Celine Love - Good Girl (Single) + 10 Questions

Hamburg born, London based singer-songwriter Celine Love shares her new single ‘Good Girl’, out on 2nd February. The track is the final single from her upcoming debut EP ‘Aquarius SZN’, out on 16th February.

Naming artists such as Alessia Cara, Lianne La Havas and Ama Lou as her biggest inspirations, Celine draws from her combined influences, totally owning her own brand of heartfelt R&B-Pop with Folk storytelling sensibilities. An Aquarius through and through and chronic over-thinker, she thrives on being able to experiment with her music and the concepts and emotions she’s able to portray. The London based artist takes her audience on a melodic journey through her life experiences with a guitar in her hand and her heart in her voice.

Produced by R&B/Trap Producer TR33, Celine recorded the vocals at home in her closet and her dad recorded the bass virtually, giving the track an endearing charm and DIY feel, which perfectly compliments the lyrics.

Speaking of the track, Celine says, “The inspiration behind this song was my desire to shed the ‘Good Girl’ image that has been almost imposed on me by my family, and in turn I always felt that’s the way I needed to be in order to be accepted. I’ve always been afraid of being judged, but this year has been a huge journey of self-love and growth and coming to terms with the fact that sometimes I’m not at my best - and that’s ok. I am an overthinking, people-pleasing, stubborn, either emotionally unavailable or far too available Aquarius and needed to own that!

Celine sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

I grew up with professional musicians as parents. If I hadn’t loved music from the start I would have felt very uncomfortable in my own home.

My love for songwriting however began at 11 years old when I was given the task to write a song as a group assignment. Everyone else got bored after 5 minutes which I couldn’t understand because I felt like I had just discovered the most exciting thing in the universe.

I went to my grandparents house, typed up the song, printed it out and stuck it on my wall. I’ve never stopped writing since.

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

I’m currently mainly inspired by other multifaceted and multi talented women of colour. When I discovered Chloe x Halle a few years ago it was like finding a whole new realm of possibility. Seeing how they were able to be completely stripped of any limitations when it came to genre, topic or capabilities really inspired me to produce my own music more.

I would also love to work with amazing charting songwriters like Jessie Reyes, Kamille, Bibi Bourelly or Nija Charles.

3. What are some of the problems you have faced making and releasing the music during the corona virus pandemic?

Honestly, I am incredibly lucky to get to say that the past two years have been the most productive and creative years of my life regarding music. The project I am currently releasing would've never happened otherwise because it was written over zoom with no pressure, studio costs or time constraints.

The one problem I did have was that I got covid when I was meant to release the first single and had to push it back.

I believe that in turn that was the best decision though because it meant the EP release lined up with Aquarius Season  (the title of the EP).

4. How would you describe your sound?

Currently I would say a blend of R&B, Indie Pop and soulful folk.

I’ve always been really careful with how I describe myself though because when you're a mixed girl and say you do R&B people often put you in a box. I try to use as many adjectives as  possible to create a broader picture.

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

It’s definitely the release of this project. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with what other people are saying (although the compliments help) but mainly the fact that I have done so much of it on my own when it came to the branding, scheduling, editing, budgeting and creating. Now I am more motivated than ever to keep going.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN. I’m joking. Sort of. I think that if you’re going into it with the expectation of making this your full time career you need to treat it as such.

Realise that once you’ve made that decision a lot of the fun gets taken out of it.

Stay friends when you make a good contact but be genuine about your requests, be active, go to gigs, write every week and go easy on yourself if you need to. Community is so important in this industry and the sense of it can often get lost within the ‘competition’.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

I’ve recently discovered an alternative indie pop artist called BXB LOVE on Tik Tok and have listened to her song ‘Venus In Gemini’ probably 50 times this week.

Kareem Lomax is also a recent discovery I’m really excited to continue following and my friend Tahn Solo has one of the most soothing voices I’ve ever heard.

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

Tahn Solo, again. His EP ‘Tortoise Territory’ is one of my favourite releases of the past 6 months. I’m also still not over Doja Cats ‘Planet Her’.

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

I’ve really enjoyed some of the non music parts of this release like editing visuals or planning the EP Launch Concert for the 16th February that still has tickets available… see how smoothly I brought that up?

I also used to dance and always try to get a little session in at home just to let out some tension.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

A gigantic water bottle. Vaseline. My notes app.