EMOK

Itai - Bass/Vocals
Ofer - Guitar/Vocals
Bul - Drums/Sampler

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.