We came simply to interview a singer. Instead, we found a muse. A reminder. A revival.
After years of talking to starlets, troubadours, and other short-lived stars, we didn’t expect much. But Celesst Mar walked in and, suddenly, the old heart did an embarrassing little flip — sharp, unexpected, almost adolescent.
She didn’t just enter the room; she claimed it.
There was something about her — an easy radiance that doesn’t ask for attention yet somehow demands, err, survival.
She is young at 26, yes, but young in that sunrise way: bright, inevitable, warm. But there’s that calm confidence that warned anyone tempted to mistake her for anything less than fully in charge.
She sat down in soft light, looking amused at our reaction to her beauty.
“I appreciate it that people think I’m beautiful, but I really don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” she said, with a mischievous glint. “I hope they could go past that and actually listen to my music, listen to what I’m saying.”
Her voice could melt steel, smooth, low, with just enough hint of danger to keep your attention.
“I want them to listen,” she repeated. “Really listen. To feel what I’m saying.”
Of course, we did exactly as she said and as promised we felt more than something.
Her music is as sensual as she is. Her lyrics deep, poignant. It’s perfect for dance floors if also the bedroom.
Don’t worry, Romeo. You could listen to it too. The whole album dubbed “Fawn,” drops Dec. 20, across all digital platforms. Consider it an early Christmas treat, wrapped in velvet and a little smoke.
Anyhoo, Celesst told us, “I worked hard on those lyrics. I hid double entendres in some… you know, little surprises. People can take them in many ways.”
Sure.
Normally, that kind of “I’m-an-artist” talk earns an automatic eye roll from us. But this time we couldn’t.
Celesst spoke about her music the way one talks about a well-kept secret. Meanings layered on meanings, like smoke wrapping around a quiet flame.
And yes, there’s that Shelley line that floated inside our head uninvited: “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.”
Celesst is a chock-full of possibilities, sharp, bright, and a bit dangerous if you stare too long.
“I sing songs about love, mostly about the games people play. I’m very honest in my songs,” she added.
Her beauty, despite what our good friend, the veteran entertainment journalist Eugene Asis insists, isn’t the headline. It’s just the opening note. Her songs, smooth, sly, hypnotic, do the real work.
Reminds us of a line an old buddy would utter every time we see or hear something cool: Wicked.
Celesst’s music is kind of like that.
And when the interview ended, an odd kind of melancholy brushed past us.
Good thing her face, plus the rest of the visual argument, is on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook.
For now, that will do.
