Sisters Kira and Ezri Santos along with Mari Arakawa and Payton Sekigawa, burst onto the Honolulu music scene in 2005.
The band members met while attending a real life 'school of rock' in Hawaii (Hawaii MusicWorks). While taking lessons, the group
discovered they shared an interest in 80’s classic rock and decided to form a band. The choice of musical style proved to be a fortuitous one.
Performing cover tunes from bands like Journey, Van Halen and Bon Jovi, EMKE quickly gained accolades for wowing audiences
with their mature level of musicianship and vocal abilities.

EMKE quickly found themselves graduating from intimate local club gigs, to playing before huge concert crowds. To their excitement and surprise,
the band was now doing opening slots for artist including BILLY RAY CYRUS, the legendary KANSAS, QUIET RIOT’S CARLOS CAVAZO, HOOBASTANK, SWITCHFOOT, and ONE REPUBLIC. EMKE also received multiple invitations to appear at the music industries’ prestigious NAMM Show in Los Angeles, CA
to perform with musical luminaries such as LEE RITENOUR, ANDY MCKEE and (the band’s favorite gig) opening for JOURNEY’S NEAL SCHON.
As a result of their LA concerts, the band was awarded a musical endorsement by Yamaha Music Corporation of America.

Despite the band’s fondness for classic rock, and the notoriety they were able to gain from including it in their musical sets, EMKE
wanted to shed their “cover band” image. Classic covers were fun to play and were a guaranteed crowd pleaser, but EMKE was looking for their own identity. As teenagers, there was a strong desire to express
themselves through their own original compositions and musical style. Determined, they entered the studio.

EMKE’s debut EP “Promises and Expectations” (2012) is a mixture of melodic “pop anthems” and “guitar driven” alternative rock.
It’s a collection of tunes that echoes the band’s current musical influences such as, All Time Low and Paramore with
musical undertones that pay homage to their roots in classic rock. The EP's single, Open Eyes "hit the mark" with listeners on Tokyo's number one FM station InterFM 76.1.

They are currently working on their first official album 'Edit Undo' which is scheduled to be released on September 30, 2016.