Elison is the relatively new indie-rock musical duo of Marissa Kephart and Scott Yoshimura who are based in Iowa in the United States. Near the end of last year, they released ‘Meet Me Halfway’ to much acclaim, and now they’ve returned with another cracking tune in the form of ‘Hopes & Horoscopes’. It was during the isolated and social distanced conditions the world was living under, that Kephart found the courage to finally pick up a guitar and take voice lessons. The rest, as they say, is history. ‘Hopes & Horoscopes’ sees the vocalist looking inwards and reflecting on the bad habits, or vices, that she has struggled with over the years. “I’ve been missing people I’ve never met, I’ve been holding tight to my last regret,” sings Kephart. “I’ve been stuck here living in my past, never thinking anything will ever last.” It’s a truly beautiful tune and we at Indie Top 39 can’t wait to see what the future holds for this talented duo.
It’s hard to believe that ‘Hopes & Horoscopes’ is only Elison’s second ever release. The duo sound like they’ve been doing this for years!
INDIE TOP 39
What does the song mean to you?
Marissa: As the pandemic hit I noticed myself turning more inward and I started to reflect on the things I had maybe hoped I’d do in my lifetime. Music had always been a passion of mine as a consumer, but never a creator. I took this time as an opportunity to start playing and writing for the first time ever. ‘Hopes & Horoscopes’ was one of the first demos I took to multi-instrumentalist and producer Scott Yoshimura. We immediately clicked as artists and decided to pursue creating together and formed Elison. ‘Hopes & Horoscopes’ highlights bad habits I’ve held onto over the years – illuminating them in song form felt honest and real and I hope to continue to be able to make music like that.
When did you realise that music is what you wanted to do?
Marissa: Now that I opened the floodgates to creating music I’m not sure there’s any turning back. I’ve dabbled In other art forms such as drawing, painting and design but music has a way of allowing me to let go. I like to control things and although our songs feel very measured and tight (thanks to Scott) there’s a moment in the beginning where it’s all messy and raw and I have no idea where it’s going to go and that’s the most thrilling part. I can’t imagine not witnessing that again. I love every part of music making from the seed of an idea to the process of producing to the thrill of sharing it with others.
What would your life be like without music?
Marissa: I’d flirted with the idea of using music as a creative outlet for twenty years but I didn’t play an instrument or feel confident in my voice, let alone know how to approach songwriting. I was overthinking everything and getting in the way of this tiny little dream I had as a teenager. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I turned to attempting to write and play for the first time. In that process I really had to surrender to the music and let it write itself. I feel like I’m just a vessel or a tool that helps bring sound to the song. It’s such a beautiful and freeing artform now that I’ve started this I don’t know how I could ever stop.
What does success mean to you?
Marissa: Right now success means writing that first song. I did it! It’s been twenty years of wishing I’d be brave enough to take up playing and I did it. From here I think everything else is just an added bonus. Ultimately I do think we’d love to release a full length album and our big dream would be to have a song (or a few) in a soundtrack of a movie, but ultimately just continuing to create would suffice.
Make sure to connect with Elison on Facebook » Instagram
Now you can listen to all the 39 songs in one place, right here on Spotify!
This coverage was created in collaboration with Musosoup as part of the #SustainableCurator movement.
