Celine is a 23-year-old South African singer, songwriter, musician and actress who discovered her passion for music at the tender age of 11. Today, her unique sound and well-crafted, original songs feature a unique blend of confessional lyrics and a layered rock-influenced sound. This pioneering female musician talks about sensitivity and vulnerability with emotive delivery in a subtly folk-inflected style that also combines elements of adult contemporary, blues and jazz. We chat to her post the launch of her new pop-rock single, Call Me.
Your music has been described as many things among these, rock-influenced and folksy, what would you say most influences your style and who do you draw inspiration from when it comes to International artists?
I am influenced by the music I listened to in my teen years, plus what I listen to presently. I listen to a variety of different genres and artists, and I especially love pop, rock and indie pop genres. When I was learning how to play guitar, I learnt a lot of blues and jazzy stuff, which has really influenced how I write music.
I draw inspiration from artists such as Alanis Morissette, Halsey, Ellie Goulding, Pink, and Tegan and Sara among others
Your full-length debut album “Blue” was released in 2018, how long was it in the making for and can you tell aspiring artists what it takes to record a full-length album?
I wrote the songs on the album over a period of 3 years. After high school, I studied performing arts, so I slowly worked on the songs during that time with the aim of releasing the album in 2018; my first year out of college and first year as a full-time musician.
I would say it takes a lot of time and thought to put together a full album. Ideally the songs need to relate to an overall theme and tie together into a cohesive product, which takes time to put together.
There is a lot of work that goes into the planning and pre-production, especially when deciding what direction to take the sound on each song and overall on the album. The recording process itself is a lot of fun; personally I love being in studio. The work doesn’t end there though – the marketing and publicity campaign is just as important, and it is something that artists should put just as much energy and effort into.
The album received outstanding reviews and interviews on big local radio stations, how did it make you feel to receive recognition?
It is definitely a good feeling to get positive feedback from industry professionals and fans alike, it made me feel like all the hard work paid off. Though I do try not to get too caught up with ‘reviews’, whether they are good or bad, as I know music is very subjective. Receiving positive feedback is great though in the sense of being an indication that you are on the right track, and as artists, we do essentially hope that our music does well. Knowing that people relate to my songs and it means something to them is a good feeling as my aim is to create music that people can connect to and feel inspired by.
Tell us a little about your latest single “Call Me” and how listeners can relate? What can fans expect from the music video launching in April?
Musically, the song is a mix of pop and rock with some subtle jazz and blues elements.
The song is essentially about people who are only there for you when it suits them, and how toxic and fake these kinds of relationships or friendships are. I think this is something that a lot of people have experienced and relate to, and the song aims to create a feeling of liberation from these kinds of situations.
The music video takes a slightly different approach to the song’s meaning. It focuses a bit more on how a history of toxic relationships and behaviour affect your expectations of future relationships. The director came up with a really amazing concept for the video that brings out this theme. We filmed at a really cool location, with a variety of different scenes and we had a fantastic upcoming actress co-star in the video. Most of my previous music videos were a bit more “performance-based”, so this is the first one that has more of a storyline involved. I am really excited to share the final product with everyone!
Can fans expect more new songs soon / another full-length album?
I am currently writing and working on some new material, and I am aiming to release at least another 2 singles this year. I am definitely working towards releasing either an EP or another full-length album in the near future. I already have a title and theme in mind!
Any future plans to venture into International shores / any planned gigs abroad?
I am hoping and aiming to tour abroad in the near future as it has always been one of my goals to branch out overseas with my music. There is nothing officially planned or booked yet, but we are working on our game plan and a tour will hopefully be on the cards soon.
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