Lake District based Scottish solo artist Celestial North marks her return with her intoxicating new single ‘When The Gods Dance’ which invites you into the heart of her fascinating wyrd-dreampop world. It’s a cosmic detour into a land of impossibility and beauty - bathed in folklore, the ancient and the unknown. Another evolution in her artistry, the enveloping new single ‘When The Gods Dance’ is entwined with entrancing melodies that soar over cinematic musical mountains held aloft by majestic choirs and underpinned by elemental percussion that beats straight from the primordial heart of her world.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hey Celestial North, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Growing up my dad would listen to Spanish guitar music, Flamenco and was a huge David Bowie fan. He left to go travelling when I was a teen and settled in Brazil, where he still lives now, but I am always grateful that he took the time to teach me guitar and piano. I have nice memories of him putting on Bowie’s record of him narrating Peter and The Wolf with The Philadelphia Orchestra. I was a really young child and my fondest memory is the bit at the beginning that says ‘now children, are you sitting comfortably?’ when that bit came on I was excited to hear the rest. I had the usual, natural progressions through the phases and alternative genres of teenhood. I had quite intense phases where I would obsess over bands until I couldn’t listen anymore and then I’d move onto the next thing. I’m a bit like that now still. I always feel a bit disappointed that people feel the need to compartmentalise their tastes and influences into separate boxes. I find that really boring. To live a joyous, colourful life requires diversity, variation and fusion.
What is your creative process like?
I am inspired by my subconscious, my dreams, folklore, books, the natural world. I’m a real people watcher and I love to get an insight into how humans think and live. I love to dream up new characters and live vicariously through them in song. Usually, I have an idea or a song that comes to me in the form of a dream or just through my imagination and through the visuals in my mind I can hear how the colours and feelings translate into sounds. My husband Woody is an incredible drummer and producer. He assists me with the technical side of recording and producing and plays drums on my songs. I play various instruments and sing, but the real fun is in learning new, interesting instruments and figuring out intuitively how to play them or finding new ways to make sounds. For example, we found big blocks of ice which I hung up and hit and it sounded really good.
Your latest song is 'When the Gods Dance'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I wanted to make a song that sounded like I was summoning the Gods- tribal and trancelike. Did I summon the God’s through song? I don’t know but the Gods appear to me through various means every day. I believe we are all gods. The spirit of the land comes to me through the air I breath, the water I drink, the food I eat, to the plants I work with, the sun that warms me – they are all divine experiences to me. Has anything unusual happened whilst making the record? Well, we had a poltergeist smash the bathroom and break lots of mirrors. Either that or one of the cats, but that story isn’t as fun.
What was the most difficult challenge you faced?
I have faced a lot of challenges whilst making this record. My husband is a professional musician and so our income and lives were greatly impacted by lockdowns. I also have 3 children who were at home during the lockdowns which made recording really tricky. I have found being a parent and an emerging artist in the music industry really difficult at times - financially, physically and mentally. It’s a lot and hard to juggle it all.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Knowing when something is finished is hard. I can always find something I’d like to change. Sometimes I go back and deconstruct songs and start again from fresh because I don’t feel 100% happy with howe they sound., That’s why it takes me so long to make music!
What are your long term goals?
I am a herbalist and I am training in Medical Herbalism at the moment alongside making music. I feel torn often. I feel frustrated if I don’t get the music out of my head and into the physical world but at the same time being a musician requires being inside a lot, sitting in front of computers. I find that really draining. I would rather be outside. I try to merge the two worlds sometimes and I am currently recording a botanical soundscape as part of my course.
Do you have a mentor or coach?
I was lucky enough to receive part funding towards the recording of my album from Help Musicians charity. As part of the funding I received some mentor sessions with two incredible women working in the music industry. I found it very helpful.
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I have had a lot of nice words said about my new track. I was happy for it to be received so well and for it to be played on radio shows like Roddy Hart’s Show on BBC Radio Scotland, Jim Gellatly’s Amazing Radio Show and various BBC Introducing Shows. I recorded a version of REM’s Nightswimming- which was praised by Michael Stipe himself, so that made me smile a lot. I have been working with a press agent for the first time, his name is Bill Cummings and he has been a big help to me in getting my song into people’s ears.
What are your plans for the future?
I’d like to book some shows around the time of my album release in late autumn. I’d like to continue to make weird yet accessible worlds through song for all beings of the world to escape to- even just for a moment.