Celeste
cover story in her. magazine volume 11
Coat & Top _ 4 Moncler + Simone Rocha, Earrings & Ring _ Georgia Kemball
Knit Vest _ House of Sunny, Jewellery _ Celeste’s own
Coat & Top _ 4 Moncler + Simone Rocha, Tights _ Gucci, Earrings & Ring _ Georgia Kemball
Dress & Earrings _ Shrimps, Tights & Shoes _ Gucci
Scarf _ Shrimps, Jacket _ Danshan, Top _ Story MFG, Denim _ Celeste’s own, Ring _ Georgia Kemball
Jacket _ 4 Moncler + Simone Rocha, Knit Vest _ House of Sunny, Cuff Earring _ Faris
Cardigan _ House of Sunny, Shirt _ Ganni, Necklace _ Shrimps, Cuff Earring _ Faris
Photography _ Ollie Adegboye
Styling _ Lewis Munro
Hair _ James Catalano(using Color Wow)
Makeup _ Rebecca Davenport
Photography Assistant _ Yomi Adesuwi
Styling Assistant _ Justyna Kitt
@celeste
Scarf _ Shrimps, Jacket _ Danshan, Top _ Story MFG, Ring _ Georgia Kemball, Cuff Earring _ Faris
A Conversation with Celeste
Writer _ Denis Yong
Every now and again, the popular sonic landscape gets an injection of serious soul. With it, there’s a real warmth that touches your very being. After all, music is the strongest form of magic.
Giving us a dose is British singer-songwriter, Celeste. Her beautifully haunting vocals do a lot. Deservedly, she’s garnering a lot of attention having already picked up a couple of awards along the way. And that’s only after a handful of releases while a highly anticipated debut album is still in the works.
We shared some time with her to talk about her own favourite songs and very considered approach to recording music, working with fellow artists, James Bond and memorable moments.
Being in good company of previous ‘BBC’s Sound of...’ winners, has that changed your approach to making music, i.e. added pressure or just empowerment to keep doing what you’ve been doing?
Definitely empowerment. The BBC supports me and has given me loads of opportunities over the last two years. It’s a different kind of year now, especially with the one we’re having. The landscape for music that tends to flood the mainstream and from the media’s impression is not necessarily what people are paying attention to right now. People are looking for something that really effects how they feel, encompasses and reflects their psyche — their current emotions. Those things are definitely important.
I always take the stance to remain true to myself. I wasn’t really aware of previous winners because the award wasn’t something I really knew about until receiving it myself. It comes with a lot of media focus which is really helpful for a new artist by getting your music heard in all different spaces by people. I just try to still make what I want to make.
People tend to play music that expresses how they feel...
Yeah, I think people are more in touch with that right now. They may be delving into things that they’ve left untouched and unheard for a while... they may find out more things about themselves. When people have a moment of solitude, they really delve into their own tastes.
You mentioned last year that ‘Strange’ had become one of your favourite songs that you’ve written because it allows you to live in the imperfections of your voice; what are your other favourite songs and why?
I’d have to say, ‘Both Sides of The Moon’ and ‘Lately’. My first EP has those songs on it and I’m really proud when performing them live. There’s a bunch of songs that I haven’t released that I really like which I’ve sung at shows. Among them are ’A Kiss’, ‘This Is Who I Am’ and ‘Some Goodbyes Come with Hellos’.
The poppier moments that have more commercial relevance — I like them, but I’m aware they’re there to do a thing. You can do that and then hopefully come back to somewhere that’s a version of yourself and a purer form of a singer-songwriter. Those things come, and then I feel like I’ve got time to work on my next thing! I try and take it in turns with releases — something that’s poppy and not so poppy.
As your songs are often about love, if love was a person, what would you ask them?
Oh my god!... “Do you love me too?!”
Live shows feel and sound completely different to a studio-produced record. With an intimate sound like yours, how do you try to create a special live experience?
This is something I’ve always thought of as a challenge that goes around in my mind. There are times where a produced version of a song, which uses computer plug-ins, blends well to the process. I can finish songs off at home so it’s cool that you can do all these things on a computer with real sounding instruments. However, a lot of my favourite songs come down to recording material live with people.
It’s been a mixture of stuff. For example, ‘Stop This Flame’ — one of the more poppy moments — where it had to be two worlds meeting that I’m familiar with; the feeling of spontaneity and live instrumentation in jazz, then trying to cross over into pop territory, and bringing those things together. In that song, for me, the domineering element was the pop sound because of the song’s structure and hook etc. For me, it’s important to make sure we recorded a live drum and used certain microphones — we had a specific person doing that. It really comes across in songs that are a hundred per cent like that. It’s the process of having the right players in the room who have their own style and their own take on a genre, and how the instruments are situated in the room. What I like to do is have everyone in the room next to each other at the same time and try to get the cleanest sound possible — a microphone for each instrument, so you don’t hear the piano on the drum mic, the drums on the guitar amp and so forth. Just so you can then mix it how most modern songs are mixed these days, with every channel recorded separately.
I’ve learnt about this process by understanding how some of my favourite music has been made like James Brown or Sly and The Family Stone, who worked with big band arrangements or four- part vocal harmony groups. Something they always did was have everyone together in the room at the same time. You get a lot of feeling and atmosphere from that, which you don’t necessarily get from modern records where everything’s very isolated — the singer is in the booth or a computer made plug-in that’s been mixed and cleaned, all before you even use a part. It’s really important to me.
Where possible, we’re finding moments to crossover, when there’s a song that lends more to a whole band arrangement or if there are five people in the room figuring it out — there’s a small element of production to that. Also, the songs that lend themselves to having more beats, we’ll make sure that they’re layered over a live element as well. Having gone to studios since I was 18, I’ve learnt about production from being around it, and learnt as I’ve gone along.
I met a producer, Tommy Brenneck, in America and got to observe his process and understand it — he’s mastered making records that sound like they were made in the 70s. He produced a Charles Bradley album and even his own projects, the Menahan Street Band, and The Budos Band. They sound very authentic — using old mixing desks instead of computers. Although my sound isn’t going to be exactly that, I learned from him that there are things you have to do if you want a tinge of that sound, even if it’s just a little bit of what he does.
Then I met up with Josh Crocker — he made ‘Both Sides of The Moon’ and other songs with me. Like Tommy, he’d already been exploring a similar process, so he’s the one working with me on my album now.
You already have a few festivals, award shows, and television performances under your belt; what’s been the most memorable so far?
Definitely the BRITs in terms of bigger set-ups. There’s lots of time spent in your head before you do lot of things — writing songs and feeling like you’re becoming a singer! That definitely felt like one of those moments that you fantasize about.
There have definitely been some special moments in the UK — my first headline show in London with about 200 people, it being my main show around this time last year. Then how within 7 months, things began to evolve and realising how special it was to have that intimate moment with people, who were engaging with my music without really being pushed to them at that stage.
Also, I always find going to different countries being quite special and memorable, especially festivals. A lot of my festival bookings last year were out of the country so you just don’t expect people to know your music at all, especially when you know that people barely know it back home. Sometimes, when you go on stage and then all of a sudden there are all these people singing your songs, you wonder, “How did this happen?!”
There have been a couple of times that really stand out. One was at Rock En Seine in Paris, and Oerol on an island in The Netherlands. A similar thing happened at both festivals, where I arrived at the stage early in the day for soundcheck and it was quite empty. I thought, “This is quite big!”, hoping people come because it would be awkward if it was just two people standing there in this vast amount of space! It would get to a couple of minutes before my set, then you see all these people. Both those times were unexpected.
There was that time you performed at Boiler Room too...
Yeah, that was a couple of years ago which was really cool! I just got signed about a month before and was just full of energy, so thought, “I’m just going to try this!” I went and played a couple of songs that no one had really heard except for me and the person who I’d worked on them with. The reaction was quite good and rowdy. Some people that knew me didn’t know I could sing or those who had no idea who I was were like, “Oh, she can sing!” The moment gave me a bit of leverage with my label in terms of what songs came out next because they saw the performance and saw that people liked the songs.
Having supported some big names Janelle Monáe and Neneh Cherry, and done a duet with Paul Weller, who would you like to tour or duet with in the future?
This might seem really weird, since her most recent songs are really mad, but I’ve always really liked Lady Gaga from her ‘Bad Romance’ era. I guess those songs were coming from a jazzy place since she’s done cabaret so I’ve always wanted to write a song with her.
I’m into Lana Del Rey as well, but we’ll see. I would definitely like to do a song with Kendrick Lamar. Also, I’d like to do a duet with Shirley Bassey — that would be cool. She is alive, so maybe it could happen!
Song covers are a pretty good way for fans to discover other musicians through their favourite artist as well as their inspirations. Since you’ve covered Joy Division, would you do more covers live or on record?
It depends how I feel. Once the band and I have learned a song, I could suggest that we perform it at a show, so that could happen. I think if you’re going to do a cover and release it as your own record, it has to be for a reason; it has to be a spectacle like Florence & The Machine with ‘You’ve Got the Love’.
Putting your own signature on it...
Yeah. You do covers here and there because sometimes certain platforms ask you to cover a song, but if you’re going to do a cover, adapt it and make people forget that there was even a version before yours. I don’t find it that easy and I think that’s because of my opinion of what’s overdone or cliché, others may differ. I just find it easier to write my own songs.
Covers do seem cliché or cheesy when artists try to emulate the original too much, when it’s already there...
Exactly! Sometimes I think it works when a song has gone into obscurity and has been lost somewhere in time, but there’s a familiarity when someone brings out a cover. I think that kind of works. However, in the 60s, all of the soul, jazz, and Motown signers would constantly cover each other’s songs. It’d be like a number one for Marvin Gaye then a number one for someone else later on.
Your music sounds timeless; was this an intentional approach, taking into account who you grew up listening to?
I think it’s because of who I grew up listening to, so that’s influenced my taste and choices with what I think sounds right. People make music based on what they think sounds right. It’s just very different for everyone.
Also, I think it’s based on your formative years — at least it has been for me. For some people whose family didn’t like music or just weren’t into it, it might've been something that they discovered for themselves in their teens. Personally, it’s definitely based on what I’d heard from a young age.
About timeless music, Gotts Street Park have worked with artists who are searching for that classic sound; what's the process in writing music together as two artists?
Sometimes I prefer working with other artists actually. Firstly, they’re used to writing lyrics and songs, so they understand that process. Whereas with producers, they don’t necessarily write, so you go into the studio, listen to a beat on repeat for 7 hours. With some people you think, “I’ve got to do all this by myself!”
I’m always working on melodies and lyrics anyway. With Gotts Street Park, they have their own take on their instruments, so it was really simple. They just jammed amongst themselves and I’d just be sitting there. We just made sure all the microphones were on, so we were ready to record in case we did something that sounded cool.
Their guitarist Jo played these two chords that ended up being on ‘Both Sides of The Moon’ — it was the first thing I heard when I went into the room. Sometimes I think those things are meant to be. They just happen and it’s effortless which would feel like it took 10 minutes, when it really took a long time! We just let those things happen naturally.
For me, it’s always important to hear chords, have an emotional reaction to them, and to have an instinct to follow. If I don’t get an emotional intuition with a piece of music, I can’t really write lyrics. I have to know, “Oh my god, it makes me feel like this or it reminds me of this time when this thing happened”, then I know how to articulate it.
If it’s just something I like and it doesn’t give me that, I can’t write at all which is frustrating because I’ll really like the sound, but nothing’s coming out because it doesn’t make me feel something specific enough. When that does happen and I love the piece of music, I’ll sit with it for ages, but it takes a lot of determination for me to do that, if it doesn’t come naturally. I got a beat last February that I really liked — I couldn't think of anything to say at the time, but I had melodies — and I just finished the track a month ago!
If you like it enough, you’ll keep chipping away at it. They always stay in your mind. sometimes they can hinder you because you want to finish that song, so you can move onto another idea.