Emotional Oranges on ‘Orenjii’ Album, ‘Call It Off’ ft Jaehyun of NCT

Emotional Oranges cemented themselves as architects of a new, global soul sound when silky, genre-bending songs like “West Coast Love,” “Sundays,” and “Motion” resonated with everyone from jazz festivalgoers to international pop stars. Today, the L.A.-based duo raised the stakes with a new single featuring Jaehyun of the experimental K-pop supergroup NCT. “Call It Off” arrives as a sumptuous mood-setting single and a statement of intent: Azad Naficy and Vali Porter are boldly bridging continents, sounds, sentiments and cultures within their upcoming Orenjii album.

“Call It Off” is a reunion of sorts after Azad co-wrote and produced the evocative “Flamin’ Hot Lemon” — a fan-favorite cut off Jaehyun’s 2024 debut solo album J and ode to the spicy Cheetos flavor representing a delicious sonic fusion between L.A. and Seoul. Now, Jaehyun returns the favor, drizzling his honeyed tenor vocals alongside Azad and Vali’s signature grooves for a twilight-tinged anthem that brings the best of West Coast cool and K-pop polish.

Following recent singles “Out the Blue” and “Candy Gum” with Becky G and Jessie Reyez, “Call it Off” is the latest taste of Orenjii, the Korean and Japanese word for orange. The name is not only a new spin on the duo’s signature color but represents the two countries where the core of the LP was inspired by and recorded. “It’s such a special record to us that having it come out with our album announcement gives it even more attention,” Vali shares before adding. “Which it deserves.”

In a conversation days before “Call It Off” drops, Azad and Vali dig into how a DM turned into a musical friendship, why Asia has become their creative crucible, the K-pop stars they’re watching, and what “Call It Off” reveals about the larger themes of Orenjii.

Read on for more with Emotional Oranges’ map out the future of cross-cultural R&B and look out for Orenjii to drop on May 16, 2025.

Jeff Benjamin: Congratulations on this great new song. You teased “Call It Off” during your last Asia tour. Why was it the right time to release this song alongside your album announcement?

Vali Porter: Yes, we had this song for a while, but it’s such a special record to us that having it come out with our album announcement, to me, gives it even more attention than some of the other songs on our album, which it deserves.

Benjamin: I thought the collab made so much sense after hearing your work with him. Is there a mutual friendship here?

Azad Naficy: You nailed it. I wrote and produced Jaehyun’s “Flaming Hot Lemon,” which is like an ode to my favorite snack, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and that made it onto his record. And, you know, we negotiated a little swap of sorts ’cause we know how amazing his voice is and how great of an artist he is.

When we made this song, Val and I were thinking, “Who would sound really good on the verse?” And Jaehyun came to mind and he knocked it out the fucking park.

Benjamin: Nice. I knew about the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos inspiration, but I’ve always wondered where the lemon came from in that title?

Vali: Me too! [Laughs]

Azad: So, the first offshoot flavor of the Hot Cheetos that rolled out in LA was “Limon” and I think it was Jaehyun’s first time trying a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. He came and wanted to write about that — it wasn’t even something that I thought to write about, which is why my mind was blown because it’s literally my favorite snack.

Vali: Why not lime? Because limon means lime, I thought?

Azad: I don’t know, that’s a good question…

Vali: Because usually when Azad makes it in the studio, it’s a very like ceremonial practice: he gets the biggest bowl that he can find from our manager Britt’s kitchen, an absolutely giant spoon, and he’ll usually sprinkle cayenne pepper, sometimes red chili flakes, then he’ll put lime juice. And then with the giant spoon, he kind of does this like ceremonial stir and then serves it, lets everybody have some, and then we’ll sit and eat the whole bowl. So, maybe that’s why Jaehyun was very inspired by that.

Benjamin: How did you first connect with Jaehyun?

Vali: Azad was DMing him, I think?

Azad: Uh huh, it’s true, we’re internet buds and then we became real buds. We actually have a couple more things hopefully in the works with him when he gets through his mandatory military service — fingers crossed.

Vali: Which means visuals are to be discussed…

Benjamin: I’ve seen many K-pop stars give you shoutouts or put you on playlists. Jung Kook of BTS, ENHYPEN, Amber Liu, EPEX…have you felt the love from that music community?

Azad: Yeah, we definitely can feel it. I’ll be honest; I don’t know of a headlining show that we’ve done that’s had the same kind of impact. You know, they can’t drink right at the show in Korea. So, at YES 24 [Live Hall in Seoul], you’ve got like two or three thousand, and they’re not just singing “West Coast Love,” “Sundays,” and “Not Worth It,” they’re singing every song, every lyric and they’re completely engaged. It’s not like the experience you have in other places where — and to each their own — but having your phone out or having a chat ’cause you’re drinking, yeah, that could be fun too. But the love that we’ve gotten in Korea? We made half this album there because of the connection we felt, you know?

Vali: And on us being referenced, I think something really cool that we’re experiencing is we’re becoming a lot of big artists’ favorite artists. That’s something that I never even imagined would happen. But when you’re in a session, working with a producer and referencing artists, you don’t always reference the big ones. You’re not, like, “I wanna make that Rihanna record.” Even though I love Rihanna, you’re like, “I like that Kali Uchis record. Or NxWorries.” Or just something that isn’t as mainstream or a Number One record, you reference a deep cut. And for us to be named by them just shows where we’ve come in our journey and how our music transcended even what I imagined for ourselves.

Benjamin: Orenjii is a combination of your influences from Korea and Japan. What were the experiences that made you feel so connected?

Azad: I’ll give you a little bit of context for me. I had like a bit of a special moment when my grandmother passed on January 1st, 2020 — this ended up being a really, really happy story — but we took my mom to Tokyo as a way to kind of get her mind off things. And in true Azad form, I try to turn every family and friend thing into a work thing. So, I brought Val, Chiiild [a.k.a. Yonatan “xSDTRK” Ayal], who’s a really incredible artist and producer, and our guitar player Mitch. We got this really dope Airbnb in Shibuya and…three days into the trip I’m like “patient zero” of COVID, holed up upstairs with my mom putting fucking Iranian voodoo in that room with onions, ginger, garlic, and wild shit in the room just trying to, like, heal me because the Japanese healthcare, at the time especially, was abysmal for foreigners.

I’ve never been so sick in my life, but it ends on a positive note because a lot of the music we made from that trip are seminal EO records and it healed me. I would be upstairs and hear Val riffing with Mitch; he’s playing bass and guitar, Yoni’s doing a little drumbeat, and records like all that. I came down, I was inspired, and we were able to make a lot of music that, to me, is the EO blueprint. So, that’s my inspiration piece from Tokyo.

Vali: Yeah, that was a really incredible trip. It was my first time really getting to walk around Shibuya and Harajuku and just getting a taste of it. And I do remember feeling a magic there.

Even when we did our show at Wonder Festival, we got to fly four dancers out, and I remember that was one of the first shows where I was actually really blown away by the crowd. Everyone was wearing a mask, because it was still during COVID, but we could still hear them singing our lyrics. Just seeing them all dancing and expressing themselves – it wasn’t even about the music as much as it was the feeling and the energy in that room. It just was really special. I remember feeling like I could live in Asia.

Benjamin: What happened in Korea that made it another special place?

Azad: Val and I like a lot of the art direction, branding and fashion. We have very distinct style. We find a lot of commonalities between Tokyo, Seoul, and what we love, which I think is dope.

I haven’t felt love before in terms of the connection with the audience and the fans like I have in Korea. I’m not going to sit here and say it’s better than our LA shows or Coachella or whatever because every show has something great about it, but if I could pick one city to perform in, it’s definitely Seoul.

Vali: In general, respect is always reciprocated, and you can feel it among all the artists we meet and work with out there. There’s just this mutual kind of understanding: we’ve been through it, we’re artists, we respect each other. It’s definitely different than in the States, where it could be a little more ego-driven, and we’ve been fortunate to work with great artists in the States. But in my experience of songwriting and as an artist, I have met a lot of artists that don’t have the same level of respect as they do in Asia. It’s just different. They also care more about attention to detail. I think it’s something they really pride themselves on.

Benjamin: That makes total sense. I see it in your branding and artwork too.

Vali: It was also built. We obviously didn’t plan it. We weren’t like, “This is what we’re gonna do. This is the market we’re going after.” It just so organically happened, and that’s why I think it feels so real and authentic. And then to call the album Orenjii only made sense because we discovered a layer of EO from being in Japan that first time together, doing all that, and to now where we’re at with “Call It Off” and some of the other ones that you’re going to hear, they were birthed there.

Benjamin: Now I’m curious, do either of you have family heritage or roots in Asia?

Azad: Ah, I’m so glad you asked, Jeff. I’ve been saying this for years, and I got it confirmed today. We’re West Asian; I’ve been saying that for years. No one believes me because I’m brown. I’m Iranian, but I am, in fact, Asian. So, I take full credit for all of this, and, yeah, you guys are just along for the ride with the Asian! [Laughs]

How did you approach Orenjii in general? And how do you approach collaborations in general? Becky G was on “Candy Gum” after you worked together on “Down to Miami” in 2021; what makes her a great collaborator?

Azad: It has to feel real and genuine. A lot of people are paying for features; we haven’t paid for a single one. We’ve known Becky for a few years now. Our manager and her manager were close friends, and she was a fan of our music so that was really natural. And then Jessie [Reyez], I’ve known since, like, 2015 or 2016, so working with her almost a decade later is an honor. But this album’s collaborators are all real-life friends or people we’re all mutual fans of. And I think that’s only really the way that you can get more than two voices on a song because we already have me and Val on everything.

Vali: There are definitely multiple collaborations on this one. And unlike our other projects, I don’t think we played it safe. I think we made music that we loved, and if we got a collaborator, we went with it. But I definitely don’t think we played it safe sonically or lyrically…there might even be a Part Two.

Benjamin: Looking more at the K-pop world, are there artists you’re big fans of or are eager to collaborate with in the future?

Vali: We love NewJeans. We love their sound — definitely their sound. It’s nostalgic, but it’s new. Their voices are amazing. Azad introduced me to Danielle — he’s friends with her — she is awesome.

Benjamin: Oh wow, you’re already hanging out and in with NewJeans?

Vali: Oh… maybe, maybe not. We’ll see. Maybe the sun will shine, you know? Maybe it will rain…

Azad: Hm! Yeah, maybe it’ll rain… I’ll name two artists because I feel they deserve equal shine. On the R&B side, Val and I have been fucking with DEAN for a minute. To me, DEAN is like a true artist in the sense that every detail, every i is dotted, every t is crossed — and he’s not going to be moved by where the industry is going. He’s been working on this last album for seven years, so for Val and I to be able to get a peek into that process and have the opportunity to know him, hopefully, we get to work together in the future. He’s incredible.

Then, in terms of the pop, another girl group that I personally really like is ITZY. If we’re talking Japan and Korea, we’ve learned that something that’s popping here may not pop over there. But in terms of what’s working in both, ITZY feels like they got that global energy.

Benjamin: What else do people need to know about Orenjii before it drops? Or future plans you want to mention?

Vali: You’ll get the essence that you love of EO: you’ll have the nostalgia, the emotion, the storytelling. I think what we did differently this time is we didn’t stick to just one kind of sound. We give you just more layers, a cinematic approach. I think all of the records feel like their own little movie and I’m just really excited for more than eight tracks on a project because I always feel like people deserve more EO.

Azad: When you’re reading a great book, listening to a great album, or watching a movie, I love this feeling of a beginning, a middle, and an end. Because with every end, there’s a rebirth of sorts. And I feel like this was our rebirth. We really challenged ourselves and you get to kind of hear that arc. There’s lost love, but there’s hope in it — and I like that feeling of ending this with optimism. Because that’s kind of what our shows are. They feel really like we’re bringing people together, especially in this era where I feel like there’s so much negativity surrounding music shit. I do hold that near and dear to my heart that our shows have always felt like a ’90s or a 2000s house party. So I hope you’ll hear and experience that when you hear the record.

Vali: And our live show is definitely evolving. We’re going back to Asia in a couple months. Festivals in Japan, we’re doing Seoul Jazz Fest as well, and then we’re working on our fall tour, which is gonna be really exciting, and it’s going to be different than what we’ve ever done.