Juan Michel is not your typical Cambridge student, if such a thing even exists. Also known as Emisito and Hemix (because why have one music persona when you could have two!), the third year architect at Robinson College is a singer, songwriter, and music producer hailing from just outside of Madrid. He also fronts two up-and-coming Cambridge student bands, Fireflight and Out of Orbit. As we settle down in his room to chat (a mess of unpacked suitcases except for the music equipment covering his desk), I’m eager to find out just how he manages to juggle so many musical plates at once.

Having been pushed to take piano lessons from an early age by a violinist mother, Michel began making his own music after watching a Marshmello set back in 2019. Inspired, he downloaded FL Studio to make instrumental beats, and found himself a balaclava to match the singers. He gradually began producing remixes and beats for other artists, one of whom picked him up as an opener for his club in Spain.

“It doesn’t make sense to be a perfectionist as a creator if you want to improve”

Initially, Michel was “reluctant” to sing in Spanish. Most of the music he listened to on the radio was English (think Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly, and of course Marshmello) – but last year he created his Spanish persona, Emisito, to be separate from his English work. “One is for my English stuff and one is for [my stuff in] Spanish”. He explains that he “wanted to separate Hemix”, his English music, which he calls an “alter-ego” from his Spanish profile Emisito: he found the two didn’t mix well.

Michel finds English and Spanish pop to be distinctly different genres and enjoys the contrast between creating songs for both languages and music profiles. Having both allows him “to go all out” artistically. He explains that Spanish pop requires a more energetic performance and allows him to explore his own experiences of youth, friendship, love, and lust. His Spanish pop songs often theme on youthful hedonism and layer Youtube beats with subtly sexy vocals.

The singer-songwriter already has a hefty repertoire of songs in both Spanish and English, including an EP and an album, both released earlier this year. The album, titled Lo Único Que Me Queda, steps into a world of adolescent indulgence. In Michel’s words, the songs are about “beer, bongs and Bentleys”.

Though Michel sung in his choir at school, he’s never had technical singing lessons and is less concerned with the technical aspects of his music. Instead, he prioritises consistent creation, and making cumulative progress over time. To Michel, “the feeling and energy” of a sound or song is more important than perceived perfection. “It doesn’t make sense to be a perfectionist as a creator if you want to improve”. He doesn’t see a point in “obsessively refining” a piece of work when he “could use that time to become better as an artist”.

“It’s clear that Michel is not a born storyteller, but instead a creator”

Typically, Michel will draw on a sample or a few riffs that he likes and devise some rough lyrics that tell a simple story to match the original beat. He explains that he comes up with catchy phrases or an idea and runs with it. His songs consequently tell a story rather than his story, and vary in how much they correspond to his life. It’s clear that Michel is not a born storyteller, but instead a creator with a unique way of developing his music.

Regarding commercial success, he prioritises “being true to his craft above everything else”. He tells me: “There’s no point making songs that you don’t like that are going to be successful,” joking: “you then have to then sing that song every night without connecting to it”. Instead, if he makes a song that he is proud of and it doesn’t amass a lot of streams, he still likes it, so “it’s still a win”. He does mention, though, that his eventual goal is to headline Coachella.

We turn to Michel’s experiences singing in Cambridge. He was once portered by a neighbour at 3am for singing “admittedly too loudly” in the middle of the night, and tells me that his current neighbours are well used to hearing him singing at any hour of the day. He’s keen to add that he bought sweets to apologise to the disgruntled neighbour, and was simply carried away in the music.

But how does Michel balance his music-making with his degree? “However I can, somehow I just do it, and that’s that”. He adds that it “goes through phases” – sometimes music has to take a backseat for him to focus on academics. He finds, surprisingly, that he is most creative when he has other deadlines pressing on him at the same time.

As our conversation draws to a close, Michel shows me a preview of his songs in the works. I’m struck by his dedication and earnestness – it’s worth mentioning that he shoots all his music and lyric videos himself. It almost feels too obvious to make an uneducated parallel with one of the most eminent Spanish-speaking artists at the moment, but as our interview concludes, I am reminded of a young Bad Bunny. When I tell this to his flatmates as I leave, they nod in smiling agreement.