Cebuano pop band Coloura have finally released their debut album, one of the most highly-anticipated releases of this year. In the 13 songs and running at 34 minutes, the short-but-sweet record encapsulates the sound that the band has been known for. Beyond that, the album also gives a glimpse into different genres and sounds that the act explores.
Lovingly referred to as “The 1975 of Cebu,” Coloura features that signature pop sound — previously released tracks and crowd favorites like “Only Connection” and “GF” keep the record familiar to long-time listeners. On the other hand, you have cuts like “At 25, someone told me that I looked like a young Pete Wentz” and “i keep thinking about you” that pull references from jungle and jazz.
Earlier this year, Coast2Coast sat down with Coloura’s frontman, Jake Relacion, to talk about the album.
Coast2Coast: How would you describe the process of preparing and finally releasing the album?
Jake Relacion: The process was a roller coaster ride! Some of the songs we’ve written for the album were songs we wrote from our early years of being a band. It took us a long time to actually figure out our sound since all of us came from different music backgrounds. I was heavily influenced by synthwave and emo music. Rob, on hip-hop and jazz. Emil, on hard rock and metal. Ziv… well let’s just say that he’s pretty chill and likes karaoke staples haha! But this was us, and at first, I had a hard time finding a common ground of what we should sound like. I think the years that we’ve been together as a band was a big factor for us when it comes to our overall sound. This whole process of making and releasing an album has been really new and fun to us. We were so used to doing everything by ourselves when it comes to the whole music making thing. But now, we’re really grateful that we opened our doors to people who also wanted to join us in our creative process.
How would you describe the evolution of Coloura’s sound?
Honestly, it’s just all over the place. We came from different musical backgrounds, but throughout the years, we’ve unconsciously found our sound. There was no talk or meeting like “Hey, we need to sound like this or that, etc” It was just there. As cheesy as it may sound, it’s got something to do with the “time” magic. There. I said it!
You’ve been compared to The 1975 for most of your history as a band. How does this album change (or reinforce) this comparison?
I’d actually take that as a compliment. As the main producer, I just can’t help but reference the music that I like (and not just The 1975). I just pick out the best elements in every track that I listen to, may it be from my emo roots or even something from hyperpop. Heck, even ‘Ecstasy’ was heavily inspired by Bonnie Bailey’s ‘Ever After’. I actually don’t know the answer. The listeners will have to be the judge for this. So if any of you have listened to the album, tell us what you think about it and let’s have a chat!
How did you decide the songs that would eventually make it into the album? Were there any songs that you cut or completely reworked?
We wanted the album to be brief. I think my attention span (which is very short) has something to do with this. Here’s the fun part: the original version of the songs from the album had the same arrangement but it was a whole lot different kind of instrumentation. Night and day. The earlier versions of the tracks were very “synth-y” and less “guitar-y” sounding. The switch happened when my hard drive (containing the earlier versions) died. It was heartbreaking at first. Imagine all the effort you’ve put into something then *boom* gone in an instant. I had to recreate the songs from scratch but it was a blessing in disguise, I guess. I just picked up my acoustic guitar because I was devastated and played the songs, and there it was. New ideas came into mind. That’s where the shift came from, the boys added their touch to each track, and I’m really happy with it. And yes, I still have a copy of the earlier version for some of our tracks.
The record pulls influences from ’90s to 2000s alternative rock, electronic, and jungle – except for the surprise jazz interlude in “i keep thinking of you.” What was the thinking process going into making and including the interlude?
Here’s the story, Rob and I were hanging out in Discord and at that time I was making this weird glitch-y piano instrumental that might serve as a filler track leading to ‘Fall in Love with You’ which was supposed to sound like something you’d hear from a lo-fi track. Out of nowhere, Rob suggested that we sample a jazz track instead since we were already aiming for a lo-fi sound. And I thought, yeah, we might as well go for it! I added a voice note that I had on my phone, which was me fantasizing about falling in love again (I know, kinda delusional but it does sometimes work). It ended up sounding like a conversation that you’d overhear inside a jazz pub. We joked and called it “venting out with lounge music as the background”. The overall sound of this track might be leagues different from our other tracks, but it perfectly fits the emotion buildup to the following track, ‘Fall in Love with You’. We also decided to keep this track since it adds to that “all over the place” vibe that we had before (and we still do, only much more consistent) and we wanted to pay homage to that era in our band. You know, I might win the “Best Actor” award for this haha!
Coloura’s self-titled debut album is out now on all platforms. Listen to it here:
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