Hamburg born, London based singer-songwriter Celine Love shares her new single ‘Good Girl’, out on 2nd February. The track is the final single from her debut EP ‘Aquarius SZN’
Naming artists such as Alessia Cara, Lianne La Havas and Ama Lou as her biggest inspirations, Celine draws from her combined influences, totally owning her own brand of heartfelt R&B-Pop with Folk storytelling sensibilities. An Aquarius through and through and chronic overthinker, she thrives on being able to experiment with her music and the concepts and emotions she’s able to portray. The London based artist takes her audience on a melodic journey through her life experiences with a guitar in her hand and her heart in her voice.
Produced by R&B/Trap Producer TR33, Celine recorded the vocals at home in her closet and her dad recorded the bass virtually, giving the track an endearing charm and DIY feel, which perfectly compliments the lyrics.
Speaking of the track, Celine says, “The inspiration behind this song was my desire to shed the ‘Good Girl’ image that has been almost imposed on me by my family, and in turn I always felt that’s the way I needed to be in order to be accepted. I’ve always been afraid of being judged, but this year has been a huge journey of self-love and growth and coming to terms with the fact that sometimes I’m not at my best – and that’s ok. I am an overthinking, people-pleasing, stubborn, either emotionally unavailable or far too available Aquarius and needed to own that!
My hope is that my music inspires people to be more vulnerable about their struggles with people who care about them. It can be a great trait to not want to burden others but some people are happy to share the weight. Own your truth, be a good girl, be a bad girl or don’t be a girl at all. No one but yourself makes up the rules!”
The London based artist draws in her audience by telling stories with expressionism and self-discovery and angstful honesty at its core. Being of African-American, Jamaican and German descent, her background is a frequent point of perspective within her music.
Celine’s upcoming debut EP ‘Aquarius SZN’ continues to blend Celine’s soulful acoustic pop
background with TR33’s R&B influence. The EP’s lead single ‘Twenty-Five’ has seen enthusiastic support from BBC Radio, while her previous single ‘Like You Like That’ was premiered on Wordplay Magazine and was included in Notion Magazine’s ‘Notion Undiscovered’. Off the back of graduating with a Masters in Songwriting & Production at Tileyard London, a central pillar of the UK music industry, this rising star is equipped to make her mark with a raw, honest collection of songs.
Tell us about the genesis of your project Aquarius SZN. How did you get to where you are now?
The entire project was written over a month during lockdown with producer TR33 who I met doing a Songwriting & Production course at Tileyard London.
I usually overthink if what I am creating fits my ‘brand’ and this collection of songs was created with zero pressure and was an amazing escape during a weird time.
After the end of a long-term relationship I wanted to air out my thoughts and reclaim my identity through music. This project reflects both my happiest and darkest moment at the time.
By having a co-collaborator I was able to to push myself, like leaning further into the R&B side of things.
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
I think people want to feel like they are a part of something. NFT Art for example communicates something entirely different than Beyonce’s Lemonade. One means you’ve gotten your hands on a prized collectors item no matter how ugly or stupid it may seem and the other speaks to social injustice and personal relationships.
When I write music I try to be as honest as possible so that it communicates my reality and it turn creates relatabilty.
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
I don’t quite want to believe my Spotiy Wrapped because my brothers hijacked the profile.
So I’ll say Chloe x Halle, Kehlani and Doja Cat.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
I always try to write down lyrics that pop into my head whenever and wherever I am. So when I am in a session and feeling uninspired I can just have a scroll through my notes.
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
I am currently finishing off my sophomore EP that has been in the works for the past years.
It’s one of hose projects that you keep re recording because they are songs I’ve been playing live for a long time that I am very precious about.
I really hope to do a bunch of live gigs with band as well because I am so used to playing alone.
Favorite movie or TV show?
Jane The Virgin.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about?
‘Good Girl’ is the last single off my debut EP ‘Aquarius SZN’. It’s about letting go of fear of judgement and allowing myself to explore my self-image.
One of the stand out lines is ‘everyone thinks you’re fine when your middle name is love’, which is me acknowledging that I try to portray a happy go lucky attitude even when that is not the case, which became exhausting.
After creating the instrumental it took me three days to find the right lyrical an dmelodic approach which is unusual for me, but once I did it came pouring out. I sent the song to my dad to record bass over it which not only made the track sound better but added a personal touch.
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
I would like to change the sense of importance around immediacy when launching a career.
I myself have fallen into the trap of believing that I only have ‘one’ first single or ‘one’ first EP.
The truth is, a alot of big artists have released a lot of music theve taken down and its been a long process to get to where they are. People like to pretend like theve been perfect from the start or just ‘blew up’. I understand that its part of marketing but I think more transparency is the way forward and will get people to connect and stay engaged better in the long haul. I’ts exciting to see someone grow.
Can you outline your creative process?
I tend to start with one good lyric and then will mumble around a chord progression until I find a melody.
I won’t take writing a song seriously unless I feel like the content or a phrase has strong legs and stands out.
With this project in particular TR33 and I would send each other ideas back and forth until we had a base to work with. Then he’d go and finish the instrumental and I’d continue writing the lyrics and melody.
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
I love following a lot of other women of colour and am inspired by the style and aesthtics of artists and their collaborators like Chloe x Halle, Ama Lou, Rachel Chinouriri or Grace Carter. I mainly just go with my gut feeling though.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and
Why?
I am extremely proud of the vocal production on this project. I really pushed myself musically and tried to stay in line with the instrumentals and not over do it but treat the vocals as if they were a main instrument of their own and not just backing vocals or harmonies but integral parts to each song.
Frequently being complimented on them makes me very happy.
What do you think an artist should sing about nowadays?
I think there are absolutely no rules. Doja Cat made a song a bout being a literal cow and I love it. I think the more abstract of a concept you can make work the more creative you are. I feel what boxes artists in is thinking that they HAVE to sing about certain, popular topics. If you are going to write about your broken heart or how much money you have, you better make it super catchy and or really clever. Otherwise its boring.
Do you have any regrets?
I do wish I wouldve started releasing and puting myself out there earlier. I’ve been gigging for years and have had many great opportunities but struggled when it came to finding my sound in the studio.
On the other hand, Celine from a few years ago was a different person so I’m glad people are getting this version of myself now.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now?
Go to bed , don’t go on Tik Tok first thing in the morning and stop refreshing the Spotify stream count every 5 minutes.
