Flonique Guimary

Indie pop duo Coco Elise reflects on doubts and choosing to keep going with their music

Article (news)

Jemuel Tandoc

Push Team

<p>Australian indie pop duo Coco Elise is quickly making waves in the indie scene, earning recognition from Vice Australia, Rolling Stone Australia, and EARMILK, while landing placements on top Spotify and Apple Music playlists. </p><p>In 2024, they opened for Jazz Emu, performed at Hyper Festival, and toured nationally, culminating in a sold-out Perth show. Their breakout single, &#x27;April’s Shoes,&#x27; was featured on ABC’s Morning Breakfast show and earned them the cover of &#x27;Fresh Finds AU/NZ.</p><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-19" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJORwaqvEsc/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=630&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A19%2C%22os%22%3A23404055.200000003%2C%22ls%22%3A209660.59999999404%2C%22le%22%3A210727.29999999702%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1059" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-19" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>At a recent media roundtable for their new single ‘Feel Like Rubber,’ the duo shared how they formed and began their musical journey.</p><p>“We were mates in high school well yeah because when I moved to Australia it was my last two years of high school and Josh was the year under me and we actually didn&#x27;t speak for those first two years but I knew he existed. He knew I did. Then we just got pushed together to play in a band and yeah it was actually a really good time,” Filipino-born drummer Isaiah Quintana recalled.</p><p>He went on to explain how they had been playing together for a while, even before they officially formed as a duo.</p><p>“We just played together for a while. He&#x27;s like oh dude do you want to kind of do this together and yeah at the time we were just a bit young. I was like yeah might as well so I guess that&#x27;s how it all started and we just really loved music as well and thought why not (form the band). So that&#x27;s what I remember from us forming the band,” Isaiah added.</p><p>Producer and frontman Josh Ellis also shared how they persevered with the project, even during moments of doubt about whether to continue.</p><p>“We&#x27;re sort of like in between just like calling it a project for so long because we also have other band members but then we sort of realized that we&#x27;re the ones that cared about us that really believed in it. We&#x27;ve had so many times where we just where we sit down and it&#x27;s just us two sitting there going, should we keep this project going? Like, do we really believe in it? And the answer is always yes,” Josh shared.</p><p>He went on to explain how they discovered more common ground beyond just music.</p><p>“I think there&#x27;s never going to be a moment where me and Isaiah want to give up on Coco Elise. And I think I don&#x27;t know if that sentiment wasn&#x27;t shared with the other members, but like I think they have other things going on. And me and Isaiah really, really believe in it. So I think that&#x27;s just that&#x27;s the common ground that we have. And that&#x27;s why I turned into sort of a duo where me and him are the face. But I think it&#x27;s important that we&#x27;re still a band because our live sound is probably one of the most important things to us. Like we love playing live. And that&#x27;s also really important to Coco Elise&#x27;s sound as a whole thing as well,” he said.</p><p>Meanwhile, they also expressed interest in collaborating with artists of Filipino descent, including Bruno Mars and rising talents like Mariae Cassandra and Ena Mori. </p><p>But for now, Coco Elise returns with their latest release, ‘Feel Like Rubber’—a smooth, jazzy track that delves into the uncertainty of young love. Think &#x27;70s soul and jazz, reimagined through the lo-fi intimacy of bedroom pop.</p><p>Coco Elise’s “Feel Like Rubber” is out now on all digital music platforms via Gyrostream.</p>

<p>Australian indie pop duo Coco Elise talks about how they formed as a duo. The rising act also shared some of the artists they would love to collaborate with.</p>

Australian indie pop duo Coco Elise talks about how they formed as a duo. The rising act also shared some of the artists they would love to collaborate with.