There’s always been a certain sweetness to Shanti Celeste’s productions. Since 2013, the Chilean-born, London-based artist has filled her tunes with colorful melodies and breezy rhythms, so that even her biggest floor-fillers have felt impressively light on their feet. “Strung Up,” from 2015, was a glistening homage to upbeat ’80s electro, while 2017’s “Loop One” layered swelling pastoral pads over a sturdy kick drum and clacking percussion.
Although Celeste doesn’t shy away from heavier offerings in the DJ booth—her sets are often punctuated with riotous bits of jungle and rave—her penchant for melody and buoyant beats has also colored her curation of Peach Discs, which has quietly been one of electronic music’s strongest imprints over the past two years. Celeste now operates the label alongside Berlin-based Brit Gramrcy, and while she produced Peach Discs’ first release, she’s largely allowed the music of others to define its subsequent run. Aside from records by more established artists like Call Super and Ciel, there have also been gems from up-and-comers like Chekov, Fred, and Videopath.
This year has seen an uptick in Celeste’s own output. Earlier this year, she dropped Soba Dance, a collaborative EP with Bristol stalwart Hodge. Although its three tunes hinted at the thundering percussion often found on the latter’s records for Livity Sound and Berceuse Heroique, Celeste’s playful spirit is all over the record. On Tangerine, she’s allowed that spirit to run free, delivering an effervescent LP that also represents a significant expansion of her sound.
Like many dance-music artists, Celeste has chosen to pepper her first full-length with forays into ambient music, but Tangerine is one of the rare cases in which those efforts don’t feel like forgettable filler. Opener “Sun Notification” is a gently bubbling new-age cut, its soothing melodies rising and falling like the tide. At the other end of the album is “Moons,” a more introspective tune that blends soft synths, the gentle sound of rainfall, and a welcoming sense of calm; the song could soundtrack a quiet visit to a Buddhist temple. “Slow Wave,” on the other hand, takes a different path toward serenity, weaving snippets of Celeste’s own voice into a blissful canopy atop a soft, barely-there drum beat.
Celeste also experiments with her beat-based tracks. “Voz (Instrumental)” almost sounds like hip-hop, its punchy percussion and vaguely Middle Eastern melody bringing to mind classic Timbaland. Upping the tempo significantly is “Want,” a bouncy cut with a klaxon-like synth stabs, an infectiously shuffling beat, and some delicate keys; in less than six minutes, it manages to reference ’90s jungle, rave, and IDM without coming off as derivative.
That ability to freshen up established sounds and styles is one of Celeste’s biggest strengths. At this stage in her career, she’s a skilled DJ who instinctively knows what works on the dancefloor, which helps explain the effortless appeal of songs like “Infinitas” and “Sesame”; although they are, at root, relatively standard house tunes, they’re also unusually lively, bounding along with bright melodies and swinging rhythms that nod to old-school Jersey garage. “May the Day” tackles electro, and its inventive drum pattern and murky swirl of gurgling acid are unlike any of Celeste’s previous work within the genre.
“Aqua Block” perhaps best captures the album’s invigorating spirit. Bursting with energy, the track rumbles along with the enthusiasm of a toddler chasing a butterfly, its pastel melodies impishly darting to and fro. At a time when so many of Celeste’s peers are delving into dark, distorted sounds, she’s chosen to walk a lighter path. It’s not easy to sound this carefree, yet it appears to come naturally to her.
