British dance-rock quintet EMF formed in Cinderford, England in October 1989.

All five original members were veterans of the local music scene before founding EMF, whose name supposedly stood for “Epsom Mad Funkers" (although it was widely speculated that the initials instead represented "Ecstasy Mother Fuckers"). Within two months of formation, the group played its first gig; after unearthing a Casio sampler and sequencer in a local thrift shop, a light techno element was added to their rock-oriented sound.

Their debut album, SCHUBERT DIP, was released in May 1991. It was certified platinum (over a million copies sold) in the US in September 1991. It had reached a peak chart position of #3 in the UK and #12 in the US, as well as finishing the year at #57 overall.

By the end of 1991, their infectious debut single “Unbelievable” had conquered the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The single was certi fied gold (over 500,000 copies sold) in the US in May 1991. The song was in such heavy rotation for most of the year in America, that it finished as the #6 single overall for the year.

Further hit singles that succeeded “Unbelievable” included “I Believe,” “Children” and “Lies.”

In 1992, EMF returned with the Unexplained EP and the much darker fulllength effort STIGMA; STIGMA peaked at #19 on the UK charts, and the band toured extensively to promote it. It produced hit singles and EMF live set favourites, “They’re Here” and “It’s You.”

The band released their final full-length album of new material in 1995 with CHA CHA CHA. After a successful European tour, they teamed up with comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer on a cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer,” which reached number 2 on the UK charts.

The band reunited in the summer of 2001 and released a Greatest Hits CD that coincided with a mini European festival and UK tour.

The Greatest Hits CD, called THE BEST OF EMF: EPSOM MAD FUNKERS, featured 2 discs: the first had a collection of singles and fan favourite album tracks, along with 2 brand new tracks: "Incredible" and"Let's Go." The second disc had popular remixes.

The band were primed to write new material and tour more extensively but the sudden passing of bassist Zac Foley on January 2, 2002 shocked the band into silence. The remaining 4 original members spent several years focusing their time on personal projects and their families.

The band reunited in 2007 and have been steadily doing festivals and live shows in the years since. In 2020, the band released a career-spanning vinyl box set and have spent most of 2020 and 2021 celebrating 30 years of EMF.

The band surprised fans by telling them that profits from the merchandise sold was being used to record a new album, which will be released in 2022. It will be the first album of all new material since 1995.

If there’s a fine line between wild-eyed, inspired genius and utter, irrepressible insanity, that’s where you’ll find Ecce Shnak, teetering on a neon tightrope. The group subvert notions of style, playfully but reverently embracing multiple forms from across the spectrum, frequently within a single tune, while addressing weighty themes and notable trivia with striking articulacy. “Each genre has its own manner of expression, mannerisms, history, motivations, virtues, flaws, limitations, and so on,” Roush says. “At my best as a composer and lyricist, I listen to and respect each one, then whatever I take from their souls informs mine, inhabiting it, expanding, and merging.”

Shadows Grow Fangs is the latest in a list of releases that, though still too short, is on the verge of swelling. It showcases Roush’s incomparable ingenuity and limitless invention over five songs running the gamut from slow-burning meditations on love’s indispensability to mockery of the web from the perspective of a time-traveling poet – “What the fuck is the internet?!” Of course, this might sound a little ‘zany’, but it’s really not. Not at all. It’s intricately constructed, methodically fashioned, and – while undeniably offbeat – as serious and logical as it’s entertaining. Some have pointed to Frank Zappa (“Less of an influence than other bands he influenced”), Primus (“Any Primus fan I've known that has heard my music loves it, but I don't know them well”) and Meshuggah.

With Roush as composer, bassist, and one of two singers, he is joined by Bella Komodromos (vocals), Chris Krasnow (guitar), Gannon Ferrell (guitar), and Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums).

Talking with Roush is like meeting a thoughtful stranger with extraordinary knowledge of the weird and arcane, a fascination for society and what led us to where we are, and a noteworthy ability to share stories in an enlightening and empathetic manner. Then finally, while you’re still absorbing all the information he’s imparted, he’ll tie the knot to complete this elegant necklace. His narrative style, in fact, is much like listening to an Ecce Shnak song, which frankly makes the band name perfect. “The meaning,” he concludes is, ‘look at this!’”