Celestial Navigation

The Northwest Music Scene, the musical hub for all things in local music and music news based in Tacoma, Washington describes Celestial Navigation like this: “Imagine if Björk decided to be a classical musician and an astronaut and chronicle her journey through time.” I would take it a bit further and throw in Nico (the female ‘60s German singer who once sang with the Velvet Underground) and Yoko Ono to describe the enchanting and breathy vocals of singer Didem Somel.

Accompanied by Glen Anderson on double bass and Robby Albrecht on drums and vocals, Somel not only captures you with her unique voice but her equally unique style of playing the violin. Cosmic Journey is the second album from this Bellingham, Washington trio – it is as dramatic and stimulating as it is stunningly beautiful. The trio addresses the current political climate we are living on “Storm is Coming.” The beat starts off as if a full-fledged tango. Tight breaks inside verses are coupled with spooky sounds. Very thematic and my label for this one would be: classically progressive.

“Broken Design” features breathy vocals, soft and lush tones, classical music breaks and dramatic changes. The drums end the song with thunderous rumbles. Wind sounds begin on “Taurus Calling” and the piano is in a sort of free form style. Some parts felt like a 1-2-3 waltz beat. A lot of excellent violin work on this one, as well as fantastic rhythm and cadence on the vocals – quite extraordinary. Soft, low and mellow with the main melody sounding dark and foreboding is how I would describe “Annemin.” Somel’s voice has a very whispering quality on “Babamin” and the keys echoing the main melody. There’s also a keyboard and violin break in this tune, which was really good.

“My Gypsy” moves along with a slow tempo and a hypnotizing tango-esque like beat with a fabulous violin solo as well. The last three songs were my favorites: “Ankara” for its jazzy/funky drum beat and lullaby feel; “ Who Are We” for its politically and socially charged message, not to mention the sweet sounds of the double bass; and “Loop Wholes” for its heavy use of keyboards and drums putting on a really good show. In my opinion, the last number was perhaps the band’s most intense.

​Overall, this band genuinely blew me away with their unique mix of sounds, arrangements and captivating approach to music. I look forward to hearing what’s next on their journey. - Divide and Conquer Music

This album is not for the faint of heart. Herein lies a cacophony of sounds woven into an otherworldly tapestry. It’s dark. It’s eerie. It’s foreign. Most importantly, it’s completely fascinating. Celestial Navigation‘s Southern Cross encompasses an avant-garde garden of experimental jazz. To put it in a nutshell, imagine if Bjork decided to be a classical musician and an astronaut and chronicle her journey through time with song. The result would be something like this album. It’s as sophisticated as it is bizarre and wondrous.

Recorded in a log cabin in the woods in the North Cascade foothills, Southern Cross begins a journey into the unknown and strangely familiar with “A-Way.” Punctuated with different time signatures and tempo changes, the tunes spill out into an emotionally complex ride. Didem’s vocals, interwoven throughout, are whisper-soft, fragile, and at times sound like the wind blowing through trees. Interspersed in the tracks is a classically trained alto voice by Sule Koken, and a rap verse by M.K. Albrecht on “Super State.”

The violin is beautifully performed, and I believe it’s the instrument that pulls everything together on Southern Cross. The album does start to go awry briefly during “Aynen O,” but is pulled together quickly and continues on the journey down strange musical paths. The final track, “Goodbye,” is a sad and somewhat beautifully despondent farewell to the album. It’s like saying goodbye to someone whom you loved with every fabric of your being, passionately and with turbulent fervor. By far my favorite track on the album.

I have a hard time believing this album was recorded in a cabin in the woods. I’m convinced that Didem Somel magically transported her ensemble to some island on a distant moon and recorded it while staring at earth from her viewpoint. This provocative album is for the person who is bored with all the usual suspects and wants something that is not only intellectually stimulating, but desiring an insight into the existential soul. It’s beautiful and stunning. - Northwest Music Scene

I have a pretty curious taste when it comes to music, always trying to taste new, inventive styles, sadly, most soundscapes have already been trampled on before. However, I can say with confidence that Celestial Navigation’s sound is completely organic.

The Alternative Seattle trio create blissfully avant-garde music that could be described as Folkish due to the prominence of the violin, but with the added Jazz influence Celestial Navigation are completely in a league of their own. The slightly polyphonic cacophonies have Neo-Classical undertone through the pensive keying, the violin cuts straights through the piano bringing Celestial Navigations sound to an even higher plateau than most artists could ever dream of reaching.

If you’re a fan of Amanda Palmer, Emilie Autumn, Tori Amos, Bjork or Evelyn Evelyn you’ll love Celestial Navigations, infectiously enthralling sound.

You can stream and download Celestial Navigation’s latest single from their album ‘Cosmic Journey’ via BandCamp. Find out more about the band by heading over to their official website. - A n R Factory

Today’s local band comes to us from the Cascadian wonderland that is Bellingham, WA, with a sound distinct not only to their hometown, but the northwest at large, Celestial Navigation.

Celestial Navigation is a northwestern avant-garde trio that hopes to leave their mark among our local scene through a complex and instrumentally-labyrynthine sound that sounds like no one else around these parts. Through a laundry list of instruments, including piano, violin, mandolin, double bass, and many others, Celestial Navigation writes and performs worldly (and in many ways otherworldly) jazz music that’s challenging and progressive, and feels anything but dime-a-dozen or traditionally accessible. Eastern European native Didem Somel is the group’s most vital member, a classically-trained powerhouse who composes the trio’s music, lends the band’s music her odd vocals, and performs a myriad of different instruments across their tracks. The presence of Glen Anderson’s upright bass on their tracks is subtle, but adds nice low-end to their complicated, but expertly realized arrangements. Robby Albrecht rounds out the trio with his work on percussion, as well as an admirable job producing and engineering the group’s studio material.

Celestial Navigation has been heralded as a reputable live act, whose live performances feature the band’s skillful improvisations, as well as really showcase just how much chemistry and fire there is between their three members. However, the band also found a whole new fan-base that hasn’t had the opportunity to see them live through their studio album Southern Cross, released in December of 2015. The transcendent album may be difficult to digest, but the immense talent that went into the album, as well as the extremely enrapturing vibe of the album, makes it a pretty intriguing listen from beginning to end. In our own review of Southern Cross, we described the album as, “a cacophony of sounds woven into an otherworldly tapestry.” While we conceded that Southern Cross certainly wouldn’t be for everyone, we endorsed it wholeheartedly, saying, “This provocative album is for the person who is bored with all the usual suspects and wants something that is not only intellectually stimulating, but desiring an insight into the existential soul. It’s beautiful and stunning.”

Fans of northwest music looking for something that will challenge you, as well as leave an impression on you that you won’t soon forget, we recommend diving headfirst into the mystical world of Celestial Navigation. - Northwest Music Scene