CELESTINE
Celestine was born in Bristol and rose to national recognition when winning the grand final of the BBC TV programme “Star for a Night” with a stunning performance of the Nina Simone classic ‘Feeling Good’. This led to performances at the Royal Variety Show, The Albert Hall and the opportunity to work with a diverse range of producers -True North, Stargate, and songwriters Gary Barlow, Tony Moore. However break-through at that point was not to be.
Collaborations followed with:
• Spooky on the album “Open” which saw one of the tracks penned by Celestine – ‘Strange Addiction’ – used on the Ving Rhames film Shooting Gallery. “This is one of the best albums I’ve had for a long time…. Both are absolutely wicked in there own right… Emotional soulful vocals and wicked melodies over all the tracks… The more I listen to it, the more I love it”
• Crucial Records on ‘Garage Gospel Volume 1’ track ‘All of Me’ with Nigel Ipinson-Flemming (The Stone Roses).
• Celestine then collaborated with Sonic Syringe to produce a 5-track EP called ‘Inside’. In 2009 one of the tracks, [These Streets] reached No. 1 in the Ujima 98fm Charts and remained at No. 1 for 6 weeks; it also received airplay from BBC Radio Bristol. ‘Inside’ was the start of the journey to find her true place in her musical journey.
Performances followed with regular spots at The Coronation Tap and local and national festivals and as support act for Pee Wee Ellis/Fred Wesley, Tarrus Riley/Etana, John Holt/The Temptations at o2 Academy and Mica Paris.
This next stage is her journey brings to the table the 12-track album “Secret Side”, recorded entirely with live musicians – With many of the lyrics penned by Celestine herself, Secret Side is on occasion “a funksome blend of soul and jazz…with a voice of perfect poise coming through…” In addition tracks like ‘This Baby Still Cares’ and ‘Prophecy’ shows her more mellow jazz style. “Secret Side” is a great addition to all music lovers’ collections.
Celestine has a natural jazz/soul vocal style which moves effortlessly through different genres of music – “a singer with a really hauntingly beautiful voice” and “an inner beauty that shines through”. Celestine is at her best when performing live and has captured the essence of her live performances and song writing on her debut album ‘Secret Side’. Infusing Soul, Jazz, Funk and Blues rhythms with velvet vocals, ‘Secret Side’ has songs to suit all moods.
Secret Side is available for download on iTunes, CDbaby and Amazon MP3; physical copies from http://www.amazon.co.uk.
SOUL FREEDOM 