Standard Interrogation Techniques: Five Questions for Celeste (Interview)

Although I’d ideally love to be able to conduct hard-hitting, in-depth interviews, who has the time these days? In lieu of this, I’ve thrown together the below question template, hopefully to gather some interesting and informative results, without taking up too much of anyone’s time.

Introduce yourself – who are you and what do you do?

Hi! I’m Guillaume and I’ve played guitar in Celeste since the beginning of the band in 2005. Even if our creative process is very collaborative, I’ve always been the main songwriter until Infidèle(s) (2017), our previous album. Since then, I’ve shared this responsibility with Johan, the singer and bass player in the band.

Tell us about your latest release and why people should listen to your music

Assassine(s) is our most diverse and accessible album yet, with a real melodic richness. This album is a 40-minute journey marked by a deep melancholy, and orchestrated within a very modern production which we owe to Chris Edrich, who did great work for us. Even if you can still recognize our very own identity, I think that our early fans could be confused with this new effort…

It’s also our most diverse album. Each song is really recognizable and the tracklist has been thought through to create a perfect landform. Whereas our music has mostly been known and described as monolithic previously.
We have clearly explored new horizons and Assassine(s) marks a big change in our discography. We have explored new shades of darkness while still trying to reimagine the borders of extreme music.

What’s the most important thing to you about your music? What meaning does it give you and what purpose does it serve in your life?

From a personal point of view, the most important thing is to generate emotion for those who listen to our music, whether at our concerts or in their headphones.

I like to think that perhaps a sad melody I composed has the power to upset some people, bring back memories or send their minds to some pretty dark thoughts.

But music is also a very enriching collective experience. I love going on the road with my friends, reconnecting with a form of carelessness that you necessarily lose a bit as you get older.

Music is a way to fulfil myself, but also to satisfy my need to create. Right now I honestly can’t imagine my life without music. It’s been my passion since I was 14.

Tell us a lesser-known interesting or funny anecdote about your band or music

I have a good one. A long time ago, when we still were heavy drinkers, we did a small show in Belgium. And Johan, our singer (he didn’t play bass at that time) was so drunk that after only four songs he left the “stage” because he thought that it was already the end of the show. With the other guys we continued without him.

But Johan stayed in front of the stage, applauded between each song, and said to us “Guys you’re so ridiculous. Nobody cares about you, and you’re doing a ‘one more song'”.

He was really pissed off, and we were so amused by this unrealistic scene!