Bio
Celsey McFadden is a Galway based composer, producer, guitarist and multimedia artist. He holds an Honours BA Degree in Applied Music from the DKIT and he completed an MA in Composition and Creative Practice in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance in 2021, in which he received a first class honours. Throughout his Masters, he researched the potential of Ai for music and visuals creation. He is currently researching creative approaches with Ai in art and music as a PhD student in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
In collaboration with producer Tim Clarke, Celsey has been composing and producing music for TV since 2010. Syncs included advertisements and promos by Beo/Carlsberg, National Geographic, Sky News, Volvo, Adidas/Footlocker, Sony Playstation Vita, Comedy Central, CNN and Unity Remote for iPhone. His music has been used on TV shows such as BBC's 'The One Show’, Masterchef UK, CountryFile and Top Gear, among others. Celsey’s music has been featured on TnaG, RTE 2FM, 2XM, Lyric FM, Today FM and various other radio stations in Ireland and abroad.
He has released music with Extreme music, Deepeast Music Publishing, Zest, Jump, BMG, SonyATV, and Traum Schallplatten, Diatribe and continues to have his music synced with TV spots, promos, documentaries, programmes and advertisements across the world.
He performs solo instrumental acoustic guitar in a variety of settings from weddings to wine bars. His repertoire includes Jazz, Classical, Popular classics, Theme tunes and some Spanish. His most recent instrumental guitar and violin duo - ‘Les Troubadours’ plays high-energy swing jazz, Irish and Scottish traditional and Popular classics in France, Ireland, Spain and Scotland.
With an increasingly eclectic output, Celsey produces and composes everything from Contemporary Classical to glitchy Techno. He composed the soundtrack for the Irish film 'North Circular Road' and released his first electronica album TeaTroniK - 'TeaTronica', with Monica Harkin on Diatribe Records in 2013. In addition to gigging various Dublin venues including Whelan's, The Grand social, The Mercantile and NightHawks at the Cobalt Cafe. TeaTronik performed live as four piece ensemble on RTE Radio 1’s arts show, Arena with Sean Rocks in 2012. Celsey is a member of the Irish Composers Collective.
Celsey has been creating experimental visuals for his own music since 2009. In 2023 he was commissioned to produce an installation in collaboration with Crash Ensemble, in 2024 for New Music Dublin. In 2023 he released an audiovisual album called ‘The Fear’,
Some words on tracks from my recent album ‘The Fear’….
Combining classical and modern electronic production techniques, The Fear is a multidimensional work from Irish artist Celsey McFadden that ties seemingly disparate elements together in seamless fashion. The variety of instrumentation and sound design includes classical instruments such as flutes, acoustic guitar, and strings but ties them in with synthetic percussion, winding synths, and even peculiar AI driven elements. Regardless of whatever opinion you may have on such tools, the AI generated voices heard throughout are masterfully entwined into the soundscapes in a way that elevates the pieces in which they are used.
On The Fringes of Sound
"In “The Day Through The Night,” Celsey McFadden presents a focus track that serves as a distinctive rework of Mangore Barrios’ solo guitar piece, ‘La Catedral.’ The unconventional approach taken in this composition extends beyond musical boundaries, incorporating the voice of Amazon’s Alexa and AI-generated lyrics and visuals. McFadden employs various artificial voice generation techniques, including Holly Herndon’s AI app Holly+, creating a unique sonic landscape.
Accompanied by Francis Moore-Colyer on violin and Damien Kelly on guitar, McFadden, originally from Westport, Co. Mayo, showcases a diverse skill set as a producer, composer, guitarist, educator, and new media experimenter. The amalgamation of these talents is evident in the unconventional musical journey presented in “The Day Through The Night.”
Electronica.org.uk
"Classical at its core, the music can be described as mad, instrumental, elegant, nonchalant, cinematic, fearless, foolish, and somehow very heroic - we love it. If parallel universes exist, this is how classical music sounds in the neighboring universe to ours"
Secret Eclectic
"Celsey manages to reinvigorate this timeless piece. Imagine the warm sound of analog electronics you could hear in a Vangelis’ song, sprinkled with some psychedelia drops wrapped in a melancholic package. A modern rework that is not afraid to experiment but at the same time respects and acknowledges the original work"
Music Dances While You Sleep
“Almost Human” is a more clever title than is immediately obvious for Celsey McFadden’s single. The composer used avant-garde electronic music artist/technologist/performance artist Holly Herndon’s AI voice model app Holly+ to introduce the analog of the sound of her voice into the track and processed violins and other aspects of the song through the app as well giving the song an unusual quality that’s hard to pin down. McFadden compares it to the way DeepFake technology functions except instead of nefarious ends his are to expand the horizons of creative possibility. The strong rhythmic elements have it sounding like some futuristic Indonesian pop as they sync together with a touch of Middle Eastern flavor. And the tones come off like cybernetic insects having an improv session and resonating unconventional tonalities and textural sounds to give the whole a simultaneously alien and familiar feel.
Queens City Sounds and Art
"Newly formed Dublin-based duo Celsey and Monica Harkin are already producing intriguing electronic sounds with nods and winks to Amiina, Fever Ray, and Portishead. Hear and download latest tracks on their Soundcloud page."
Jim Carroll, The Irish Times
"I love the rich texture of their sound involving field recordings, balanced beautifully by the sweet vocal."
The Confused Eclectic
"Wilder" connects Monica's sweet voice with all the elements above and it is truly almost impossible to put a genre on this one, but it really doesn't matter since it's an outstanding piece of electronic music."
Adalberto, Origamitracks.blogspot.com
“An excellent example of chilled out electronic that could easily rival the big names in the field. TeaTronik’s new release ‘Home’ is successful at developing a slow, easy-going pace that is neither boring or repetitive. Definitely looking forward to hearing future releases from this band; they’ll go far”. 4/5
"Newly formed Dublin-based duo Celsey and Monica Harkin are already producing intriguing electronic sounds with nods and winks to Amiina, Fever Ray, and Portishead. Hear and download latest tracks on their Soundcloud page."
thetearoommusic.tumblr.com/
“Harkin’s performance is definitely up to it—hanging in there with Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and even reminiscent of Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins). She’s mostly wistful, but only because this kind of laid back electronica requires her to be. When things crank up on a chorus, she can really belt it out.
All in all, this is an interesting diversion for Diatribe Records. Importantly, TeaTronik plugs a gaping hole in the labels discography—the pop genre. Some may be put off by Teatronica‘s soft edges, but its change in direction is another string to Diatribe’s bow. This accomplished attempt at mainstream electronica proves the labels dynamism—the ability to work successfully in both experimental and popular genres.”
Igloo Magazine