Gold Celeste is extremely keen at finding the right balance between psych music’s modern elements - they craft tape-saturated drum grooves with tender and inquisitive melodies and harmonic progressions that twist and turn in ways that make you raise your ears questionably - like a dog when it hears its name being called out. This skill, sprinkled all throughout their debut album is getting closer to being perfected with their first release since the record. sheds light on different the dimensions of love - inspiring you to take the groovy ride of love with the Oslo psych outfit. This whole feel-good yet curious take on a love song is floating over an exceptionally crafted groove that pushes the whole thing forwards effortlessly, being glued together by the filtered and tremolo-esque “wah’s" of their guitars and the basslines going farther into psych-pop space than I could ever conceive, all while remaining cohesive, fun, and lovable. I could sit here and pick out the different elements that I love about their songs - as I’m meant to do, yet, what makes Gold Celeste so amazing is that these very elements they implore come together at the perfect moments to capture absurdly beautiful aural artwork that is unparalleled by their contemporaries. The GlowThe Wonder of Love
We got the chance to chat with Simen from Gold Celeste, check it out below!
Give us some background on “The Wonder of Love”-- what the song means to you guys, especially being the first release since your LP “The Glow”. What inspired you to sit down and really get this song ready for a release?
Simen (GC): The Glow was the culmination of a chapter in our lives. We had spent 6 years in our Trondheim studio in a hermit-like state with endless tinkering and too many half-done sketches, producing everything ourselves. An exhausting but rewarding process finalised with us moving to Oslo after the album finally was cut and finished. Right now, we’re out to see if we can get our music to blossom in a live setting.A fresh start and lots of heart was what inspired the creation of the track. “The Wonder of Love tries to capture the unique feeling of deep nostalgia and longing, through family and friends with their warmth of unconditional love and support, and the beautiful struggle; the unity of two.
You guys have mentioned that the making of “The Glow” was a very introverted process, which is often reflected in the lyrical content of the album. But now you come out with “The Wonder of Love”, a song about love – are you guys looking at love still through an introverted point of view? Or a new point of view?
I really do think this is a continuation of The Glow in that manner, but with a more easy-going approach matching the warm upbeat psych-soul/pop 7/8-time. I think it reflects my persistent love for 60/70’s American soul music, but without losing grit and passion for trying to understand the larger picture. We won’t come on stage with matching suits just yet(but perhaps a more individual approach would suit us better?) It’s pretty hard to cut through in a culture where the extroverted is so much more easily appreciated, whereas the introverted is where it’s really going down, you know?
I know you guys are influenced by sample-based hip hop – that’s where the influence for your unreal drum grooves come from – as well as the sonic qualities of analog/tape gear, but do you find influences in non-musical things as well?
I think it’s weird to isolate music from other kinds of expressions, especially as songwriters and producers. It’s like filling a canvas, isn’t it? Or writing a book, stimulating people to make their own images to what they are reading. The trend has gone towards music as a pure entertainment product though, and perhaps that has made music in general hard to generally view as an art form. It lives on in the sub-cultures though, and that goes for all kinds of innovative forms of expression. It doesn’t really matter what form it takes, it’s more about it’s aesthetics and what it tries to say. Our band name “Gold Celeste” is inspired by the golden hour and play of colours in the sky, so nature is also very important. Our tendency to flirt with the 60’s and 70’s aesthetics has most to do with it’s position in sound recording history and how it’s limitations and the musical performance was the key. The modern day productional ability to click on a computer and things are done for you perhaps means freedom for some, but you will never be able to capture the humanity, the soulfulness and the interplay of recording real instruments live. We’re fans of multi tracking and overdubs though, but the bass/guitar/drums is recorded live. Creativity and new points of view is always an influence, it being films, food, music, paintings, sculptures, architecture, science, philosophy…whatever makes you question and wonder!
When I show people your music, they think you guys are straight from the 60’s or they also compare you to modern neo-psych bands like Tame Impala, or even The Flaming Lips. Yet, being an avid follower of this genre there is definitely an intangible charisma, or feeling, that your music evokes, very differently to any neo-psych bands I’ve heard, even though your sonic medium is the same. Do you think you can try to explain what makes your music different than other psychedelic/indie bands today?
Though it is easy to make comparisons between contemporary bands, they are often just as influenced by the same great bands throughout time as well as each other. It’s like someone playing psychedelic pop/rock in the style of Tame Impala but have never heard of The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix, it’s weird but at the same time curiously admirable. Tame Impala’s music is so deeply rooted and full of references and knowledge of the timeless greats in music, but at the same time refreshingly new. That’s something we strive to uphold. If you base your music too much on contemporary peers you end up whirring about, never able to keep up with the latest trends. There’s so much gold throughout our musical heritage, it would be a shame to disregard it.What makes our music different is most likely just that; many similar references and a somewhat shared aesthetic with our contemporary psych/indie-heads, but at the same time we carry with us tons of musical inspiration that we both as a band, and as individuals, have just for our selves. It’s that unique mix of inspiration and personality(as a “introverted” bunch, we can’t escape it coming to play). A sense of not trying to attain something “trendy”, something “cooler” than ourselves, not being actors in an attempt to scheme our way to a slacker ultra-hip lifestyle by pushing the “right” buttons at the “right” time. Seems kinda unfulfilling really.You gotta always be on the search, expand your libraries, test new sounds and instruments, try different lyrical styles, new approach in songwriting and recording, but all the while be honest towards what feels right and really resonates. My mom has a saying: “If you’re trying to please the world you’ll deceive yourself.”
What’s next for “Gold Celeste”? Where would you like to see yourselves in 5 years?
We’ll spend 2016 making some new music, play as much as possible abroad (UK, Germany, Belgium, Denmark ++), hopefully create some live-recordings and videos, develop some joint projects with sound/visuals. Sneaking our way into some festivals would also be ace.
Music Suggestion Section
Eirik:
Album:
Song:
"In October we did a warmup-gig in Berlin for our new favourite band, Mild High Club. Super cool T. Rex-vibe in this tune! So simple, so catchy!"
Simen:
Album:
Song:
"The right sound, the right feel, the right n****. A beautifully rugged, present and sophisticated album, just the way we like it. The whole thing is worth your time, most definitely."
Petter:
Album: Goon - Tobias Jesso Jr.
Song:
"A gem in the pile of cheesy rubbish that is "piano ballads". Sounds like the best of Harry Nilsson with a beautiful and minimalistic 70's production."
