For Divine Celiane, who goes by “Celiane The Voice,” music is more than sound — it’s “audible art.” Born in Berkeley, raised in Richmond and living now on Bethel Island, the 49-year-old singer, actress and self-described “technohuman” has built her own genre, “Electronica Hip Opera,” to showcase a voice that refuses to be confined.
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“I created the genre Electronica Hip Opera because I’m an opera singer. That is what my voice was made for,” Celiane said. “I knew my sound wouldn’t change, so I made a genre to fit me and all the musical elements I love.”
Her invention sprang partly from frustration. She says producers often asked her to change her sound or downplay her operatic training. Instead, she and her executive producer decided to create music around her voice — much as artists did in an earlier era when powerhouse vocalists were given room to shine.
Celiane says her love of music began in the 1980s, when she first heard Whitney Houston and discovered the bold creativity of Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel and other innovators.
“Back then, you had to have a voice, a real talent and be different than everyone else to sell,” she said. “I would see rock bands and all the fans cheering, and I knew I wanted that stage.”
She says opera training gave her technical strength but that she never wanted to remain in one lane. Instead, Celiane says she pulled inspiration from an eclectic mix of artists — Daft Punk’s futuristic beats, Amy Winehouse’s raw soul and Hancock’s experimental brilliance.
“You can’t buy that sound,” Celiane said of Winehouse. “Either you have it or you don’t. That’s the level I work towards.”
Cosplay is also central to her act. She says performing in elaborate costume lets her step fully into the character of Celiane The Voice, a time-bending “technohuman” hero who carries pain, resilience and empathy into every performance.
“I perform as often as I can,” said Celiane, whose pronouns are she and they. “It is tough being a cosplay character because cons (conventions) don’t really have singing — they have dancing and bands. But I perform for more than comic cons — festivals, private events, anywhere they appreciate audible art.”
The COVID-19 pandemic brought setbacks, wiping out many of her bookings. Slowly, though, she says she rebuilt momentum and now performs in and out of costume but prefers being in-character.
“This is my favorite way,” she said.
Celiane says growing up in the Bay Area shaped her creative drive.
“There are so many talented artists that don’t get their shot because people don’t see their vision,” she said. “The Bay Area has always been a mecca of talent that goes untapped.”
She said she recalls hearing remarkable singers on BART and in small bars, people she felt had more musicianship than some pop stars.
“Being in the Bay Area, it is expected to be creative and create a dream for yourself,” said Celiane. “I love how we celebrate our artists when they rise beyond the bay. That drove me.”
Celiane says music is inseparable from storytelling and that each song carries narrative and emotion meant to connect across differences.
“We all have a story,” she said. “I tell mine to let humans know to love each other before it’s too late.”
Her performances take listeners on what she calls an emotional rollercoaster.
“The confusion, the feeling of being lost, the finding of oneself — these are things almost every human can relate to,” she added. “I may not look like you, but I know you.”
She hopes her audience walks away with one message: Authenticity matters.
“If I can show you my authenticity in costume and take that chance, then you can be authentic every day because that is who we love — the real you,” she said.
Celiane says one of her most powerful experiences came two years ago at Portland, Oregon’s Rose City Comic Con. After a performance, a Vietnam veteran approached her.
“He thanked me with the most serious look on his face,” she said. “That meant I did my job. He felt heard and acknowledged.”
Celiane says that moment resonated with her and that she incorporates her own experience with pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) into her character’s story.
“Many don’t know how many people suffer from the PTSD of pain,” she said. “I wanted my audience to know I understand part of that story.”
She says her cover of “Inner Universe Reloaded” (bit.ly/iurcelianesong) from the anime “Ghost in the Shell” is the song that best represents her artistry.
“It has spiritual connotations, different languages and flows with my voice where I don’t have to hold back,” she said.
Looking ahead, she expects her music will evolve to become “a bit more grungy” as her character faces new challenges. “Celiane, like all unlikely heroes, has to fall,” she said. “The music will have more meaning.”
For those who want to push boundaries as she has, Celiane emphasizes patience and perseverance.
“Be in it for the long haul,” she said. “Don’t get mad no one has seen you or gets it. It is new, it will take time.”
She also urges authenticity over compromise.
“Be professional from the beginning. You don’t have to pay lots of money to present as a professional,” she said. “Be authentic and don’t sell you for a dollar. You are the one with the vision. Build it — we need to experience you.”
Celiane says that beyond the stage, when she isn’t performing she enjoys writing short stories, crafting, gaming and indulging her love of anime and cooking shows but that everything she does circles back to creativity and expression.
“Thank you for allowing me to share Celiane’s world,” she said. “Keep loving, keep being authentically you in love.”
To learn more about Celiane The Voice, visit her website at celianethevoice.com/about. To hear samples of her music, visit celianethevoice.com/music online.
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Diablo Valley college, at [email protected] or 925-383-3072.