‘Oh... the energy, the adrenaline, when I get to play live again’
‘It’s nice to be told by people that I’m on the right path and that I deserved it’
Celeste
Celeste’s soulful voice has been compared to that of Amy Winehouse and she has been hailed as a once-in-a-generation talent. Such buzz was generated by her first single Daydreaming released by Lily Allen’s personal Bank Holiday record label and the EP Milk And Honey caused highly acclaimed singer Michael Kiwanuka to tip off Polydor Records about her burgeoning abilities before that label promptly signed her.
The Sussex singer came top of the BBC Sound of 2020 in January after winning a Brit Award for Most Promising Artist. Both accolades ensured she came to the attention of millions as the new year dawned.
Established artists, as well as those on the cusp of a breakthrough such as Celeste, have had to adapt to the constraints caused by Covid-19. The 26-year-old has spent her time, she says, honing the songs for her debut album while also availing of any opportunities for exposure that have come her way.
‘I didn’t allow myself to slow down and become too fearful about what was going on around me,’ she says.
‘I’ve been very fortunate; I still got to do things. I got to perform on Graham Norton’s TV show on one of the first few weeks of lockdown. I’ve been blessed to have the time to decide how exactly I want my debut album to sound and figure out what kind of songs I still need for it. That wouldn’t have happened because we would have released the album already and it would all have been go, go go!’
Celeste was also asked to contribute vocals to the Live Lounge Allstars charity single, Times Like
These, a cover of the Foo Fighters’ track which also featured Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding, Biffy Clyro and Irish singer Dermot Kennedy. The single went to number one in the British charts in April.
Celeste, whose full name is Celeste Epiphany Waite says: ‘I think you have to be on the ball, completely in tune with what’s going on around you and keep people engaged with what you are doing.
‘That is always the case but more so in this irregular world. It’s such a shame that I’ve not been able to play live shows. I was also meant to be going to places I had never been to before. When I get to play that first show, oh the energy, the adrenaline is going to be rushing through me’
Celeste was born in California to an English mother and Jamaican father who separated when Celeste was three. She and her mother then moved to England. She says she was always encouraged to per
form and won a scholarship to a performing arts school to do ballet aged 10. She heard her mother’s Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald records, which made her pivot towards performing, especially after she also began singing in her local church. When her father died when she was 16, Celeste was inspired to write the moving and mature song Sirens. She put the song up on YouTube and attracted the attention of the manager who still guides her career.
‘I’ve just felt pleased and proud that more people are hearing my music now. I’ve been a full-time musician since I was 18 and what I have felt is a sense of invigoration when I got recognition. Sometimes you get tired, you miss out on doing things with friends, but every little bit of recognition, from an award to a stranger saying they like your song, gives you a fillip. That’s not to say that if you don’t get it that you are not worthy. Plenty of artists go unrecognised immediately but still do great work, even though they don’t receive those accolades. It’s very nice to be told by people that I am on the right path and that I deserved it.’
As a black woman and as one who says ‘must be completely in tune with what’s going on around [her]’. I ask her would the extra time to work on songs see her reflecting the Black Lives Matter movement in her work.
‘There are actually a couple of songs I’ve written already that have come from a more political point of view, not from a romantic perspective which most of my songs are,’ she says.
‘That was because I was already feeling that way before some of the issues were highlighted. Naturally, those things seep into your subconscious. But it’s not something that you can sit down and force yourself to write about even weeks after something has happened. I want people to still be enjoying my songs in five, 10, 20 years’ time, whatever they’re about.’
Celeste’s latest single I Can See The Change is out now.