After dropping revered mini-album The Juice. Vol I earlier this year, fast rising duo Emotional Oranges are back with their groove-filled follow up The Juice. Vol .II, released on Avant Garden/Island Records records.

Audio engineer “A” and vocal coach “V”, the two going by anonymous monikers so as not to interfere with their personal lives, weren’t just plonked together in a label meeting. No, that would be too easy. The pair started their successful partnership after meeting at Bat mitzvah in early 2017, and have since made it their mission to provide us with their own unique take on classic early-aughties R&B.

With their debut album picking up millions of streams within the first few months of its release, a new edition to their funky discography is eagerly welcomed by fans and critics alike, building further on the tangerine-tinged universe they’ve already created.

The Juice Vol. II is chock-full of sweet synthy bangers, with V’s luscious vocals calmly steamrolling through A’s funk-filled melodies. The pair manage to send tingles out of our headphones and straight down our spines within the first few seconds of first track “Don’t Be Lazy”. Falling under that label of anti-pop, the genre that has derailed our idea of what defines pop music today, the pair take things further with “Just Like You”, a soul-searching track giving echoey soundscapes a vibrant edge. The final track, “Heal My Desires”, embodies the care-free spirit of good eighties synth-pop down to a t. It’s soft, saccharine-sweet and serving us exactly what we need.

After they sold out Heaven in London last week, we spoke to Emotional Oranges about touring, inspiration and the mystery that surrounds the pair down below…..

You’ve got The Juice, Vol. 2 out today – are you excited?
It’s been a wonderful journey to this point and we can’t wait for our fans to be able to experience this project in full! Four unreleased songs that we’re extremely proud of.

Where did the inspiration for the project come from?
This is the second part of our Trilogy. We wanted to experiment with a few more styles that inspired us growing up — everything from the ode to 90’s New York hip-hop on “West Coast Love” to the underground freestyle club energy on “Iconic”.

You’ve still both never revealed your names – why the mystery? Do you think you ever will?
Our names may never be revealed but our identities certainly have in the music, art and stage experience.

Your song “Motion” became the official song of Ru Paul’s Drag Race last year – what was your reaction to something like that happening?
What an absolutely gorgeous moment! Still buzzing about it…

You’ve got very dedicated fans, the “citrus squad” – and the crowds all know your words – do you find that strange? I read you also interact with them on a daily basis – why is this so important to you?
We don’t exist without them and are equally as proud to rep them as they are us. It’s genuinely a family vibe if you come to our shows and that’s important to us!

What do you think makes you guys work so well together?
We have a lot of respect for each other’s perspective and work ethic!

I read that you both still have day jobs, is that true? Why is this so important for you guys to keep that semblance of normality?
Just feels as though people lose themselves quite easily in this industry. It’s been nice to live a normal life and then turn into somewhat of a superhero on stage.

Who would you love to collaborate with?
The 1975, Mos Def, Ari Lennox and Harry Styles to name a few.

You’ve really blown up in the last year. What’s your 5-year plan?
Taking it all as it comes but we’d love to perform at festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Lovebox, Reading and Leeds. That and putting out music, clothes and art that we really love and believe in.