EMQs with CELAVI

EMQs with CELAVI

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs, this time with Welsh Hard Rock / Nu-Metal band, Celavi. Huge thanks to vocalist Sarah and guitarist Gwion for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

Hello! We’re Gwion and Sarah! We perform and compose as C E L A V I. 

Gwion writes our songs, and plays guitar, drums, bass and synths on all our songs. Sarah is our lead singer, who writes the lyrics and she contributes ideas on the production. 

We’ve both been in the music scene growing up, and we met in a different project. It became clear that we both had the same musical ambitions and that we were both as driven as each other. It was a natural progression to create C E L A V I together. We think that’s what makes our sound authentic as we both have some similar musical influences, and some different musical influences. 

How did you come up with your band name?

We both wanted a name that reflected our sound and vibe. Our band name is Latin and we feel that it reflects the darker elements of our sound. We find it interesting how people pronounce our band name, many think that the name is French. We don’t mind how it’s pronounced, art can be subjective, so it’s great to hear the different pronunciations and chat about it!

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

We’re both from Bangor in North Wales – Gwion originally from Blaenau Ffestiniog and Sarah from Bethel. We’re both from, and still live in, rural communities.

As Welsh speakers, we’re passionate about using the language in everything we do, from writing and performing to promoting Welsh music more widely. Welsh is our first language, and it’s incredibly important to us to create and perform music in Welsh, both regionally and nationally. Growing up, we didn’t have a Welsh-language nu-metal band to look up to, so we wanted to create something that would help fellow metalheads, goths, emos and rock fans feel represented and seen through the Welsh language.

 

The metal scene in North Wales is close-knit, passionate and very active, with venues, promoters and bands all working hard to support live music. Bangor, Wrexham, Llandudno, Deeside and Buckley all have great venues that regularly host rock and metal shows.

 

We also travel regularly to South Wales for gigs, where there is a thriving rock and metal community. One of the great things about the Welsh scene as a whole is how supportive and connected it is, with bands and fans across both North and South Wales helping each other and championing new music.

 

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

Our latest release is our nu-single and music video called PLASTER. PLASTER was inspired by some toxic people and difficult situations that were having a negative effect on us. It was also about those moments of self-doubt and the negative voices in our heads. Sometimes it can be challenging dealing with both external and internal negativity, but it’s important to find the strength within ourselves to fight back – and to be kinder to ourselves too. It’s our fight-back anthem. PLASTER was produced by Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Motörhead, Nova Twins, Holding Absence), with the music video directed by Loki Films (Sleep Token, Lorna Shore, Limp Bizkit). 

Who have been your greatest influences?

We draw a lot of inspiration from early 2000s nu-metal, Deftones and Slipknot in particular. Deftones are Gwion’s favourite band. The fearlessness of the evolution of their sound over the years and the intensity of their songs is something he’s always been drawn to. Slipknot has been a big influence on the both of us. The unbridled aggression and combined with their unapologetic chaos, we love it! 

Bring Me The Horizon has definitely inspired us both; they are such an influential band. We love how they have developed over the years, and how they continue to develop. They always stay in their own lane and experiment creatively, doing what they want to do, regardless of what anyone says. We love this, something that we definitely can relate to.

What first got you into music?

Hearing ‘Ace of Spades’ by the band Motörhead first inspired Gwion to make music. In terms of influences on Gwion’s playing, he was very inspired by the early 00’s nu-metal scene by bands like Deftones, Korn, Slipknot etc. Gwion then started delving into more sub-genres of metal, discovering bands like Nine Inch Nails, Cradle of Filth, and Combichrist. Sarah grew up listening to Avril Lavigne, Evanescence, Christina Aguilera, Little Mix, and was also influenced by her brother and watching Slipknot, Linkin Park, Korn, and Limp Bizkit on Kerrang! 

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Gwion: The dream would be to work with Trent Reznor. Everything he creates is incredible. I love the journey his music takes you on, both with Nine Inch Nails and his soundtrack work. I think he’s one of the greatest songwriters in history.

Sarah: For me, it would definitely be Bring Me The Horizon. I think they’re so innovative, both musically and visually. There’s no one else like them. I love how they’ve evolved over the years while always staying true to themselves and doing exactly what they want creatively. I think we can definitely relate to that. Bring Me The Horizon are also amazing live – the energy, the atmosphere, the visuals.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Our dream has always been to play Download Festival at Castle Donington. We’re playing The Doghouse stage this year, we can’t wait! We’ve both been going to Download Festival ourselves over the years so this is an absolute dream come true for the both of us! Download is such an amazing festival with such an inclusive community. We believe that we’re the first band to perform in the Welsh language at Download too, so it’s an absolute honour, and so emotional! In the future, we’d love to play Scotland and Germany too!

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

We’ve not received any weird gifts to be honest! Watch this space, ha! 

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

We’re absolutely so grateful for all your amazing support! To everyone who comes to see us live, who listens to our music and shares it and to everyone to proudly wears our merch. To everyone who takes the time to support us, it’s your support that keeps us going out on the road, and we can’t thank you enough, we genuinely can’t. It really means the world to us. Diolch o galon. 

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

Lemmy. We went to the Rainbow Bar in LA and had a Jack and Coke in his honour. We’ll go back and watch his documentary every now and again. He was the epitome of Rock and Roll and we wouldn’t be here doing this if it wasn’t for him.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

 

One of the things we love about being a musician is writing and recording new music. We have a music room at home where we work on our ideas to take to the Studio. We’re always working on new ideas. We enjoy going to the Studio to record our songs, it’s always so much fun and time flies! 

We also love our music videos – from our initial ideas, creating the moodboards, and working with our amazing team Loki Films, Lou Sinner Photography, Fiorella Wyn Martinez and Eleri Parry on bringing our ideas to life. We have so much fun filming the videos, we’ve all clicked so well and we’re all genuinely friends, core memories. 

Performing on stage is amazing, it’s like a catharsis. We love seeing the crowd vibe with us and the energy, it’s infectious! 

We hate the social media algorithm but we don’t feel the pressure to dance to viral songs, it’s not our vibe. We’re staying in our own lane and being ourselves. 

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

We’d like vanity metrics such as follower counts to be private to the user. We feel that the industry often overemphasizes visible numbers, and we think placing more focus on the music itself would benefit both artists and audiences. 

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Gwion: Around the Fur by Deftones, The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails and Cruelty and the Beast by Cradle of Filth.

Sarah: Such a hard question! Definitely Post Human: Nex Gen and Amo by Bring Me The Horizon and Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory. 

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

CDs are great, but there’s something magical about vinyl. I find it forces us to actively listen rather than just have music on in the background. There’s a warmth to vinyl you don’t get with other music formats. 

We always enjoy Record Store Day and we visit Vod Music, an Independent Record Shop in Mold, North Wales every year. Colin and all the staff at Vod Music are amazing, we love going there and they’re also very supportive of our music. 

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

One of our favourite gigs was headlining Fuel Rock Club in Cardiff on St David’s Day. It was such an honour to be able to headline in our capital on such a special day celebrating our patron saint. We’re very patriotic and are proud to speak the Welsh language and celebrate our culture. 

We supported Genitorturers at Rebellion in Manchester last year, and that gig was so emotional. The crowd gave us such an amazing welcome, headbanging, screaming and singing along to our songs with us. We’ll never forget that gig. 

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

To be honest, we don’t know what we would be doing! It’s in our blood, it’s all we’ve known! We’ve both been captured by music since we were kids and have always been performing and making music. 

Sarah is a Chartered Marketer and works a lot behind the scenes on our branding and social media. Gwion is very much into music gear, and he’s always working on music production, in the studio and live. 

 

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Oli Sykes, Lemmy, Vivienne Westwood, Trent Reznor and Courtney LaPlante.

What’s next for the band?

We’ve got a busy summer ahead! We’re going to be performing at SXSW London and Download Festival in June! We’re also going to be supporting Headwreck at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff in June and supporting As December Falls at Chepstow Castle in August. We’re also looking forward to releasing our nu-EP later on this year and touring the EP. Lots of exciting things ahead! 

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? Please include any links

Thank you so much! Our website is: www.wearecelavi.com and we’re on all the socials as @WEARECELAVI. 

Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?

We’d probably say bap in Wales? A breakfast bap? Fun fact, bread in Welsh is bara! 

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thank you so much for supporting our music! Amazing to chat with you, really enjoyed it! Diolch! (Thank you in Welsh).

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