When Elle Celeste started playing music for public consumption in her early twenties, she wanted to make the most amount of noise and be as wild as possible—screaming her head off and slapping audience members in the face as she fronted an acid rock band. She considered it a good gig, as long as she could hold a note long enough that it felt like she was going to pass out.
A lot has changed since then for the resident of Calgary, Alberta. In 2014, she and her primary musical collaborator Kirill Telichev formed the band Copperhead, making self-described “21st Century folk music” that blended punk, ambient and electronic sounds with traditional elements. Over the course of making two well-received independent albums, and sharing stages with the likes of Art Bergmann, Elliott Brood, Lindi Ortega, Terra Lightfoot and The Strumbellas, Elle got exposed to the wider music world and where she envisioned her place within it.
It’s led to Elle Celeste’s debut solo album, Call On Me—released independently today—which builds on the foundation that Copperhead laid, taking it into more expansive musical territory while delving deeply into Elle’s personal experiences through its lyrics. Although Telichev still played a major role in the creation of Call On Me, it became a moment when Elle felt confident in taking full control, making fully fleshed-out demos and harnessing the full range of her unmistakable, smoky voice, which some may liken to Sharon Van Etten or Cat Power’s Chan Marshall.
Recording got fully underway in December 2019 at the National Music Centre in Calgary, overseen by Casey McMechan, better known as the Techno DJ/producer Tyrek. When lockdown restrictions halted their work in the studio, sessions continued remotely over the next 18 months, with Telichev eventually coming on board to co-produce several tracks and mix the end results. In spite of all of that, Call On Me is a stunningly cohesive collection that utilizes modern technology to fully express Elle’s unflinching songwriting.
In some ways, the essence of Call On Me boils down to a light bulb moment Elle had while listening to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” and realizing how easily it could be reinterpreted just as powerfully with a hip-hop beat. “I decided that I wanted to create an album that combined beats and loops with soulful back-up vocals and singer/songwriter-style melodies. I also played around with some inspiration from the ‘80s.”
Elle also gives a nod to one of her favourite movies, Blade Runner, on the song “So Few,” of which she says, “I enjoy the gloom and dread in the film and the feeling that everyone is just existing, not living. Every character seems depressed. Vangelis does an incredible job on the score. I tried to emulate his synth tone in the intro to ‘So Few.’”
In all, Call On Me provides a dramatic first impression of a dynamic new voice on the Canadian independent music scene. With an ear trained to the past, but with her eyes firmly set on the future, Elle Celeste is an artist with unlimited potential. “I feel I’ve matured in almost every way making this record,” she says. “It’s motivated me to keep looking for ways to connect my experiences and song concepts with audiences.”
