Meet Phill Celeste

We recently connected with Phill Celeste and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Phill, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
From time to time, embarrassing moments come rocketing back to me. Sometimes, I’ll be in the middle of a shower and remember a failed homecoming invitation or a dangerous late night walk and think, wow, that was so dumb…I might be at a yard sale and a bad gig that I thought I had wiped completely will come back to me from the abyss. It’s time’s like this when all the dots connect and I think, Aha! All those mistakes, all those times I put myself out there do connect in some strange way. When I was a kid, I loved to perform, playing in bands, acting in plays and that love turned into playing music. At first with friends, and then increasingly for more and more strangers. I remember driving up to Baltimore from the suburbs of Gaithersburg at 17 to sing in a pop punk band in a night club. Giving cds of personalized songs to girls I liked. Busking on the streets to make ends meet. Auditioning for bands and shows. Sending music to labels, friends, Djs, trying to get a deal. And now playing festivals for hundreds and sometimes thousands of people.
Somewhere between my Mother and Father’s encouragement, the idea that I could do anything I imagine and episodes of the Magic Schoolbus– I got into a habit of trying all kinds of things. If I got into trouble, my smile would always get me out of the worst of it.
As I look back on all the risks I’ve taken, careerwise, I definitely started out with a vision. I wanted people to hear my music and book me for shows. But I had nothing to go on, so I just tried everything I could. I did open mics, asked around for gigs, took any and all offers. As some things landed and others flopped, the vision shifted. I started to take more strategic risks, I started to know what to look for, and who to talk to. Today I have a team to help me manage risks and keep growing as an artist. When the going gets rough, I look back at those days when I just tried everything and start saying yes to more of what’s in front of me. You never know how one unexpected thing might lead to what you’ve seeking all along.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been building my project as a singer/songwriter since 2014. Life on Planets is about the transmutation of ideas, experiences and stories into a medium for release and expansion. I take influence from the music my Father played for me as a kid: funk, jazz, soul, and gospel. My attempt is to combine those sounds with themes from house, hip-hop and R&B.

After performing in clubs for years, the live show consists of me djing, singing and playing guitar to my original tracks. As a result of releasing on different labels I’ve been privileged to travel the world performing. From Japan, Russia, Egypt, Romania, Colombia and more, I’ve found that we all share a common language on the dance floor.

This year has been an exciting one for me, having released songs on some of my. dream dance labels such as Nervous, Classic, and Fools Gold. I just released a record called Downstream with a duo from Amsterdam called Makez that is looking to be my biggest track yet!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Whimsy. I have always resonated with the Fool tarot card. Roaming around, he looks to the clouds, possibly stepping into danger?! While it is definitely foolish to wander through life without knowing your surroundings, sometimes its refreshing to just let go of all the pressures, expectations and fears and just dream. I quit my 9-5 to chase my dream. I sacrificed and planned and then just threw myself into making music 24/7 and now I do it full time. Definitely make sure you have a plan before you cut off comfort! Be brave and chase your dream.

Observation. As I worked and performed alongside different producers and artists, I watched them do tasks I didn’t really know much about. From interfacing with crowds at shows, djing, editing videos, producing music–all of it came together when it was time for me to step into those roles. Always pay attention to how others perform the roles you don’t do, because someday you may have to. And you might enjoy it!

Perspective. This is one I’m still learning! Before getting into electronic sounds with Life on Planets, I was in a few different bands. I wanted to go the distance with a band, get signed to a label, release records and tour. There was more interest in the Life on Planets project and eventually it developed into a better platform for what I wanted to say and do. With a band, I had maybe been to one other state in the US. Now, I could travel across the globe. But I was still fixated on playing the one club everyone went to back home. A friend told me you could go your way and have a career for a few years or keep on with the house music side and have a career like some of the greats have for decades. I had to shift my perspective to really grasp that and put my all into Life on Planets. If I hadn’t, the project could have easily fallen to the wayside and I’d be in a very different place. Even if things don’t seem like they match your vision, they might be a better fit than you realize. Keep an open perspective!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I look up to artists like Prince and Tame Impala. Folks who make everything themselves, playing every instrument on a record. I’d like to become more like George Clinton and Mile Davis: folks who can bring people together and create a great vision so much faster. After years of study and experiment, I’d really like to find a producer I can build with: someone that sees the more complicated side of sound design and engineering in order to get all these ideas I’ve got in my head out into the universe. To that same end, I’d love to work with funky musicians from all over to create not just records but works of art. Im thinking keys, strings, horns, the works! In my head I hear and see a space odyssey, searching and ethereal, yet grooving and pulsing. Songs that seek to explain what words can’t, to unite us where ideologies fail, and to soothe us when nothing else can,

If any of those folks are reading and want to get in touch, holler at me at [email protected]!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
1 Jake Quan 2 & 4Pedro Martinez 3 Emma Mortimer 5& 6 Daniel Aguirre 7 Palos 8 Kinderella

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