Spotlight On... Celestial North

Based in the Lake District but raised in Edinburgh, Celestial North released her debut album Otherworld last week. Across 11 tracks it takes you on a spiritual, cosmic and nature-fuelled journey, offering an ethereal escape from everyday mundanity. We're quite taken with the record, so caught up with Celestial North to find out more. We talk pagan euphoria, working with former Sea Power drummer Matthew Wood, and find out what's next...

There’s a gorgeous lightness to your ethereal otherworldly music, and I love how you describe your music using phrases like ‘cinematic melodrama', ‘wyrd pop’ and ‘pagan euphoria’. Can you tell us about who and what influences your music making?
Thanks so much! I’m really influenced by my surroundings and the energy contained within them. I wanted to make each song as animated as possible to encapsulate the spirit of these real and fantasy spaces. I’m chaotically dreamy; when I was writing the songs for the album I felt a bit like I was whirling through many different colourful and exciting worlds – wandering through the ancient, sacred stone circles at Machrie Moor and then jumping straight into an underground rave in the forest. I do these things in real life anyway, so it wasn’t too hard to imagine!

I love to be outside in nature as much as possible or I get quite sad, but I also love things that are intense and dramatic like Flamenco and Georgian dance. I’m influenced a lot by traditional instruments and found it really fun to record them alongside a more electronic set up. I was gifted bodhran drums, a dulcimer and piano during lockdown which was lovely. I love mixing old with new. If I had to pick genre-spanning musical influences on this album I’d go for Wardruna, The Twilight Sad, Julie Fowlis, Aurora, Young Fathers and Ólafur Arnalds. 

You’ve just released your debut album, the aptly titled Otherworld. Despite living in the Lake District, your music draws a lot from what you describe as a ‘wild Scottish upbringing’. Can you tell us more about that, as well as some of the themes found across the record?
Well I was brought up in Edinburgh, so wild maybe isn’t the right word – feral? A little feral city girl, but I was never inside, I hated being inside so I would just wander for hours. I was obsessed with the Beltane Fire Festival as a teen and used to spend my evenings up on the hill or in Studio 24 in Calton Studios.

I moved around a lot after I left home, I think that’s my gypsy genes. I settled in the countryside and have never looked back. I feel best when life is quieter and slower. I get homesick for Scotland a lot but the Lakes can also be rugged and dramatic and remote if you find the right spots. I love the moodiness of it at times but sometimes I’d like to jump on a horse and wagon and ride to Spain – it rains a lot here!

I think the theme running through the album was one of hope and community, even in our loneliest, most difficult times – for human spirit to prevail. I had a desire to gather folk together to dance off their worries, even for a moment. In Celtic mythology the 'otherworld' is a liminal space we travel to through death where we remain joyful and content until we are called upon to re-enter the real world again. I imagined each song to occupy a liminal space, an ’otherworld’ for people to explore.

Celestial North. Photo by Matthew Wood

You recorded a cover of R.E.M.’s Nightswimming for God Is In the TV's charity album in 2021. How did you end up choosing that particular R.E.M. song? And what was the decision to include it on the album?
I just really like the melody and felt it encompassed nostalgia for the nativity, freedom, and excitement of fleeting youth nicely – the yearning for a particular moment in time. Sonically it was just the right mood and seemed to seamlessly slot in.

Otherworld was co-produced and recorded with former Sea Power drummer Matthew Wood, aka Woody. How did you end up working with Woody and what was the writing and recording process like?
Actually Woody is my husband of many years and an all-round amazing guy. He is an absolute dream to work with. He is so tuned into all the tiny sounds and where they should be in a mix. He understood all my crazy ideas and was always up for recording a variety of weird things like blocks of ice being hit, storms in the garden, candlesticks being rattled and things. He’s an insanely talented drummer and really good at recording and programming music so he was an invaluable studio buddy really! My daughter Iris Bluebell sang some backing vocals for me too.

I actually recorded half an album and it didn’t resonate with me at all, so I went back and re-recorded the whole thing! Woody is very patient and meticulous whilst I am more impulsive and impatient. We recorded the whole thing at home which was no easy feat – we kind of learnt on the run. I wanted the album to have massive warrior drums, ethereal sounding vocals and lots of tiny minute details that make you wonder if they are really there or not. I’m really pleased how it ended up sounding.

Finally, what’s next for Celestial North and what does the rest of the year look like for you?
I’m currently doing exams as I’m going into my second year of studying to become a Medical Herbalist. It’s been full-on. I would absolutely love to do some gigs now. I’m craving the feeling of sharing my music in real time with other human beings. We were talking about putting on our own shows in ‘Otherworlds’ like in a Viking longhouse or in a magical nomad camp. Watch this space.

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Otherworld is out now

celestialnorth.bandcamp.com
celestialnorth.co.uk