Celeste & Haruka Interview | Zipper
On new-wave leaning and matching words with sounds
Tempo speaks with Celeste and Haruka about following gut instincts, the importance of voice memos, their obsession with unconventional and DIY leaning spaces and the new single Hiko ahead of Zipper’s final show for quite a while.
Hi Celeste and Haruka, I have come across your music recently mostly because of the sheer number of gigs you seem to have been doing lately. You describe yourself on Bandcamp as “Cool freaks from Naarm/Melbourne playing post-punk for a new-wave”. I do really like a short description that says a lot. Can you share with us how the band came together?
CELESTE: Liam and I started writing for Zipper in 2018, around the time we moved to Sydney. We’d previously written and played together in Nylex, and wanted to write music that was a little more new-wave leaning than that band - and where I could move from vocals to guitar. Shortly after moving to Sydney, David joined us on bass - our first sessions working out songs with him were in the longue of our Waterloo one-bedder, usually with one guitar running through our stereo amp. I met Haruka through my friend Katie. She was and is effortlessly cool. I’d actually asked Katie to sing with us, who politely declined but suggested Haruka.
HARUKA: I wasn’t sure when Katie mentioned it, because I had never been in a band before - but I had always kind of dreamed about it. I had texted with Celeste and decided on the day of our first jam to commit.
I almost said no, I thought I can’t, I don’t know what to do, I was even like - what is jamming?! But my gut said big YES. And I had a lot of old poems in my phone, that really helped me.
You are originally from Sydney from what I read and so I am wondering why you made the move here and how does it compare?
CELESTE: We all wound up down here for different reasons! Liam and I were looking for a lifestyle shift after a few years in Newcastle - which, despite its size, I adore. It’s full of freaks in the best way possible, everyone is up for something new and weird when the opportunity arises, and there’s a great ratio of creatives to normies. Sydney too holds a special place in my heart. The music community feels super welcoming and diverse; it easy to discover bands and meet new people, connect with and make an impact on the community. Maybe because there’s a lack of venues / and it’s a hustle to live / people really band together? Having said all of that,
Melbourne is indisputably the home of rock and roll in Australia. It’s a privilege to be as active in music as I am in Melbourne. I love it, but I often do find myself accidentally neglecting other areas of my life...
HARUKA: During Covid, I went back to Japan. After, I wanted to return to Australia but a different city, and was always curious about Melbourne! To be honest, I was quite heartbroken when I came back. Now I’m able to look back and say, I ended up music, and playing shows are so helpful to be social, and keep my creative energy. I’m so appreciative of the reunion with Zippers! The Sydney music scene is so supportive, easy to connect to people. Melbourne is huge and so fun exploring for tons of bands!
With thriving scenes in both cities what has been your favourite venues so far and who are the bands you have made friends with here?
CELESTE: I’m obsessed with the unconventional and DIY leaning spaces, which have sadly declined since I was younger. It’s so important to have these types of spaces and some of my most cherished memories are in spaces like this. In Melbourne, that’s Bell City and Spit, and in Sydney that was Monster Mouse, Join the Dots, among others... And some of my fav Sydney bands recently have been Vasta Ruina, Negative Gears, Double Date, Daily Toll, Perfect Actress - who we play with there on June 26, but there’s so many more!
HARUKA: I love Bell City too! And in Sydney, Marrickville bowling club is the biggest memory for me when we played one of our first / early shows at NAG NAG NAG in 2019?
The last and only release for you so far is Dreamer’s Gate - an EP released back in 2020. Are you currently working on something new at the moment that you can share with us?
CELESTE: Yes, we have an album coming out later in the year on Spoilsport records. Slowly sharing singles from that in the lead up to the album release. Hope to tour it in Summer, but before that we tour Japan in July then take a little break to wrap up / prep for album release.
HARUKA: I leave Australia for a while after June but I'm so excited to be back to Australia to release and tour it in Summer! There's another single 'Ear' coming out soon, with a music video which Celeste directed! It’s really cute!
This is probably a question for you Haruka, I understand you sing with both Japanese and English lyrics. How do you decide what to sing in each language?
HARUKA: Oh.. I haven’t really thought about it, TBH. Maybe how different words and language are matching with sounds? First, I decide the theme of the song which Liam and Celeste made, then make the lyrics roughly on Memo in both Japanese and English. I try improvising when we are jamming and then decide slowly - right up until recording. Also sometimes just choose which sounds I like!
You have a killer show coming up Saturday June 6 with some other rad bands like Program, Vision 200, the Bolt Ons and Dibber Dobber. Do you have a special connection to the venue, and can you tell us all about the line up you have put together?
CELESTE: This is our final Melbourne show until we launch our LP Later in the year. Lots of friends, established bands we haven’t played (Program, Vision 200) with and new bands debuting (Bolt Ons, Dibber Dobber). We won’t play in Melbourne again for quite a while, so a big blow out felt necessary!!
Finally, who are your favourite local Melb/Naarm bands at the moment and who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
CELESTE: Currently I really love Blue Communications, Punko, Season 2, Tongue Dissolver, Equestrian Fields, the Sprouts... there’s just a few too many to mention to be honest.
HARUKA: My favourite bands in Melbourne are Cloud Ice 9 and Hot Tubs Time Machine, and in Sydney Perfect Actress, Daily Toll, Sadie, and Solo Career from Thirroul - and they are all my good friends! Also, Promaja, Celeste’s another band is so cool!!! Tongue Dissolver is another recent favorite!
ZIPPER - ‘Hiko’ & ‘Ear’ Dual Single Launch
Program, The Bolt Ons, Vision 200 and Dibber Dobber
Bergy Bandroom (Brunswick, VIC)
Saturday, 6 June 7:30 pm
