Miso Extra: Five Essential Albums

Women's history is world history, but care is taken in March to elevate the message and mission of Women's History Month. We've asked some of the Women We Love to write about their Five Essential Albums for FUV.

At last year's SXSW, Miso Extra's playful, dynamic sets were among the highlights at the Austin music festival, and the early start of the Japanese-British singer and producer's beeline to her debut album, Earcandy, which will be released on May 16 via Transgressive and PIAS.

She's already released a flurry of fiercely catchy singles from the album — including the silky groove of "Certified," the more contemplative "Ghostly," and the irresistible cheek of "Good Kisses," which features Joseph Mount of Metronomy — which was recorded at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in London. Miso Extra co-produced all twelve tracks with engineer Riccardo "Ricky" Damian (Mark Ronson, Ezra Collective, Jorja Smith) and also reached out to additional collaborators, including DJ Boring ("Slow Down"), AK Paul ("Ghostly"), Samo, Tyson ("Candy Crushin') and MICHELLE ("Certified" and "Pop").

Effervescence and wit are central to Miso Extra's aesthetic and perspective (and yes, her moniker, an anime-inspired alter ego, punches back at racist bullying she faced as a child), but she's deadly serious when it comes to the precision of her production. She effortlessly connects elements of R&B, synth-pop, garage, hip hop, and house, and flips between English and Japanese (she was born in Hong Kong and spent her early years in Japan before moving to Buckinghamshire in England). During the first pandemic lockdown five years ago, she began making and releasing music, and building her utopian "Misoverse" of intersecting cultures and genres,  which came into deeper focus with the release of her first EP, 2022's Great Taste.

Ahead of her much-anticipated debut album and spring/summer tour dates, FUV caught up with Miso Extra and asked her to write about Five Essential Albums from her life, which offered insight to some of her earliest foundations.

Miso Extra: Five Essential Albums:

Solange, A Seat at the Table
This one grew on me, as perhaps I wasn’t quite ready to understand its complexities at the time of its release. Whereas now this album is one I go back to time and time again, not only for musical references but also to help ground me. Additionally, I would recommend reading Why Solange Matters (Music Matters) to accompany listening to this.

Hiatus Kaiyote, Choose Your Weapon
Hiatus Kaiyote are definitely one of my favourite bands and the sonic landscape that this album creates is simply gorgeous in my opinion. Nai Palm does a beautiful acoustic version of “Atari” from this album on her own solo project, Needle Paw, that is simply *chef's kiss.*

MF DOOM, MM..FOOD
It goes without saying, MF DOOM’s bars are genius and this album is a master class in sampling. His lyrics leave you with so much food for thought (pardon the pun) with "Deep Fried Frenz" being a personal favourite.

Justice, Justice
This album was one of the first I bought on vinyl and it blew my mind when I first heard the track “Newjack” as a teen. I recently had the opportunity to see them play at Alexandra Palace and that firmly solidified their place in my heart.

Jai Paul, Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones)
I listen to this album pretty religiously, and currently "Zion Wolf Theme (Unfinished)" is on heavy rotation for me when I go on dog walks. I find the synths and drum sounds so addictive to listen to.

- Miso Extra
March 2025