Celeste does: Producing/arranging, drum programming, all guitar work, vocals, electronics dept.Reason/Ableton sequencing, poetry + piano!!! She is a one ear engineer and a one woman band!! When I play live, Nathanial Morgan plays wicked down-tempo beats on the Kit, Bryan Jeffries holds down the low end, most recently Peter Johnson will triger loops on a lap-top and rock the synth - he is our Ableton guru. Special thanks to CARMEN RIZZO, DAVID HAUSER AND SCOBRA for their wicked producer skills! Other important band members include: a Mac G5, the Digi 002, Mackie 12/02, Reason, a SM58 and 57, AKG C-1000, oodles of cables, a DAT Recorder, a T.C. Electronics G-Force, a small arsenal of stomp boxes, one nifty red Pearl Drum Set, and one Fender Twin Reverb Delux amp that kills my back to lift.
Influences
Bjork is my Goddess, Portishead, Beck seems to do no wrong, Depeche Mode is one of the greatest ever, Massive Attack is SEXYness, BASSNECTAR, DJ Junkie XL, Trentemøller, Telepopmusik, UNKLE, U2, Moorcheeba, GOLDFRAPP, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Lamb, Roni Size, Supreme Beings of Leisure, PETER GABRIEL, WOVEN, Adam Freeland, Sigur Ros, Alu, DIVASONIC, Rebecca Brown, David Bowie, Lily Haydn, Artemis, Ekova, Bowie, Sigur Ros, Plaid, The Notwist... I Fucking Love RASPUTINA (they are my new favorite)!!! Zeppelin, Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Santana, Stevie Wonder, Ani Di Franco, Sarah Brightman, Deita Klaus, The Cure, anything played backwards, Steely Dan, Samantha Murphy, Mozart, Beethovan, Debussy, I really could go on and on...
Sounds Like
Multiple Eargasms, faint whisperings, coyote's lonesome call, a cry out in the wilderness, zany drunken moments, snow, touch of hippy, touch of goth, someone who is veeeery complex... white noise, pink noise, background noise, wind rustling through the forest behind your house, lusty love letters, busy signals, yearning for truth, fishnet stockings and black heels, disasters (floods, wildfire, earthquake), frustration with men (same as disaster), roommate's upstairs footsteps, churning ocean, bleeps, blips, sheen, sheer, airplanes passing overhead, the open road, owls, Northern Nevada, Topanga, Santa Cruz, Olympia, Burning Man Cacaphony, yearning for youth, long winter nights, eternal sorrow, long exciting tales of adventure, leafblower at 8:00 in the morning (NOT!), sun beams, moon beams, Jim Beam, crickets symphony...
"It would only seem fitting that the granddaughter of the man who invented the 8 Track Cassette Player would have music in her genes" Editor - Reno Gazzette Journal
"Lear is an artist and producer with an edgy, intricate vision." - Music connection Magazine
"On Celeste's gripping and tantalizing debut album The Echo Inside she complements her laid-back downtempo electronica with dynamic vocals that ring with harmonic clarity. The beats are exploratory and dont rely on the time tested normally dull breaks that so many artists turn towards and funkiness is hidden behind several soundscape layers that finds Celeste whispering of tales that are fantastical yet somehow not too far from reality. Beautiful and engaging from the get-go. - Editor, Smother Magazine
Sophisticated, moody and cutting edge. Celeste Lear, vocalist, guitarist and music programmer, produces downtempo and trip hop inspired electronica with wicked beats, luscious layering and meaningful lyrics for today's modern listener. Granddaughter of the 8-track inventor and deaf in one ear, Celeste is an artist with an intriguing background and an unquenchable thirst to create inspiring and groundbreaking new music.
This up and coming electronic musician has recently emerged from Los Angeles' underground music scene with a sound all her own that truly depicts today's female artist in the music industry. An independent label owner, a music producer with a degree in sound engineering and a passionate and skilled musician to match, Celeste is an artist with a drive and talent to match any musician on a major label. Following a long line of musical groundbreakers from Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, Celeste continues to break the confines of gender-labels in Rock and Electronic music by creatively fusing together the musical styles of downtempo and trip hop electronica with alternative rock, pop and jazz and her soulful and skillful electric and acoustic guitar playing and adds color and melody to loop based electronic compositions. Her music has been likened to artists like Bjork, Beck, Moby, Dido, POE, Zero 7, Lamb and Portishead.
Celeste comes from a world famous creative and enterprising family that has left an incredible legacy in aviation and the music recording industry; "It would only seem fitting that the granddaughter of the inventor of the 8-Track cassette would have music in her genes." (Editor, Reno Gazette Journal). Left deaf in one ear from a car accident and dubbed "One Ear Lear" by her friends, Celeste went on to study music theory with jazz legend Ray Brown during college in Santa Cruz and earned a degree in sound engineering and music business from San Francisco State University. Catching the ears of producer David Hauser (Supreme Beings of Leisure, Iron Butterfly, Arabian Prince), Celeste worked on the majority of her 1st album "The Echo Inside" with him in Reno, Nevada. Shortly after returning to Los Angeles had received attention from Arista Records, had won 1st place in the dance category in an international songwriting contest and had a song placed on a popular compilation CD called "Femme Fatales" (Toucan Cove Records) featuring "The 12 Leading Ladies of Electronica" that includes music by DJ Collette, MIA and Jan Johnston. She has most recently collaborated with producer Carmen Rizzo.
Celeste's independent label has released 2 Cds now available at iTunes, Cd baby and most digital retailers. She is currently touring as a solo electronic laptop based artist and working on her 2nd album in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.
words cannot accurately describe how great i felt during your performance the other night. you were relaxed - confident - you looked fantastic and charming - and you rocked the friggin house like no other performer i have seen in LA> it was really special and toally amazing. ive always loved your bassist - but i gotta tell ya - he has deepened his pocket in the coolest sense of the word. you are the real thing ms lear - and arthur fits nicely among the greatness.
i pulled my back! i hate when that happens. it has put me a touch behind, sorry for late response. delighted to be invited, but afraid i am horizontal through the weekend... lets try again. have a wonderful weekend, xo e
I could not help but acknowledge, and try to find the source of your beautiful voice. I'm glad the Pandora thing was such good news, and I could bring that to you; I'm sure others will also perk their ears when they hear your voice! Anyhow, I hope to hear details about your performances so I might have a chance to hear that lovely voice live! Thanx again for filling a few moments of my day with your mesmerizing sounds!
Hey Celeste I read your "mucis connection" review, nice....gtreat work.... even if your is not just a demo but more like a finished album.. Now look where I'm going...?
"Lullabies for your inner child" the concert experience that brings the music of the late beneath the underdog to the stage, under the direction of Gaia Possenti, will visit Italy this summer. Two nights, one in the heart of Rome, the other one in Calcata,(vt) The concert will offer audiences an opportunity to spend an evening with BTU's music, performed meticulously by a group of top flight musicians who have been schooled in its subtleties. Far from being a tribute act, "Lullabies for your inner child" is more of a vehicle that underscores the compositional genius of Gaia Possenti much as a symphony orchestra would perform pieces by a master composer.
"un..altro cerchio si chiude" with all my love.........Luca+*
I'm up in Portland still and travellin' around alot. Hopefully, down in L.A. soon and we'll need to get together for lunch, coffee or mineral water. Hope all is well in your world. ~ Scott
