1. Hello guys, how are you? First, I would like to ask you if you could introduce CELESTE little bit. I really don’t need any biography & discography, just please drop some interesting or important informations and some news from your camp.

Antoine: Celeste is active for almost 5 years now and we are from Lyon. Guillaume (guitar) and i were formely playing in an hardcore band then Guillaume had the will to play something else, closer to the screamo style. After meeting our drummer in high school, we decided to start to play together. We met Johan afterwards, he was still playing in Mihai Edrisch, his former band. After he joined the band, everything went pretty fast. Couple of months later we recorded our first EP “pessimiste(s)”, at this time we were still looking for our own identity, musically speaking. I guess we found it with our first record “Nihiliste(s)”, a mix of post-hardcore and sludge. Since “Misanthrope(s)”, recorded last year, we added a black metal approach, definitely more obvious on “Morte(s) Née(s)”, currently releasing.

2. You’re playing music that is absolutely without any compromise. I heard only last two albums, but I guess it’s in the same start like in the past, or am I wrong? Do you think your music is going to be more about black metal or conversely? Did you change anything in your access regarding CELESTE in last year(s)?

Johan: Actually there is only our first release that is slightly different. I don't know if we'll be more black-metal in the future, that's not something we really plan, it comes naturaly. Our only purpose is to get darker and darker and always more extreme. To reach what we have here with Morte(s) née(s) we simply worked on the dark side of our melodies from album to ablum, and we tried to make the rythm section always more complexe and violent. I hope we'll be able to continue in this way for the future. But who knows, maybe we'll have to slow down a bit and rethink our way to do music, we'll see how we feel it when we'll start to write new songs again

3. What is the main point of CELESTE? I mean from the side of lyrics etc. Is there any specific idea that connects all your albums?

Johan: Yes mostly, I always dealt about the same topics like paedophilia, incest, sexual abuses, religion, war, modern life behaviours... and in some album I focus a bit more on a particular topic than an other one. For exemple the new is totally dedicated to Feminity.


4. All your tracks are in French, what’s the reason? Is it better for you to use mother language in songs? Maybe more personal point, but do you like French language? (maybe that might be the point why you’re using it)

Johan: I couldn't think about singing in another language. It helps me to be very sharp in my lyrics, and I like the way French sounds anyway. I think it's also a way to be different than other bands. Actually I don't understand why every band isn't singing in his mother tongue.

5. Let’s talk about your newest work that is called “Morte(s) Nee(s)“. The first thing I would like to ask you is, what is the reason for using „s“ in all album names?

Johan: It only means that you can deal with our topics in a personal point of view and also in a wider view. Then it became a way to make our album titles different from others, you can easily recognise a CELESTE title, it's a kind of Trademark.

6. Artwork is again really interesting work like in the past. Who is the creator? Is someone from you photographer or graphic designer? Where the photo has been taken and what is the sense; I mean how to understand it as a listener that bought the album already…

Johan: I'm glad that you like it, actually I'm taking care of it. I'm not photographer or graphic designer, but I like to manage the artworks for my band. For all the CELESTE releases we worked with other photographers, and then I took care of the graphic design. The picture was taken in Poland by Martyna Adela Dzienka with Marta as a model. Even if it took me a while to find her that was finally a pleasure to work with her, whe's a very talented photographer. Then sens is simple, it's about the loss of innoncence. In the album I deal about this topic and how man behavoiours could affect women's innoncence.

7. The music is still very brutal and fast. I think we could talk about black metal, death metal, hardcore etc… There’re many influences globally. Is it your intention to create that kind of music or are you simply persons that love the music in this vein?

Johan: We love the music in our Vein, but we also have to admit that we don't like a lot of stuff. To be honnest I'm very frustrated because I can't find the music I'm really searching for. We did't create this melt of influences on purpose, we never said "let's do a mix of post-hardcore, sludge and Black Metal...". Actually we listen to a very few of Black Metal since pretty recently, and strangely people found some BM influences in our stuff before when even listened to some. That's the same thing for Sludge or Death Metal, I never litened to that kind of music. We just wanted to make something really violent and the result is what you hear. People need to find infuences in our music to have something to relate us to existing stuff, but in my opinion we don't really have influences.


8. But, let me ask you, what music are you listening at home?

Johan: haha, from my part only things I was listening 10 years ago. I listen to post-rock, a few post-hardcore, old screamo stuff... when I was really into listening some music the band I listened the most were Neurosis, Breach, Shora, Lisabö and Do make say thing. That's the bands coming to my mind right now.

9. Your line-up change is still the same from 2005.. To be honest, it’s not a usual fact. Are you all close friends?

Johan: Very good friends actually. CELESTE existed before I came in the band, but they became very good friends, even when we're not on tour, on studio or rehersing we're always spending time together. I think it's a big strengh for us, and I think that it's thanks to this friendship that we could last for a while if our personnal situations stay stable.

10. That’s pretty all from me. Thanks for your time you’ve spent with the answers! I hope you’ll play one day in Czech Republic so we’ll meet and drink some beers. Anyway, I saw you played (or will play) in Slovakia, is that correct? Do you plan a tour or something?

Johan: Since you wrote this question, you noticed that we actually have 2 shows planed in Cz and that we already played at Fluff Fest last year ;) So well, we hope to see you in May in Praha or Hradec Kralove. And for sure we'll be glad to drink some beer with you, that's maybe what we do the best, even more than playing music ;).

Many thanks for the interview, we hope that it will help a lot of people to discover us and come to these 2 shows

Take care