Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones — always focused on sound, stage, and substance.
As mentioned continuously in my pieces, the work we do at HallyuTones is truly to ensure that we can bring all of the music lovers of the globe together, in particular through the lens of the hallyuwave. One thing that fans of K-pop and global music as a whole have realised is that the era of streaming, and charts being influenced by it, caused companies to become more creative in increasing streams; enter the remix EPs.
While the concept of having remixes on an album is not new by any measure, the release of entire bodies of work solely dedicated to house interpretations has helped platform genres of music that have their roots in underground music. A major example of production focused music becoming popular is the breakout of artists like New Jersey native Cookiee Kawaii with her Billboard hit ‘Vibe (If I back it up)’ as well as the chart topping PinkPantheress who introduced a wider audience to UK Garage and drumnbass with her ingenious production skills.
When it comes to things like remixes, we tend to find that the histories of the genre are often rooted in mainly Black, often Queer, communities. Many times when music is enjoyed globally, the audience often forgets where it came from and what it took for it to reach them. As perfectly explained by Mike Steyels in his 2015 dive into the deep roots of this genre, Jersey club music, which was once simply called Club music by Newark fans of the sound, “comes from a city plagued by violence and poverty but one that focuses on positivity and fun.”
At its core, Jersey club music relies on participation by the community not only to be on the pulse of local music that can be remixed, but also to help foster the culture around the music like dance, and being a hype man of the people around you; kinship. In the words of Cookiee Kawaii, “this is a movement that’s been going way before me — people like DJ Sliink, DJ Jayhood, DJ Taj, UNIIQU3, they’ve all toured and exposed Club to so many avenues and people around the world. Club is still underground, so people are still just finding out about it.”
We speak often about the K-pop world and its heavy reliance on global culture to draw in audiences. Today, we have a guest who took their own interest in various music and art styles and mixed it with the sounds they heard growing up. In recent months, an account has been making the rounds in K-pop and anime fandom spaces. Every now and then we’ll hear bits of anime tracks reimagined in the sound of early 2000s club music that’ll make you wanna rock your hips. Other times, the timeline will be stuck in a loop of lipsyncing and belting “MISTER WOAH” for hours on end.
If you didn’t know, yes, that is EMBA.
Interview Questions
- Hello and welcome to HallyuTones. Please introduce yourself to the readers.
Hey everyone, I’m EMBA or Manny. I’m from Delaware, born in New Jersey (NJ) and I produce music; mostly Jersey Club. I like a lot of other genres like house, some Kompa, some RnB as well.
- What was the first K-pop song you heard and what impression did it leave on you?
I think it was probably Bad Girl by BEAST around the time it came out. My older siblings put me on, that was my introduction. As well as Big Bang, 2NE1, many earlier second generation groups. Since I was young, 8 or 9, I didn’t have any reservations about listening to different things. BEAST may not even have been the first song I heard but it was the first that stuck out to me.
- You also seem to enjoy a variety of Japanese media. Are there major differences in how you engage in fandom based on the type of media?
In general, I do find enjoyment in talking to other people about things but I don’t participate too much in internet fandom. I used to go to SMASH tournaments [where gamers play Super Smash Bros] as a competitive player but I don’t really engage much with fandom on the internet outside of gaming events. But I would definitely be open to going to K-pop conventions too. My siblings have been to a K-Con around 2017/2018, I think I’d enjoy that.
- How would you describe yourself as a music listener? Who are some of your favourite artists to listen to?
Since I started producing, it’s shifted my mentality and how I hear stuff. Listening to music is one of my favourite hobbies but since I started producing I pay attention a lot more to how it’s made. I ask myself questions like “How did it feel to make that? How did this instrument get here? Why did they decide to do this part”. I used to, and think I still do, feel like I enjoy songs that sound very collaborative, and things that are made live. Nowadays you can find a beat on the internet and make a song yourself. I can’t really tell all the time but I think I do enjoy songs where you can tell it was more of a collaborative process they went through from start to finish; where the producer and singer were together in the studio making it.
As far as genres, there’s those people that are like “ohh I listen to everything” well… Yeah. I find enjoyment in a lot of different kinds of things.
- What was the thing that drew you to music production?
I started with making Jersey Club remixes. The first one I made was Before You Go by TVXQ around May of 2024. I just thought, ‘There’s no way there’s a jersey remix of this’. So I looked it up and there wasn’t so I just did it. I never ended up releasing it but I haven’t stopped making mixes since then.
- You recently released a 6 track EP called the ‘Jersey Party Pack’. What has been your favourite part about putting this collection together?
High key, when I was making it I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put multiple different interests together. There’s some K-pop remixes and Anime stuff and I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to mix the two but the concept of it was really fun. Making the EP and the album art like a video game and having a world around it was really cool. The remixes themselves were also really fun, but I really enjoyed getting back to drawing for this release. Since I started producing, I’ve been doing less drawing and graphic work so it felt great to get back to my other hobbies and put it all together for this project.
- With the rise in “Remix EP’s” being released, do you think more people are becoming aware of different styles of music?
Yeah, I think it’s kind of like how people say it’s a DJ’s job to curate, and put people on to music. Producers that mainly make remixes introduce people to different kinds of songs, like the Party Pack has a lot of anime themes that may have introduced anime fans to KARA or something like that. I think it’s a cool thing to see.
- In your True Jackson VP stream you mention that you want to try a New York style of Jersey as opposed to “real, ‘This is Jersey’” type Jersey. What are some things that differentiate the two?
When I think of Jersey, I grew up listening to the OG remixes, not exactly from Baltimore but New Jersey which is around 140/150BPM. It’s more like something that you do dances to, with steps to follow like ‘sexy walk’ or ‘rock your hips’; dances that have been around for a while that you do that to. New York is more mixed with drill, and has a slower tempo. The Naruto remix I made is more of that style with more drill influence.
- Do you think the dances that come with Jersey Club are significant to how to enjoy and interpret the music?
For sure! I feel like when you listen to something there’s a certain way you feel like you should dance to it. When you hear Jersey from NJ you can hear it’s more for a club kind of setting, where the hype builds up to a certain point. The NY one is.. I don’t know how to describe it but if you like drill you’ll know. I like to also talk about Philly (Philadelphia) which is a bit more fast, and you for sure dance to it. The dances aren’t the same but they’re definitely there.
- What aspects of your culture do you think have had the biggest influence on the way that you listen and create content?
I’m from Cameroon so I have grown up listening to a lot of Afrobeats, a lot of Makossa, Coupé Décalé so, whenever I make remixes I usually do have some sort of Afrobeats influence like afrodrum patterns; it’s just normal. Whenever I do something like that it’s never like I’m stretching to add something like that to my work. It literally just feels natural to add that to whatever remix, or beat in general that I make. Also I feel like it fits really well because those genres are things you dance to, so I think it makes sense to add to some sort of Jersey Club too.
In terms of music I listen to, I have been enjoying a lot of Alté lately, I think it originated from Nigeria. Whenever I hear some of these artists, and when I initially discovered that the genre exists, I thought “oh these are things that I do”. It’s like modern or reimagined melodies with afrobeats patterns. I have been following that a lot more but I haven’t gotten into the history of the genre but it is my favourite thing to listen to nowadays.
- K-pop fans often speak about the influence of Black American, and Black diasporic culture at large on the industry through styling, genre and much more. In your opinion, what do you think makes this collection of cultures so attractive to the K-pop industry?
Well, I think Black people are the root of a lot of things. So I feel like if K-pop people want to make anything that’s for sure the route they’d go through. For example like RnB, they’d refer to Black artists for that. I think that’s how a lot of second generation artists started or got their influence and since then I think it’s developed on its own. There’s a lot of RnB involved in K-pop, and that also shows in the K-RnB world. Even nowadays we’re hearing a lot of afrobeats in K-pop releases which is from Africa. I think if you take the music, you’re going to get some styling as well.
- Was it surprising to see the positive reception to your Jersey Club remixes?
Surprising? Yes. Whenever I make something, I make it so that I can enjoy listening to it. So when other people listen to it and enjoy it, it’s like, wow. Maybe there’s something more to this. One of my favourite moments of producing is when people tell me they’re looking forward to something that I’m releasing. For example after a stream, or after I release a snippet or something. I think I definitely didn’t expect it to be this well-received because it really was just me sitting here, making my remixes having fun doing this. Now, it’s a little different. I love whenever I hear anything I’ve made in a setting that I didn’t create myself too. It’s so cool to see people listening to things not knowing who I am.
DJ CHEN is a DJ who also does club events like K-Pop Club Nights. I met him yesterday for the first time. He was one of the people that hit me up to play some of the remixes I was making. He invited me and I saw in person what the K-pop club nights are like for the first time. There were A LOT of people and they were doing the dances, I was there too and it was a really nice time. It’s nice to see the community in person too. That was my first time and it was great.
- If you could work with any artist at all on an official “prod. EMBA” track, who would it be?
I have a couple… I think PinkPantheress, I’ve always been a fan since she first started, I would love to make something with her. Also, a big Sabrina Carpenter. I think we really need to get her on a Jersey club beat. I think that would be really interesting. I was thinking of an original but if I had to remix an existing track it’d definitely be Hold Tight. That’s a bit more of a deep cut from one of her earlier EPs.
Also some alte artists like Amaarae and Cruel Santino. I think their beat selection, and what they use is among my favourites. I’d love to be in a collaborative process with them. Like I mentioned before, I love the collaborative process of being with like a singer, or rapper and going back and forth like, “let’s add this”, and “we want this kind of vibes to something”. So I feel like being in a studio with them would be really fun.
Oh, also I love a lot of video game inspired sounds, video games are my other favourite thing to do. So I would love to be in a persona game. So producing something for a persona soundtrack is another one of the things I would really love to do.
- You often co-create with your viewers and showcase your creative process on streams. What are some lessons that you’ve learnt through this style of work that you think are worth sharing?
I think one of the biggest is that you can always get better, and you will get better if you keep doing something. Whenever I make something, like when I upload a video of it or stream, I watch it myself. The music, I do think I improve at making beats every time I make something new. But the editing of videos, I can easily look back and see myself getting better at that, my growth. It’s almost like a little documentary.
Also seeing new people joining the chat, and things is really warm to see. Over time watching something growing, and there’s evidence of it, is the best part of making anything on stream. Collaboratively, having people chime in on little things I think makes it feel more like a community whenever I make something. It’s not just me there by myself and the things that people say do have an influence on what I make.
- Before the Jersey Party Pack, came the Jersey Entertainment System; from which the opening track, ‘Planet Pixie’ evokes a sense of whimsy and adventure. Can you tell us more about how it came to be and the thoughts behind the project?
That is actually one of my favourite things I’ve ever made. I had to learn how to do something from scratch again for the first time in a while too. I used Blender to 3D design the cover and it was cool to remember how to be a beginner at something again. I started making this album in May 2025, I made all of them on stream too. Like I said earlier, I’m a really big fan of video game music. So I really just wanted to make something that sounded like my favourite songs. Whenever I would listen to these songs, when I was younger in middle school and high school, I thought this must’ve been so much fun to make. I was really into Sonic music at the time. When I started producing this album I decided to give it a try.
This album’s concept was initially different. When I was making beats I was like “ooh let me put a little jersey part.” I wanted to do five tracks of some Fruitiger aero which is the kind of sound you’d hear on the WII or the DS. As I kept making more sounds, and listening to more game sounds, that’s when I decided to use the guise of this being a Jersey project to put together literally all of the things I’ve ever wanted to make. The songs aren’t in the order that I made them but I can tell there are things that are structured specifically around Jersey, and there are also things I just wanted to make.
I really do think I get better whenever I make something new. So since I made this over six months, the things I made in September and August are not better but more developed than what I made in May.
- What do you think are the most important things for people to remember when they are blending together art work or styles from different cultural contexts, for example anime and jersey club?
I would say to have fun and to not be too serious. I mentioned earlier fandoms, and sometimes I think it’s easy to get stuck or comfortable in what you already know. I’ve been listening to K-pop, Jersey and watching anime for all my life. So I feel like I exist within these spaces and just know things. If anyone isn’t too comfortable in the space, just doing whatever they feel is right is how you build the confidence to blend certain things. That’s how you get new creations. Listen to the internet less.
- Where do you see yourself as a music producer and DJ in the next five years?
I do think about this a lot but it’s not something I can predict really. I do see consistent growth, and new opportunities, like this interview. However when I think of the future too much I kind of lose sight of being present and enjoying myself. But I do think The Stocks™ are rising. I feel like if I say something about where I’ll be in a certain amount of time there’s a subconscious deadline to get to it. I do think [my career] will grow, but growth is the only thing I can ask for and getting better at something. The actual result of where I’ll be? We’ll see.
- What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking of picking up a new skill, either as a hobby or for work?
I be saying the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is right now. Coming from a fighting game background where I used to compete a lot and attend tournaments, that kind of helped me getting started with music production. You’re not gonna go to school to learn how to play the game, you are just gonna go play the game and figure it out from there. That’s kind of how I got started with music production. Any time I need to learn something, I just look up a tutorial. Sooner or later, over time you really just get better. You just gotta figure it out.
Rightfully so, I think there are a lot of things that can feel overwhelming to start like music production. But I think music is already in all of our lives, it’s something that if you start, you’ll find out about yourself. You can look up tutorials on YouTube for the literal mechanics of working with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or other equipment. It’s all hard work and perseverance. I don’t think I’m too special in any musical gifts or anything.
- What do you hope that people learn about you and the work that you do through this interview?
Usually my face isn’t too expressive of things that I’m saying or things I’m feeling. But I’ll say music is one of my favourite things to do. I really do have an unending joy of anything music related. I used to play instruments in band, so yeah. See me as a fan of anything music related and share music with me as well. I love when people share music with me.
- Do you have a final message for our readers?
Naruto: Believe it! Haha. You really just have to believe in yourself. Like I said, the best time is yesterday, the second best time is right now. Having a support system is necessary but, you’re going to have to live with yourself every day. Your own self-belief is the only thing that matters because you’re always gonna be there for yourself.
You’re gonna have to make steps to get better at some things, and keep going. Sometimes it’ll be harder, and sometimes it’ll be easier. Time is the most important thing. Over time as well, no matter how slow or fast, with consistency, you can do whatever you like. I think those two, time and consistency go hand-in-hand. Things can always get better. Not necessarily you, but the situation for sure. I’m a glass half full kind of person. Things can definitely get worse but why can’t they get better?
Interviews like this one are important because they give us insight into the minds of the fans across the world and how it is that we end up with such unique creations that combine interests. More importantly though, they introduce us to the history and cultural background of art that we engage with frequently, and sometimes even take for granted. When it comes to Jersey Club, much like genres like Amapiano and Gqom, this is the kind of creativity that comes with knowing that every opportunity to find joy must be grabbed with both hands.
EMBA and the community that he has created and encouraged through his live streams have become a point of connection to Jersey Club culture in ways that wouldn’t entirely be possible outside of the internet. The fact that EMBA encourages viewers to watch his streams only reaffirms my own view: the process is just as important as, if not more important than, the outcome.
In our conversation, EMBA points at his one and only tattoo and explains it. He has an infinity sign where the loops are replaced by hearts because he holds on to “unending, infinite positivity and love”. He explains that it’s easy for our focus to linger on the negative things because they are more abundant than the positive. But when we focus more on the things that we do enjoy and share those more, we’ll spread positivity a lot further, and have more impact on each others’ lives.
In an era where music streaming apps are becoming more and more saturated with artificially generated work, what a pleasure it is to know that there are artists out there encouraging others to pick up a medium and put their heart into the craft.
Expect more music from EMBA in the future as he keeps challenging himself and finding new directions to take his creativity. Join the ride and be part of the creative process that brings the labour of love that is music to life.
This is EMBA on:
Note: At the time of publishing the full versions of all of EMBA’s remixes are exclusively available on Soundcloud.
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