Filipino-Japanese art-pop artist ena mori releases her new EP rOe today, a six-track body of work that looks inward, unpacking the emotional residue of childhood and how it lingers into adult life. Fresh off a run of shows in London, including a packed SXSW London set and support slots for AURORA in the Philippines and Singapore, ena introduces rOe alongside a new video for Sink, directed by Daniel Raliug. The EP also features earlier singles Trust Me and Heartache Generation, each one offering a different glimpse into the push-and-pull of self-discovery.
There’s something quietly unsteady about rOe, a sense that nothing’s tied down, that clarity is always just out of reach. Tracks like Cub, one of the first songs written for the EP, feel like whispered reminders to keep dreaming even when everything feels uncertain. The production, again handled by long-time collaborator Tim Marquez, leans into that looseness, blending delicate synth work, jarring textures, and raw vocal takes that often sound more like diary entries than polished performances.
The title rOe comes from fish eggs she ate growing up in a Japanese household—a strange comfort food turned metaphor. “This EP has no 'ending,' I feel; it is very cyclical in shape. That felt symbolic of where I was emotionally, small but full of potential, unsure but still growing. It just felt right to name the EP after that feeling,” ena says, describing the circular shape of the project. Instead of resolving things, she revisits them, each time with new eyes. That loop is felt in the contrast between Sink’s emotional swell, Trust Me’s anxious intimacy, and the generational ache that pulses through Heartache Generation.
The last time we spoke with her was back in 2022, when she released her debut album DON’T BLAME THE WILD ONE!—a fearless, maximalist project that marked her as one to watch. Three years later, rOe shows her evolving in a more stripped-back, inward direction: less theatre, more reflection.