banel, Iboga has successfully grown from strength to strength since its creation in 1996 to become internationally recognised today as one of the most respected and successful record labels in the world. Armed with production skills in various electronic genres, Emok also produces under the name of Maelstrom and Phony Orphants. 2. Emok are a hard-hitting, precedent breaking three piece whose members all originally hail from Israel, currently residing in Brooklyn. Coming from Northern Israel, EMOK defines its style with intense emotions and complexity. Avoiding the Israeli military sentence, the trio came to New York in 1998 though they've been playing together since high school. In Israel, EMOK established a loyal fan base, opened for the Prodigy and were well respected in the Israeli rock scene, but when the time had come to trade guitars for guns they took the first flight out to the US. Musically the foundation lies in Middle Eastern melodies combined with post punk and the building blocks are distortion pedals and electronic samples. The result is a structure of pure concrete and steel. The music is intense and doesn't leave you alone for a second with lyrics drawn from the harsh reality that they had grown to know and the ways they have found to escape it. Resonant of the region, the words are torn and conflicted, trying to reconcile a very liberal political point of view with an unwavering and instinctual need to fight and die for one's homeland. It's a heavy burden to carry around, which leaves a sweet but vicious taste after each song. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.