Celestial Navigation Interview
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist/band?
A: Didem and I met in 2013 playing in a reggae group together. One night after rehearsal she brought me to her studio and played some of the music she had been writing. I thought it was so good, we should form a new band around it. We searched for months for the right bass player. Finally, Didem found Glen at a weekly jazz jam session here in town. We started as an instrumental group, but began to feel limited conveying ideas. Didem started writing lyrics and singing to make those ideas come alive. We’re all avid sailors. Celestial navigation is a nautical term. It indicates a cosmic rather than worldly origin in our music.
Q: What is your recording process like for From Afar?
A: We’ve always recorded in our home studio. Our previous two albums were recorded song by song or in small groups of songs. We wanted this one to have a more cohesive sound. So, we set up and tracked everything in one big session, keeping all the mics in the same position. This made mixing much easier as well. We record and mix through an analog console, using the computer like a tape machine. We never use samples and everything is played as is. Our goal was to make the record sound like a hyper-real version of our live show.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: Didem is the group’s composer, so nothing gets started without her. We flush out rough arrangements in rehearsals, then like to play the new songs live and record the shows. This is where some of the best ideas come from for solos, fills, even melody variations. Harmonies, second strings, etc. are usually worked out in the studio. This record is a little more self-indulgent than the last one. We didn’t shy away from odd-time signatures or long solos. Of course we hope people like it, but at our age we really wanted to please ourselves first.
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist/band?
A: Didem and I met in 2013 playing in a reggae group together. One night after rehearsal she brought me to her studio and played some of the music she had been writing. I thought it was so good, we should form a new band around it. We searched for months for the right bass player. Finally, Didem found Glen at a weekly jazz jam session here in town. We started as an instrumental group, but began to feel limited conveying ideas. Didem started writing lyrics and singing to make those ideas come alive. We’re all avid sailors. Celestial navigation is a nautical term. It indicates a cosmic rather than worldly origin in our music.
Q: What is your recording process like for From Afar?
A: We’ve always recorded in our home studio. Our previous two albums were recorded song by song or in small groups of songs. We wanted this one to have a more cohesive sound. So, we set up and tracked everything in one big session, keeping all the mics in the same position. This made mixing much easier as well. We record and mix through an analog console, using the computer like a tape machine. We never use samples and everything is played as is. Our goal was to make the record sound like a hyper-real version of our live show.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: Didem is the group’s composer, so nothing gets started without her. We flush out rough arrangements in rehearsals, then like to play the new songs live and record the shows. This is where some of the best ideas come from for solos, fills, even melody variations. Harmonies, second strings, etc. are usually worked out in the studio. This record is a little more self-indulgent than the last one. We didn’t shy away from odd-time signatures or long solos. Of course we hope people like it, but at our age we really wanted to please ourselves first.
Q: What are some of the themes that are touched upon your release From Afar?
A: Didem gets inspiration from nature, life, love, politics, pretty much anywhere. We like to focus on living in the moment and not having any expectations. “Everything is fair game…never feel any shame...happy to fail, I play the kinda music I like to play” etc. are the main ideas we like to convey. Because we come from vast, diverse backgrounds the musical motifs are as well. Elements of Neo-classical, ottoman, jazz and rock are blended to make what we like to think is a pretty unique musical experience.
Q: Have you started playing shows now that the pandemic is almost over?
A: No. Our last show was March 5th, 2020 in Seattle. Things are starting to open next month and we can’t wait to get back on the stage again.
Q: What else should we know about Celestial Navigation and your music?
A: I don’t think you can find another group that sounds like us. All three of us have been successful in other genres, but wanted to create something truly special. Didem grew up in Turkey. She enrolled in the music conservatory as a young girl and obtained her doctorate in music in the U.S. She’s taught in University, played in symphonies and has an extensive classical background. I’ve been playing in rock and funk bands since the ‘80s. Glen has decades of experience on the West Coast jazz scene. The band is Didem’s vision, Glen and I augment and support that notion. We do everything ourselves, videos, recording/mixing, artwork, etc. Our main goal is to bring a little musical joy to the world and maybe help some others follow their own unique visions.
A: Didem gets inspiration from nature, life, love, politics, pretty much anywhere. We like to focus on living in the moment and not having any expectations. “Everything is fair game…never feel any shame...happy to fail, I play the kinda music I like to play” etc. are the main ideas we like to convey. Because we come from vast, diverse backgrounds the musical motifs are as well. Elements of Neo-classical, ottoman, jazz and rock are blended to make what we like to think is a pretty unique musical experience.
Q: Have you started playing shows now that the pandemic is almost over?
A: No. Our last show was March 5th, 2020 in Seattle. Things are starting to open next month and we can’t wait to get back on the stage again.
Q: What else should we know about Celestial Navigation and your music?
A: I don’t think you can find another group that sounds like us. All three of us have been successful in other genres, but wanted to create something truly special. Didem grew up in Turkey. She enrolled in the music conservatory as a young girl and obtained her doctorate in music in the U.S. She’s taught in University, played in symphonies and has an extensive classical background. I’ve been playing in rock and funk bands since the ‘80s. Glen has decades of experience on the West Coast jazz scene. The band is Didem’s vision, Glen and I augment and support that notion. We do everything ourselves, videos, recording/mixing, artwork, etc. Our main goal is to bring a little musical joy to the world and maybe help some others follow their own unique visions.