Get Ready With: Celine Autumn, The Indie Bedroom Pop Sensation To Know Now
Celine Autumn is branching out. The lead vocalist of indie-rock, bedroom pop band sobs (described as “Uncool Pop Music :-(“) has been working on her solo musical project with a new alias Cayenne.
In a music video for Cayenne's single Driven’ Away in October 2020, she glitches from living room to park against the backdrop of a pixelated, glitchy pop track, in a sound she describes as heavily influenced by 90s to y2k pop rock and pop music, and inspired by the likes of artists such as Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, SOPHIE, Mitski, to Soccer Mommy, known for an experimental, genre-mashing style.
But she doesn’t see this bedroom-made futuristic glitchpop as too far a departure from her work with sobs. “Genre-wise, I feel like my indie-rock background ties in with my electronic, pop-focused solo project, and I’m trying to merge these genres together,” the 23-year-old says.
And with Telltale Signs in 2018 - sobs' last full length album release - making for one of the most beloved local albums of the year, we can’t wait to see what lies in store for her next, both solo or otherwise.
Thankfully, it appears we won't have to wait long. “I’ve been focusing on my solo work lately. I’ve got some collaborations coming up, and am also figuring out my EP release! We’re close to finishing our album for sobs, and we’re releasing it sometime this year.”
Ahead, we follow Celine as she goes about her beauty routine, and talk everything from beauty, her influences, and what it’s like being a young female musician in Singapore today.
I wake up and…”get coffee, some breakfast, and get some yoga in through this app called Alo Moves, which I’m usually on for 20-30 minutes, and sometimes if I’m feeling it, an hour. And my day starts after that!”
Skincare… “My skin is dry, so I never skip out on moisturiser. I'm currently using The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum (S$10), followed by Etude House Soon Jung 5-Panthensoside Cica Balm (S$27), and finally Innisfree Orchid Eye Cream (S$43) on my eyes."
Before heading out... "I’ll always do my brows, even on days that I don’t wear much makeup – I’m currently using the Innisfree brow pencil and brow mascara. If I was getting ready for an event or a show, my essentials would be my Laura Mercier Silk Crème - Oil Free Photo Edition Foundation (S$80) Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (S$46) (I use it as eyeshadow primer too), and Maybelline Hypercurl Mascara (S$17.90).”
Makeup… “I like going for neutral eyeshadows in shades of peach and brown - I use my Two Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow palette (S$78), and I’ll put some edging highlighter on the inner corners of my eyes. I use a pencil eyeliner and smudge in with my eyeshadow, and top it off with mascara. Mascara is probably the product I rely heavily on the most, because I’m not the best at drawing eyeliner. I don’t put lipstick on as much now, so I just swipe on a little Vaseline to keep my lips hydrated.”
Beauty muses... “I Iean towards the Japanese style of makeup – it gives a really fresh faced, youthful vibe that I like. Lately, I’ve been quite inspired by the looks in Japanese magazines from the ’90s and early 2000s – something about the Harajuku style from that time just hits a little different. For hair inspo, I especially like The Oversea – it’s a Japanese hair salon that all the Japanese models go to."
Creative influences… “The music I make is very heavily influenced by ’90s and y2k pop-rock and overall pop music – my songwriting is just very pop. Some artistes and bands I love: Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, SOPHIE, Mitski, Charly Bliss, and Soccer Mommy. But I’d have to say my biggest influence would still be my band. Just from being in Sobs, I’ve learnt and grown so much, I wouldn’t be where I am today without my band. My band is my biggest influence."
On being a female musician in Singapore... “It definitely feels empowering to me. The music scene is male-dominated, but the recent rise of female musicians definitely encourages and inspires more women to make music.”
Images Kimberly Ong
This article originally appeared in the April 2021 issue of L'Officiel Singapore.
