JBL Emerging Interview: How Amira Elfeky is leading the nu-metal renaissance

For any fans of Deftones, Evanescence, Linkin Park or My Bloody Valentine, rising heavy rock songstress, Amira Elfeky is certainly one to watch. Heavily inspired by the nu-metal sounds of the 2000s, Elfeky stands at the forefront of a heavy rock renaissance, channelling all things emo into evocative soundscapes. In this Emerging Headliner interview powered by JBL, the L.A-based artist explains why she’s in the business of misery.

“For me, personally, I have tried to write something that was upbeat, but I just couldn't listen to it,” Elfeky laughs from her home in L.A – her bubbly and quick-fire, enthusiastic conversational style completely at odds with her serious goth girl aesthetic.

“I've written a couple songs where I've thought, ‘This is too happy,’ and I felt so uncomfortable in it even though the lyrics were not that upbeat! It was just the essence and the vibe of it. In this genre, people resonate with loaded topics and dramatic, deep, dark sounds. With the newer generation discovering artists like Deftones and Linkin Park, it's validating to be able to find that type of music. 

"Growing up in those emo phases, you felt seen by those lyrics. People will be like, ‘This band saved my life,’ and music truly does save lives. Those bands encompass that subculture, the drama of it and the emotional aspect of it. It allows you to be yourself and to fully express yourself. Even stylistically, everyone's in this incredible clothing. It's a subculture. I think people can come out with happy or upbeat songs, but it resonates better when it's emotional. If you go to a huge metal core show, you want to be there to get your anger out and go crazy in the crowd.”

Elfeky has been called one of the fastest-rising artists in the ongoing nu-metal resurgence, drawing inspiration from the fervour of nu-metal and the raw, epic soundscapes of the 2000s.

“The comparisons are very flattering because those are some of my favourite bands ever,” she beams, explaining that growing up, she was influenced by her older brother’s music taste:

“I was on the cusp of 2000s music, especially with nu-metal, so I was listening to Slipknot and Linkin Park. I was playing Rock Band in 2007 and Chop Suey! by System of a Down was on it,” she remembers. 

“I always liked the vocals. I remember it scared the crap out of me when I was younger because it was so intense with the screaming and stuff. But as I got a little bit older, I was like, ‘This is so sick’. I remember watching Evanescence’s Bring Me To Life video and loving the theatrics and the orchestral rock parts. I became enamoured with Amy Lee. It unravelled this entire world of soft, beautiful, melodic vocals over these nasty riffs. I was obsessed.”

Elfeky’s emo phase came later, followed by a period where she delved deeper into the past, discovering Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Deftones, although she also cites artists like Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga as singer-songwriters she admires.

“I'm a huge Lana Del Rey fan,” she nods. “She does have some of that dark pop to her. I love Lady Gaga and how out there she is. Her music is so ear-candy catchy. I definitely am a love child of 2000s nu-metal and 2000s pop.”

Elfeky honed in on her sound with relentless effort, finally unveiling Tonight (Demo) in 2023. Rich with indelible intensity and raw authenticity, the youji2k-produced track – which demonstrates Elfeky’s burgeoning prowess as she navigates the complex terrain of mental health struggles and codependency within relationships – proved an immediate sensation, earning more than 3M streams to date.

“The thing that I found most rewarding about it is the fact that people relate to the lyrics,” she shares. “I'd say all my songs are about my struggle with mental health, and because it's something that I really struggle with, it's very natural for me to talk about it. When I need to talk about something, I have to talk about it, or I'll just explode. 

"Lyrics are another form of therapy for me. If I think of a catchy line, even if I’m super upset, I'll write it down. I build a song off a feeling instead of a concept. For example with Tonight, I wanted the listener to feel like they were longing for something. The pain is in my voice; I really emphasised the inflections of my voice more than the lyricism.”

Earlier in 2024, Elfeky paid tribute to System Of A Down with a cover of one of their tracks. Nope, it's not Chop Suey! or Toxicity, but 2006’s Lonely Day. “If I picked Chop Suey! or Aerials, I feel like it would have been like, ‘Okay, yeah she's gonna do that,’ but Lonely Day had this dark, deep vibe,” she explains. 

“They focus on these runs – and I am really into runs – and it was kind of left field to choose it. I really wanted to be able to layer my vocals with harmonies, and I felt like it was the perfect way to do that. I like to do Middle Eastern type of runs and System Of A Down does those dope runs over these hard tracks, so it was an honour to be able to do that.”

Does Elfeky know if the band has heard her version? “Serj [System Of A Down’s lead vocalist] posted a link to it on Facebook and he was like, ‘I dig it,’ and I literally fell out of my bed,” she laughs. “It was definitely a very insane, surreal experience. Even him possibly knowing who I am is crazy.”

Elfeky’s debut EP, Skin to Skin was released in 2024, and she shares that every lyric that she wrote is a treasured gem of her soul and the manifestation of a cherished dream. “I was definitely very excited and very antsy to release it because it had been a long time coming,” she admits, adding that Save Yourself, which appears on the EP, is one of her favourite songs she’s ever written.

“Save yourself, vocally, was very challenging for me to get into that range. I shocked myself with being able to get there and it was probably the heaviest track I've ever been on. I wrote it with Josh Gilbert who's in Spiritbox and I'm a huge fan of his, so just to be able to even collaborate with him was so sick. It's probably one of my most fun to play live.”

Coming Down, meanwhile, is her most challenging vocal to nail live. The song takes the listener on a sonic journey through the depths of passion and intensity, exploring the complexities of mental health in a relationship. “In that chorus I was wailing in the studio, so I had to figure out how to do it without vocally killing myself on stage!” she admits. “My vocals were shot after my first show.”

With Skin To Skin, Elfeky invites the listener to share in the most intimate aspects of her being and embrace the essence of human connection. “Thematically, we wrote the song Skin To Skin (it's the one acoustic song on the EP), and as it was playing, I was thinking, ‘What's the most intimate thing that you could be?’ When you're pressed against someone, raw and in your being. Lyrically, the songs are all so intimate. I wanted to give it a title that did it justice. 

"I don't do too much thinking about these things because I used to overthink a lot of artistic things that would just feel forced," she points out. "Now, if something pops into my head, I'm like, ‘I like that’. I already have what I want to call my second EP or what I want to name my first album written down. I wanted to create an intimate body of work because vocally, I feel like I'm right up in your face, and that's how I like my vocals to be tracked. So I felt like it did its due diligence.”

Inside her home, Elfeky shares that she gets ideas down in her studio space, where she’s been using an AKG P220 microphone, K240 MKII headphones and a pair of JBL 305P MKII powered studio monitors.

“I always have headphones on, so I'm gonna go deaf eventually because I have my music up so loud,” she jokes, “but I tried them out and they're just freaking phenomenal,” she says of her JBL monitors. “I like to listen to my music loudly, so I’m very grateful to have them. They're super rich and have an incredible tone to them. They pick up the ranges so well in my songs, and when I’m in the recording and mixing process, being able to put music down low, mid range, and then all the way up really allowed me to hear the little inflections in my voice and say, ‘Okay, let's add more here, let's add more there, let's take away here’. 

"A lot of my vocals are stacked in threes and I do a lot of harmonies, so being able to hear the little nuances in the speakers and in my voice was really cool, and really helpful with my last song that I just wrote,” she notes.

Due to Elfeky’s preference for stacked, front and centre vocals, she shares that her AKG mic is perfect for capturing her range for even the most challenging of nu-metal recordings, from soft singing, all the way to belting. “I have a very soft voice, so being able to have a pickup on that was phenomenal,” she enthuses. 

“The last three songs that I wrote, I did all of my scratch vocals using the mic. I'm very much someone that likes to have the grogginess or the long, enunciated little ‘uhhs’ in my voice, and this mic definitely did a really good job on picking those up. I was able to hear it back and say, ‘Okay, I want this in the final recording.’ It picked up all the little things that I was hoping it would.”

Not forgetting Elfeky’s AKG professional over-ear, semi-open headphones, which she has nothing but praise for. “They are phenomenal; I would label myself the headphone queen,” she asserts. 

“I have been wearing headphones since I probably couldn't even walk. I love a good pair of headphones. I've gone through so many pairs of headphones, and the bass on these is phenomenal. I listen to everything all the way up on high volume, so the quality of sound is super important to me. As an artist I like to be able to hear every single high and low and mid range of every single part of my song, and these do such an incredible job of encompassing and capturing all of that and make my music sound so rich. 

"I'm also very particular about what I'm wearing when I'm recording," she adds. "Even fit-wise, if it's too tight on my head, I will not use them. Everything is perfectly well done with these headphones. I even find myself using them in my leisure time too, just because they're such a great pair.”

Even though Elfeky has the name of her next EP picked out already, she’s keeping her cards close to her chest for now on her next release. “I am working on my second EP,” she concedes, “which I'm very excited about. I'm gonna gather as many songs as I can and pick my strongest soldiers to put on it.”