Amrit Bains
A new sound accompanies a new year as Celeste releases her single ‘Everyday’. Produced by Zach Nahome, it samples Death in Vegas’ classic song ‘Dirge’ (1999).
After teasing the experimental sound online and debuting it with a limited vinyl release, Celeste has spoiled us rotten with this new androgynous sound. The value of a passion project, assembled with depth and playfulness, has truly paid off.
Opposites often attract in love, and that is the case of this ‘Dirge’ sample.
Power Struggle
‘Everyday’ features an empowering and evocative power struggle. Celeste encapsulates the chaos and intensity of love on the edge of toxicity. Her lyrics refer to the battle of knowing when to leave and when to stay.
Overall, the lyrics are an ode to intimate and obsessive lust, where dependency is mistaken for safety. This is also depicted in the cover art, which features Celeste standing like a caged bird with her legs restricted by tape.
Celeste starts with a whisper, simply reciting her poetry with a cold and caged tone. The increasing and prodigious percussions of the ‘Dirge’ sample then count her into the chorus where her stable vocals, power and female tenacity are fully displayed.
This is a new sound for the artist, and her vocals do not falter in her heart-wrenching screams, which can be heard in the intoxicated chaos.
Psychedelic Symphony
The power of her sound can be described as supernatural, and now she delves into the psychedelic through her evocative, multi-genre expressionism.
During the song, a battle of love is represented through the simultaneous battle of genres as the psychedelic classic fits seamlessly with the ambient neo-soul work of Celeste.
Is The New Sound A Winner?
Celeste has a voice that provokes the heart, and her new single is a tear-jerker. But what was the cost of this new sound for the artist?
It could be said that she has altered and almost forced her voice to fit the ‘Dirge’ sample because she does not reach the vocal range she is known for. While I recognise that she withholds her vocals, becoming almost monotone, I think this was an intentional reluctance of emotion.
“Celeste delivers a haunting animation”
Celeste does not mourn the relationship she’s singing about; she resents it. She works through her passion with cold screams of pain. Pain is desensitising. Something many will experience when trapped in the vicious circle of lust and pain experienced when you’re in a toxic relationship.
Despite not showcasing her full vocal range, Celeste’s fans loved her song and demanded for it to be released on streaming platforms.
Celeste delivers a haunting animation in her official lyric video. It adds to the iconography of a caged bird with her plucked feathers and broken movements. The animation glitches throughout, and as her power and movements intensify, so do the glitches, producing an eery transition. As the screen flashes black, her stretched red smile widens.
Produced by Machine Operated and Art Camp, the visuals and animation are bold, further intensifying Celeste’s message of the haunting nature of lust.
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Featured image courtesy of Lee Campbell on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.
