When Japanese-American musician Mei Semones wrote the song Hfoas in 2020, she felt like she'd come upon something different. Growing up, though she'd studied jazz guitar, the songs Semones wrote for herself were rock songs under the influence of Nirvana.

But with this tune, penned when she was studying music in university, Semones drew on a different set of influences: jazz and bossa nova. Singing the tune in both Japanese and English, tapping into her dual heritage, she struck upon a sound that she was proud of. First the first time in her life, it was a song that she wanted to release.

Hfoas became her first-ever single, and in the years since —across four EPs and her 2025 debut LP Animaru— she's continued refining her distinctive sound; mixing in further influences of math-rock and swing into her bilingual bossas.

Speaking with Anthony Carew on The International Pop Underground, Semones discusses her musical upbringing, her love of jazz legends (John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Chet Baker etc), trying to capture a live sound on record, and collaborating with her dad.

Feature image: Dan Hureira