Reviews, Press & Interviews


  • January 2008: From CDBaby.com:

    More brilliance
    starstarstarstarstar
    author: Ray George

    Already have the first three CDs - bought this as soon as I saw it on CDBaby. I'll be buying the next one as soon as it comes out - 'nuff said.

  • September 2007: An interview with Pete is featured on the "Sony Style" lifestyle/arts program on AXN Asia. See it here>.

  • August 2007: Another great review from Dene Bebbington of the website Melliflua:

    Celestial - Electric Road - Drum Music (2007)

    12 tracks. Running time 60:24

    A few years have passed since the last release from Celestial – the collective based around producer Peter Millward. Musically the new album is dub electronica with an Asian twist and flavourings themed on 21st century life in Hong Kong, and how the modern world is shedding Hong Kong's heritage and culture. On Electric Road there are again vocals and traditional Japanese instruments such as the Shakuhachi. A strange choice is also the addition of Mandarin and Welsh rappers on one track!

    The album gets off to a lovely start in “kowloon, hongkong”. Sounds of street life open up to gentle electronic riffs and piano notes then the voice of Mary Chan comes in singing about Kowloon - her enticing, almost childlike, voice reminds me of Clare Grogan of the 80s pop group Altered Images. Then the piece bursts into a dub section along with percussion and electric guitar.

    Continuing the laid back approach is “Ghost Town”. A bass melody plays behind the lonely tones of an Erhu and trombone, mid-tempo drums and percussion, while snippets of voices come in now and again; most notable is Rutger Hauer's short poetic speech near the end of the film Bladerunner (“all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain”).

    Occasionally breaking up the laid back vibe is a more upbeat and uptempo piece. The title track “Electric Road” is instrumental yet feel as though it could have been written for a lyrics based song. Electronic beats and grooves make this a foot tapper, while clapping effects and assorted rhythmic elements are thrown together superbly.

    In the review of the last Celestial album I mentioned not being a fan of dub. That's still true, but I found most of Electric Road to be enjoyable enough (apart from the rapping track) as the music is well crafted, particularly the intersection of modern instruments and styles with traditional Asian instruments.
  • July 2007: Celestial are featured artists on DJ Chill Will's Dubsession Podcast, with Pete talking to Will about the music. Listen here>

  • July 2007: Sunday Morning Post (Hong Kong):

    CELESTIAL
    Electric Road / Drum Music

    Celestial started dabbling in dub a decade ago, mapping out a soundscape for the city.

    The brainchild of producer/writer/multi-instrumentalist Peter Millward, Celestial's eclectic electronica has reflected the myriad influences sweeping through the city – and the many changes to befall it. Hence there is a tinge of sadness on Electric Rd, borne out by – Millward has said – the “emptiness of modern day life”, by a lust for profit that has seemingly swept our heritage aside.

    Strong sentiments indeed but this collection is never really about doom and gloom, more about deep, solid grooves. And moments of utter inspiration. The joyous Kowloon, Kong Kong kicks things off by blending May Chan's sweet vocals with the guitar stylings of Eugene Pao into an infectious mix.

    Millward throughout uses his guest artists wisely, dropping a little erhu (thanks to Hsin Hsiao-hung) into the likes of Ghost Town and Green Island, and a soaring Shakuhachi (Sunny Yeung) on Three Valleys, without their presence ever feeling overblown or out of place.

    Another Planet – the standout track – manages to seemlessly combine Welsh and Putonghua rap with erhu and more traditional vocalising, thanks to John Griffiths, Antonius Chen, Chan and Hsin.

    It is a brave, and ultimately successful, tribute to a diverse city. Behind all the tracks, however, the beat is the thing.

    And when the thunderclaps introduce Dead Ahead – a meeting of two generations as Pao is joined by Audio Traffic's Adrian Da Silva – you can almost feel the city's pulse begin to throb. Electric Rd comes at you pretty much like Hong Kong itself – full of surprises round every corner. Mathew Scott (JPG)

  • July 2007: Beats Mag (Hong Kong):

    CELESTIAL
    Electric Road / Drum Music

    The first thing one notices about Celestial's relelase is the production. The brainchild of Drum Music head Pete Millward, Electric Road sees the ambient side project being taken to another level. There are many delights to be found on this release, right down to the Paul's Boutique inspired cover. Highlights include May Chan's childlike vocals as she sings about Kowloon and Hong Kong. The guitar and shakuhachi interplay between Eugene Pao and Sunny Yeung on “Blue Pool” is another piece of delicious music. In fact anytime the shakuhachi gets heard–three tracks here–it's divine. Millward's production has become so good that he actually channels latter day enigma on several tracks... (JPG)

  • June 2007: On the same day as the review from EOM (see below) is published so is another fantastic review from HK Magazine (JPG):

    CELESTIAL
    Electric Road / Drum Music starstarstarstaremptystar

    Downtempo masters of the dub Celestial are back with their fourth album. An amorphous collective this time involving the likes of jazz guitarist Eugene Pao, top erhu player Hsin Hsiao Hung and local producer Peter Millward, Celestial blend dubby low bass with erhu and Japanese flute (to name a few) – and it really works. Their sound is all clean, spacey electronica, with plenty of sexy meandering melody, reverb FX and that vaguely waterlogged feel of the so-called “ambient” genre. The basslines are satisfying deep, the melodies suitably ethereal, but what really sets this album apart is the artful incorporation of traditional Asian instruments. It could very well have fallen down the cheesy “East-West fusion” route, but instead the instrumentation is a neat fresh twist on more characteristic dub sounds. You won't hear this on any other album. - Natasha Stokes (JPG)

  • June 2007: Electric Road receives one of it's first great reviews, this one from independent music website, Evolution Of Media:

    Album:
    Electric Road

    Artist:
    Celestial

    Style:
    Electronica

    Hong Kong Dub Station (2004) was the last time we heard from Celestial, a Hong Kong based collective whose brand of dub electronica made anyone else's sound second rate. On that album was their signature brand of an Asian influenced sound, which was remixed with b-sides from Jamaican records of the 1970s. It's a common thing for Celestial to throw something different into each new effort, and with their latest, Electric Road, they've managed to create a down-tempo and somewhat dark conceptual album, all the while creating a bridge to the deep textural and soothing ambient sounds of dub electronica.

    Kicking off Electric Road is a cover of "Kowloon, Hongkong," a hit song from the 1960s. Its mesmerizing vocals by May Chan immediately pull you in as you gain entrance to this fictional road that producer Peter Millward has put together. But it seems that as you gain entrance, many things aren't what they seem. As each track progresses, the album takes a somewhat somber tone, especially with the heart rattling drumbeats and sadness that is evoked by Hsin Hsiao Hung's erhu, and echoed by Nigel Wightman's trombone on "Ghost Town." Even the last words uttered, "We are dead", are chilling to a point where the listener is left hanging. Asian influences begin to surface, especially on "Blue Pool" and "The Deep Blue Sea." "Lhasa Express" continues the journey as you feel like you're traveling along the countryside, resulting in such a rich arrangement done by Millward. The transitions on the album are seamless, creating a composition of this dubtronica landscape that entices you, but leaves you wondering where you are and what's become of the world you're living in (especially on "Green Island," enticing your imagination to picture an island on the brink of discovery and the end result of it). All the songs, wondrously elusive in their lyrics, can lead you to your own conclusions, though Millward himself has said that these songs reflect his growing frustrations with the Hong Kong government's recent doings.

    Three years since Hong Kong Dub Station, Celestial is at its best with Electric Road, no doubt squashing any qualms that certain albums lack the magic initially obtained on a debut. The collective of musicians on this particular record remain the same (such as Sunny Yeung and Eugene Pao), all while some newer sounds round this record out (vocalist Chan, as well as Mariella Gonzalez). But what's great about Electric Road is that the road taken on this musical journey doesn't technically exist; it's all in the mindscape of Millward, though an Electric Road happens to carry the same name in Hong Kong. Its concept allows you to take your interpretations to the next level, even though its intentions are perfectly clear.

    Written By: Caroline Leonardo

  • June 2007: Pete is interviewed by independent music website Evolution Of Media:

    Title: A Trip Down the Electric Road

    Artist: Celestial

    Interview By: Maurice Edwards

    Intro:

    Hong Kong based-collective Celestial has released three albums of unique music that can only be described as dub Electronica. Peter Millward is the brains behind the "group" and he has graciously given answers to EOM CEO Maurice Edwards' e-mailed questions.

    Interview:
    Hong Kong based Celestial is one of the first artists that Evolution of Media discovered, and our passion for them led to fruitful collaborations. Welcome Peter, this conversation is long over due man.

    Thank you for your support over the years, and I hope we can keep it up...

    I know you well Peter, but why don’t you tell the readers a little about yourself and how Celestial came to be.

    I moved to Hong Kong nearly 17 years ago from the UK, and immediately started writing music for TV commercials and corporate films, so I was exposed very quickly to Asian musical elements. When it came to writing music just for myself, to keep myself sane, I felt I had to include some of those elements, and of course the musicians I'd met who played the instruments... The music I was inspired by, apart from the punk of my teenage years (of which not much ends up in Celestial) was dub reggae and dance/electronica, plus the modern minimalism of Philip Glass, so it seemed natural to combine all these elements when making my own music. And I was making music for myself, not trying to consciously pick a genre that I thought would be successful. Indeed, I don't make money from this, it's a labour of love...

    Now, I came aboard Celestial’s electronic dub journey by the third CD, and I had to back track to really get the full scope of your musical message. What is the method you use to prepare before going into the studio to record?

    Well actually, I suppose you could say I'm always preparing/prepared. I think about it nearly all the time, and when I get a minute or five I try and put something down. Or, alternatively, as happened on this album on a couple of tracks, something starts life as a TV Commercial, or as a track that I write for some other completely different purpose, e.g. the live dub band I'm in occasionally, The Bass Cadets, and I like the tracks so much I decide to fully Celestialize them, so to speak.

    You just finished the new CD, Electric Rd, please tell us a little about how Electric Road came about.

    I finished the last album, Hong Kong Dub Station, a few years ago, and at the release party, in 2004, The Bass Cadets played live, and two of the tracks that I wrote for that band, which we debuted that night, would eventually end up on Electric Road, though I didn't know it then of course. Also, about the same time, I thought of the title and sleeve concept for “Electric Road”, though nothing actually got recorded for a while later. I originally was going to finish the album with a lone erhu playing a snippet of ”Electric Avenue”, by Eddie Grant, which was a pop-reggae hit from the '80s, which I thought would be quite amusing, but... well, that didn't happen... Anyway the tracks I have arrived quite organically - some melodies suggested by Sunny Yeung, the Shakuhachi master who has played on the last 3 Celestial albums, some that came from other stuff, some that just came to me, e.g. “The Deep Blue Sea.” It's very hard to put my finger on how any album comes about - it's more of a slow development process... not to mention random and unfathomable. For example “Kowloon, Hong Kong” started life as an extended 12 minute Ambient Bossa Nova opus for the art exhibition curated by Hong Kong artist anothermountainman (a.k.a. Stanley Wong), entitled “Red, White & Blue”, featuring artworks made from the ubiquitous Asian plastic fabric. For this album it was slowed down some more, and given the Celestial ambient dub treatment (of course). There's more info on our website: www.hongkongdubstation.com

    I personally can’t stop playing the new album, as I stated in emails to you. I was very impressed with how much your sound has expanded since the last CD. I find Electric Road to be more upbeat and commercial then previous Celestial recordings. Can you elaborate for me on why this is?

    Well thank you very much indeed! I have no idea why, to be honest - apart from a couple of tracks (see below) I kind of felt the whole album was darker and more down-key than previous stuff - so I'm intrigued to hear your thoughts! I guess at the end of the day I'm a sponge, and soak up stuff around me unconsciously - so there's no considered approach to the album as a whole... Indeed I hear ”Kowloon, Hong Kong”, “Electric Road” and “Lhasa Express” being quite jolly - but the other 9 tracks sound fairly bleak... But then I guess music does sound different to different people. Funnily enough, those three tracks all began life as completely non-Celestial pieces (i.e. commercial works) and were appropriated for this album, whereas the other tracks were more or less all written by me for myself, or the melodies adopted and arranged for this album.

    What is the first single you are pushing from Electric Road?

    Well - see above! I guess it would have to be ”Kowloon, Hong Kong” - because of the ten-year anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China (July 1st), followed by “Electric Road”, which is one of those tracks that I wrote for something else; everybody told me they really liked it, and so I extended it to go on the album. At that point I already had the album title, but no track by that name, and as the track sounds vaguely robotic, it seemed obvious. And as I said, for some reason that I really don't understand, that track really does seem to be the favourite of the few people I've played the album to.

    Not only are you a great musician, but you have a great eye for new talent and an amazing ear for producing. You recently recorded an album for a new artist and good friend Shamus Dark. Please tell us about that experience.

    Ahh, Shamus! Well, I'm not going to give the game away completely, but we came up with the story behind Shamus together, and though some of it is true, and some of it is based on reality, some parts were completely made up. Which particular chapters fit into which particular take on reality, I'm not going to say - except for this: I have actually known Shamus for years, and didn't meet him recently, as is suggested in the story. However I also want to put another theory to rest which is still doing the rounds: I AM NOT SHAMUS! He is a real person, he exists, he lives in London, and he did all the singing himself, and all the pictures on the website (www.shamusdark.com) are actually him. Not me.

    Working with Shamus? Well how can I put it diplomatically... He can be a little bit, how should I say, difficult? Precious? Dramatic? Obsessed? Over emotional? All of these things and more, including wild mood swings, drinking binges, and acid flashbacks, sometimes all in the same day. It took a while for him to "get" what I was trying to do production-wise, which is take those amazing songs and make them sound brand new, but completely despondent at the same time. Just like Frank Sinatra in the 50's - the whole album had to hang together. And then we spent days arguing about the playlist order... But of course, it was all worth it. I'm currently spending a lot of email time trying to get him to get over his innate insecurity, and get out there and play the album live(-ish), just by himself with backing tracks, or one or two other musicians - because the album has got to be heard, and performing live is the only way for a character like Shamus to get his persona across authentically... And believe me, he is a character.

    Peter, have you worked with any other artists that I should keep an eye out for? There are some great musicians on Electric Road. Can you please introduce the wonderful musicians and vocalist that participate on the record.

    Where to begin? I've been really lucky to work with some extremely talented musicians, including:
    Eugene Pao - Asia's greatest Jazz guitar player, and probably in the top ten world-wide, as evidenced by all the (real) musicians he has performed with and recorded with.
    Hsin Hsiao Hung - Hong Kong's number one Erhu (Chinese two-stringed violin) player and leader with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
    Sunny Yeung - overly qualified in many professional fields, however his passion is for playing the Shakuhachi, which of course he does brilliantly.
    Sur Sudha - Nepal's musical ambassadors, and masters of Sitar, Tabla and Flute.
    Adrian Da Silva - a younger singer with his own band AudioTraffic.
    May Chan - leading Hong Kong session singer.
    Mariella Gonzalez - a New York based, gigging singer - but who was in HK last summer and recorded “The Deep Blue Sea” with us.
    Angelita Li - another fantastic vocalist, fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai and Portuguese - unfortunately not on this album as she's been out of Hong Kong for the last year.
    Then there's Mandarin rapper Antonius Chen (who also provides the Chinese song titles); Welsh rapper John Griffiths; my business partner, drummer, guitarist and melodica player, producer Eddie Chung; vocalist Rita Tsang, who sang on the first two Celestial albums, and many more...

    Are there any plans of solo projects with any artists or musicians that appeared on Electric Road?

    At the moment I have no plans for anything - which doesn't mean nothing's going to happen of course. The last track on the album is called “Mika's Song” and is for our four-month-old daughter, who is taking up a lot of time right now. That's the current solo project I guess you could say.

    How has the reception to Electric Road been for you in Asia?

    Well it's only been finished for a week or so, and the feedback I've got personally has been extremely good - though I've yet to read an actual review. But I'm already extremely lucky, in that I make a good living from music anyway, namely the commercial work, and so I do this to stay sane, not for money or kudos...

    Does Celestial plan to play shows in Hong Kong or abroad with Electric Road?

    It's a nice idea - I'd love to, and a couple of people have already asked me to do something in Hong Kong. We'll have to wait and see - it's a lot of work to get any kind of performance together, even if it's only me, a laptop, a guitar and a percussionist, which would be the simplest way to do it. Though I have performed before with Eugene, and a singer, or with Sunny on Shakuhachi. Watch this space...

    What are some goals you have for Electric Road?

    Well my main goal was, as always, to make something that I can feel proud of, which I think I've achieved. But if other people like it, particularly complete strangers, then that's a huge bonus. As I said before, I'm not expecting to make money - I probably wouldn't do this kind of thing if I was; I'd be making something more commercial instead. But to reiterate what I just said - if somebody I've never met tells me that they've really enjoyed the music, then there is absolutely no better recompense (which of course you did Maurice). Specially as this is something that I do mainly for fun. However, having said all that, a million dollars wouldn't be bad either...

    What are the goals of Celestial as a Band?

    Be happy and healthy - that's it all you can ask for really

  • May 2007: Pete is “interviewed” for the less-than-completely-serious “60 Seconds” spot in HK Magazine (JPG) :

  • June 2005: Hong Kong Dub Station gets a five star rating "Better Than Sex" from Singapore's Think Magazine:

    CELESTIAL
    Hong Kong Dub Station
    (XXXX)
    Rating: XXXXX (Better Than Sex)

    Popping in this CD is like taking a mini-vacation to faraway and exotic destinations, and having samples of every great song all rolled into one, from traditional Irish tunes, translated into Thai and backed by a Nepalese trio, to Japanese flutes mixed with reggae b-side dub rhythms and blended with sitars, erhus, and even harmonicas! If you’re a fan of dub then you’ll love Celestial, a Hong Kong based collective who have produced a series of albums since 1996, and was conceived by Peter Millward, co-founder of Drum Music, Hong Kong’s premier production house. His latest release, Hong Kong Dub-Station, is a masterful blending of reggae, drum’n’bass, downtempo and the punk beat with a unique Asian signature, using samples like the weather and temple sounds to give it extra mood, ensuring that you WILL be hitting the replay button on your MPIO player. Give it a listen and you can just feel Peter’s background making sexy lush tunes for the hottest boutiques in Hong-Kong, fusing feelings and vibrations as only an old-school chill-out music lover from London can do.

    “This year I brought a lot of my old vinyl from the ‘70’s out to Hong Kong, which is mainly Punk and Reggae,” he was recently quoted as saying, “and although there’s not a lot of Punk influence on this album, I did end up playing a lot more guitar and bass than before. I also worked with Shakuhachi Master Sunny Yeung to create some new tracks from improvisation - and Sur Sudha’s new Sitar player (the last one had a bizarre gardening accident), Professor Tara Bir, solos like Jimi Hendrix - in fact it’s a bit of a Freestyle Sitar Odyssey...”

    My fave pick on the release has to be ‘Who knows?’ featuring the haunting voice of Angelita Li. But know this… each song has it’s own specialness that makes the whole CD such a joy. If you like 4-Hero, Orb, Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Junior Marvin, and the Café Del Mar series, you’ll want to make this part of your collection. www.hongkongdubstation.com starstarstarstaremptystar
    Reviewed by Jeffree Benet

  • April 2005: Hong Kong Dub Station is selected as one of Singapore's Juice Magazine's "Essential Tunes From HMV", sponsored by cokeamp3.com.sg:

    Hong Kong Dub-Station
    Celestial
    (Drum Music Limited)
    With titles like “Sea Of Tranquility” and “Moon Palace”, there is little doubt what Celestial aka Peter Millward wants listeners to do – escape to a better place. Be it fleeing in terror from or de-stressing to his music, the album is an exoticised, chinois commercial ideal with its fluffy clouds of er hu, downtempo beats and the speaking voice of one Sur Sudha. Strictly for urbanites who rather head nod than body rock. CUO

  • April 2005: Hong Kong Dub Station receives yet another great review, this time from Dene Bebbington for the website Wind And Wire:

    Put together plenty of bass, funky grooves and rhythms, some traditional Asian instruments, guitars, harmonica, plus some vocals, and one possible result is Hong Kong Dub-Station. Producer and composer Peter Millward has again collaborated under the name Celestial with several excellent musicians. Giving the album an Asian flavour are two renowned Hong Kong musicians - Hsin Hsiao Hung on Erhu and Shakuhachi player Sunny Yeung.

    Over the sixteen song length tracks (the longest is only six minutes) there are a variety of styles, though a few tracks are somewhat easygoing the majority are upbeat and have a happy nature. Occasionally there are some lyrics sung by a female vocalist, not always in English. Past meets present, and countryside meets urban bustle, is the alliance made when Shakuhachi and Erhu are playing alongside modern beats and rhythms.

    After the short opening track "Sea of Tranquility" featuring the hollow reedy tones of the Shakuhachi, the album gets going with the piece "Pounding Waves". Bouncing drum and restrained bass sounds form a structure over which we hear an Asian flavoured melody played on most of the instruments. This must be the first album I've heard where on one track you can hear Erhu, guitar, and harmonica!

    Things get a little unusual on the track "Ponchartrain" as it includes a narrated story. The lead melody somehow made me think of old Western films, and the harmonica only adds to this impression. An American sounding narrator makes you think this is a story about the old American west, it actually turns out to be a story of a village in Laos being bombed with napalm.

    Even though the album hangs together quite well, it's curious how it does this while taking some detours from the oriental Asian rhythmic dub that makes up most of the album. Towards the end we find that the fast moving track "How Insensitive" has female vocals, nice melodies and rhythms put together in a slightly techno manner that would make it suitable for a dance club.

    Dub isn’t my usual kind of listening and I'm not likely to become a big fan of it. What I can say is that I've enjoyed listening to Hong Kong Dub-Station; it's kind of whimsical, occasionally serious, but mostly fun and undemanding.

  • February 2005: Hong Kong Dub Station receives yet another rave review, this time from www.ambientmusicguide.com:

    CELESTIAL
    Hong Kong Dub Station (Drum Music)

    A slick, lyrical and occasionally surprising excursion in downtempo exotica from the UK-born but Hong Kong-based composer Peter Millward aka Celestial. Hong Kong Dub Station is too diverse in its style and too eclectic in its instrumentation to be called a pure dub record, although the rhythm patterns, sweet basslines and echoing percussion fills show clear ties to Jamaica's dub legacy.

    Millward's seamless integration of Asian folk melodies into his pop, rock and world beat palette is impressive. Beyond his ear for good melodies the guy has impressive technical skills and everything that he blends here sounds easy and natural. Indian tabla drums or sitar may be no surprise on a record like this, but the Chinese violin-like instrument the erhu gives the tracks "Moon Palace", "Pounding Waves" and "Resham Firri" a certain freshness. These sounds are far less common among electronic beat producers than those of the Middle East and Africa and Millward's passion for the local sounds is obvious. (Note for trainspotters and cabaret queens: the goose-bump inducing chord progression of "Resham Firri" bears an uncanny resemblance to diva Shirley Bassey's anthem "My Life").

    In the album's last third you'll hear some ear-catching departures from the ethno stylings of the album's earlier tracks as Millward ventures confidently into the realms of lounge and laid-back house. The sultry deep house smoocher "How Insensitive" - a new version of a song by bossonva legend Antonio Carlos Jobim and with vocals by local singer Angelita Li - is quite a stunner. Here's something that would give Madonna and all the other 007 pretenders a run for their money as the theme to the next James Bond film. I kid you not. More at www.drummusic.net

  • January 2005: Hong Kong's BC Magazine features an in depth interview with Celestial

  • November 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station receives yet another rave review, this time from Phil Guest in the fourth edition of Hong Kong's infamous Robot Magazine (JPG) :

    CELESTIAL - Hong Kong Dub Station
    Genre: Downbeat Duberation (…across the nation)
    Behold a duberation weapon so mighty it gave Robot Mag a papercut when we removed it from it's sleeve. Hong Kong Dub Station will take you on a smooth, whacked-out, pan-Asian trip that merges the sound of Jamaican b-sides with eminent Asian instruments and digital anarchy. It’s an atomic blend of east meets west that quite literally puts the ‘A’ in Asian and the ‘C’ Chillout. Millward's 3rd Celestial album packs such a punch you'll be in the ER before the first riddim drops...so get your Bandaids ready, this one's gonna hurt.

  • November 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station receives yet another rave review, this time from BC magazine, 18th November 2004 (JPG):

    Celestial
    Hong Kong Dub Station
    Drum Music
    Who loves Hong Kong more than its expats turned locals? I mean the ones who came here over a decade ago on a whim or a hunch or a little leap of faith, who are now quite firmly ensconced in the Victoria Harbour skyline. London-born Peter Millward is one such migrant and musician who began his local career composing a few 'East-West' fusion tracks for the fashion industry. 12 years later, Millward the wizard is now Celestial, out with his third trademark collaborative, cross-cultural mix of an album. Not to dismiss the concept of 'Asian chill-out' as muzak for fashion boutiques, but it wouldn't be surprising if a few tracks from this CD end up on Café del Mar's next South East Asian Release compilation, as did previous Celestial singles on Volumen Ocho. It's Nepalese, Japanese, Chinese and Asianese, borrowed from tradition and arranged into dub, mixed with reggae and programmed to please. Even when not contemplating the sun setting over Ibiza, the melodies of Sunny Yeung's breathless shakuhachi and local player Hsin Hsiao Hung's erhu are quite soothing, and the distinctive sounds of Nepalese sitar-tabla-flute trio Sur Sudha are purely hypnotising - even in the voice-bytten Rockin' All Over ("It's a social problem, a psychological problem, almost a pathological problem.") Other tracks effectively show off the written/spoken word of S.P. Mudd, Jr, the bossa nova vocals of Angelita Li, the jazzy guitar of Eugene Pao and the very bluesy harmonica of Dave Packer. The whole album sounds off with Pan-Asian, mellowed out, multi-sampled exoticism - but hey, it sounds great. CF

    •
  • November 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station receives a write up in Hong Kong's best art mag, AM Post (JPG).

  • November 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station again receives 4 out of 5 stars, this time from Scott Murphy in the 19/11/04 edition of HK Magazine (JPG):

    CELESTIAL - Hong Kong Dub Station (Drum Music)
    The third time's a charm for Celestial on the consistently engaging East-West hybrid "Hong Kong Dub-Station". The brainchild of Drum Music founder Pete Millward, the opening track "Sea Of Tranquility" begins with the haunting sounds of Sunny Yeung's Shakuhachi – a type of haunting Japanese flute. From there Millward brings in various reggae dub rhythms and cleverly blends them with erhus, sitars, harmonicas and on one track, a blistering Santana-esque Eugene Pao guitar solo. He also rips a few pages from Malcolm McLaren's spoken-word-over-music book on several tracks. Debatably, the best song is "Bandhana Blues", an updated "Indian Vibes", featuring the playful sitar work of the Sur Sudha trio. Whenever Angelita Li gets behind the mic – three times here – it's a highlight, especially when she wails over some serious bass and drum grooves on the final track "Who Knows?" Overall this is serious chill-out music, perfect for the lazy weekend, but with enough grooves to mix in any dance clube set in the city. The appeal of this album should – and most likely will – go far beyond Hong Kong. This release is so strong that, with a little justice, fans and critics overseas will be finding Celestial pleasure of their own.– Scott Murphystarstarstarstaremptystar

  • October 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station receives 4 out of 5 stars from David Watkins in Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post (JPG):

    Peter Millward's Celestial has been setting the pace for Asian dub for eight years.Folk melodies, chic vocals and a smattering of genre-hopping beats inform this hazy, decidedly upbeat effort created in his penthouse studio overlooking Causeway Bay. His building must be pretty high – there's nothing here that would make you think it was recorded near the maddening crush of Times Square.

    Instead, this is a collection of bass-driven soundtracks that side step the clichés of slo-mo music to point to a kind of aural Shangri-La. Into his computer go the slick, hypnotic tabla rhythms of Nepalese group Sur Sudha, Sunny Yeung's shakuhachi (Japanese flute), Hsin Hsiao Hung's Erhu, Dave Packer's harmonica and Eugene Pao's guitar. Out the other end comes the sort of tailored dubscapes favoured by the likes of Thievery Corporation – rich, varied and pan global.

    Bandhana Blues and moments where Angelita Li lends her voice to the mix stand out. Best Years of Our Lives even threatens to enter the drum'n'bass territory of 4-Hero. Things even go the way of The Orb with S.P. Mudd's spoken-work odyssey Ponchartrain.starstarstarstaremptystar

    Millward has left few stones unturned in his quest for a truly global, cohesive sound.

  • September 2004: Hong Kong Dub Station receives a rave review from Maurice Edwards at the Evolution Of Music website - a site dedicated to the best of independent music:

    The gurus of Hong Kong's electronica scene Celestial are the answer to Europe's Massive Attack, especially the release of their third cd entitled Hong Kong Dub-Station from the independent label Drum Music.

    Producer Peter Millward has once again brought together some of Hong Kong's dopest talent such as Shakuhachi master Sunny Yeung who is featured quite often on Hong Kong Dub-Station, then you have the smooth and angelic vocals of Angelita Li, along with jazz guitarist Eugene Pao, rapper/producer Eddie Chung and Dave Packer on harmonica, each collectively incorporating important styles that help Celestial reach creative levels of electronica profession.

    Hong Kong Dub-Station is a blend of lite reggae and punk with heavy accents of asian musical influence which creates a texture of worldly sounds and zen temples trips ranging from down-tempo to drum and bass. More advanced than the american electronica groups it's a surprise that Celestial has not been picked up by a major label or distribution company.

    Hot tracks from this set include "Pounding Waves", "Nepal Palace", "Itsuki", "The Best Years Of Our Lives", "She Dragon", and the cover of the bossa nova classic "How Insensitive".
    This cd stands high on my list of hot recording for the year of 2004, don't let this one slip by.starstarstarstaremptystar

  • See a JPG of some of the above reviews.