i
Finding each other was like coming home to our soul family. Our natural connection, a relationship so unique for it is the kindred reciprocity of our authentic selves, of what takes precedence in our lives which might sometimes defy the usual rules of social responsibility and correctness, has from the moment we met propelled us to dive into places so deep within ourselves we cannot help but grow exponentially. And this being the most important aspect to us all, our art has been placed in its right position, to be a process for this tremendous undertaking of total self-reflection. Here with consciousness heading the charge - fame, fortune and glory pale entirely in comparison to this.
RAPPER / LYRICIST
IZ St.
A walking, talking, rapping, singing, beatboxing, lyrics spitting, sound generator. Making peculiar noises to perpetuum, living the music within his soul, allowing it to come alive, larger than life, in the existentialistic recognition of the perennial philosophy. It is this intrinsic expression that wants to birth itself and connect to the collective space where art breathes and art lives.
An intense street poet by nature, his intricate lyrics flow easily into manifestation while speaking in profundity of the layers of consciousness that make us or that could break us. He dares to go to places we do not dare go yet he can bring himself to a rebirth while the rest of us are still reeling from the shock. And still through it all, IZ can always recognise the great cosmic joke and crack a good laugh out of you.
A professional emcee as well as vocalist, he was in the hosting industry in Singapore for major exhibitions and conferences as well as was the regular face for brands such as Panasonic, LG and Sony before coming to Mexico. He finds great pleasure in connecting and hyping up the audience of our shows, presenting in this same charismatic fashion.
VOCALIST / LYRICIST
Celestine Angel
Alternating soulful belts and tender rhythms, her vocalisations seek to transport to a place angelic and mesmerising, emotionally fulfiling to a dwelling inside, rarely reached and hard to access. She yearns to touch the very heart of the individual but knows that the only way to deliver this connection is to lay her own heart bare, embrace a stark vulnerability, raw grit and truth. But that is the only way she loves to sing anyway and the single means to her own transcendence.
In Singapore, she has had the opportunity to be contracted to many different beautiful hotel lounges, the iconic Marina Bay Sands casino as well as worked the bustling entertainment and party scene of which the country is well known for. But before performing professionally Celestine was mainly a writer, writing and editing for various magazines and websites including streetdirectory.com.sg where she was the subeditor and covered the lifestyle aspects of the editorials.
COMPOSER / GUITARIST
Ricardo Lavalle (Mico)
A sensitive and skilled producer, who composes with dreams of nebulas and messages from the astral. There is magic in what he does, using music to heal and really doing the transformative work that is required in completing each song by delving into the depths of himself and experientially getting to that place of realisation.
Playing the guitar since he was 8 years old, Mico is now also a multi-faceted musician, adding most of the instrumental parts of his compositions himself. His live guitar sound has an otherworldly feeling, easily serving to elevate pieces already seeming complete to places unexpected yet so duly right. A truly progressive artist with whom creativity knows no bounds.
Besides being a part of i, Mico has been for more than 10 years now, a composer for everything from jingles, radio spots to TV commercials. He has done regular work for Corona, Honda, McDonalds just to name a few and as such has an extensive repertoire in all types of music productions needed for different situations.
DIGITAL TEAM:
The ILLUMINARI collective includes a digital team as we are all about the new media age's global reach and freshness. Art in this day and age carries a whole new dimension and we so enjoy being at the cutting-edge of this expression as well.
VIDEOGRAPHER / PHOTOGRAPHER
Carrick Amadeus
Celestine's brother and a part of the project from the get-go, Carrick was an associate producer in Fremantle Media Asia right before coming to Mexico with ILLUMINARI. Fremantle Media is a company that specialises in reality television and produced the most notable ones like American Idol, The Apprentice and basically, nearly every other household name reality TV programme.
Carrick's dream is to be a filmmaker that creates productions of vision and substance through subtlety and a perspective that introduces ideas never before known. Together with him, the i collective intends to be much more than just one of musical expression but an entity that uses these two forms of expressions to convey the messages that we believe live through us.
We were told that Grita Radio is one of the best internet radio stations in Mexico City / Mexico and true enough, we did have a wonderful experience there.
Here is the online version of what happened!
TV Azteca covered our album launch at the Centro Cultura Digital here in Mexico City. Catch us from the 12:05 min.
https://www.facebook.com/areyouilluminari/videos/1217214368308046/
Here's a little video of us with the hosts of El Daily Con Harold where we performed live as well as did an interview. This tv programme is a cable channel in Mexico City.
https://www.facebook.com/lacajafm/videos/879386318847322/
An interview we did for La Caja FM during the press conference for the Pool Party festival held in Morelos, Cuautla.
A quick interview we did with Euforia Revista during the press conference held for the Music Lab festival.
Check out the interview Celestine Angel did with Seventeen Latin America here!
Trent Davis from JUICE Singapore speaks to us in a recent interview, here's the link to the article!
http://juice.com.sg/music/chat-illuminari-sonic-guardians
Private showcase by Celestine Angel & IZ St of some songs from the unreleased album with the wonderful Mexotic-City crew at Santa Solita, a place where music lovers gather and hungrily absorb, the expressions of the truly artistic.
Another DJ set with DJ Paz. This time at the trendiest club in town for the last AfterWork event of the year! Mezcal for everyone!!
In one of the most incredible beaches we have ever seen, we started our Hiphop show here in the party place to be, Casa Babylon.
A hiphop special at the famous Casa Babylon, we were invited to do our show consisting of cover rearrangements and our own rap lyrics.
ILLUMINARI headlines a spring-themed music festival at Balneario el Almeal, an aquatic park in Cuautla, Morelos.
A special launch event to kickstart our online presence with a contest to win prizes from our sponsors through getting the audience to participate as new media representatives, covering the event and getting likes.
This digital album release held at the Digital Centre in Mexico City also showcases a visual artist in collaboration and is a true media event with invites extended out to all sorts of media personnel, including one of the biggest tv stations in Mexico, as well as, as mentioned above, radically considers all attendees to be media in their own right in this digital time and age.
Starting off our mini Mexican tour with a DJ set at the stylish Piedra Lumbre in the beautiful city of Oaxaca, we were just on time to be the entertainment for an ILEGAL mezcal promotion entitled "A Shot At Donald".
A private party held at the hot spot, Txalaparta, this event is the start of 3 days playing here, really one of the most beloved clubs in town.
Txalaparta was our main host for this part of our Mexican tour, providing us with accomodation and other generosities.
Presenting our album ILLUMINARI AT THE THRESHOLD here in one of the biggest clubs in Oaxaca City, this was our first public ILLUMINARI show ever since our Digital Launch at the Centro de Cultura Digital.
The band's last night playing in the magical city of Oaxaca, the experience has been certainly memorable, especially in the wonderful Txalaparta.
The last show in Oaxaca City before we head off on our next part of our tour, we did a chill-out DJ set at this classy joint with DJ S-Link.
Second part of our Mexican tour set in San Cristobal, Chiapas. Our first stop.
With over 400 people in the audience, this show completed our tour in the hot and steamy Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas.
An elegant mezcaleria with an enthralling design, it was a real pleasure to return to the city of Oaxaca to such a vision. There were even familiar faces in the crowd with friends and fans both new and old. Definitely the best kind of welcome.
Back again in Txalaparta for yet another event, this time we did only a DJ set and at the front side of the club.
Second day in our favourite place, Txalaparta. Again we were in the front of the club doing a DJ set but with a somewhat different show, something a little more engaging for the crowd.
The very last show of our entire tour, it is befitting that we end off where we started.
Back in the beautiful, magical city of Oaxaca to play in this annually-held event celebrating the drink of Mexico, mezcal.
We are traveling to the state of Hidalgo to headline a small festival in a new forum called Quijote Foro, the only one in the entire state!
We will be presenting songs from our coming album for the first time during this concert together with Diego Perez, our new producer.
BRAGAR IN ACTION
The maestro Philip Bragar turns 90 and the Salon Des Aztecas celebrates with him by a collective action of artistic creation. Led by the the artist himself, other renowned artists join in the celebration by painting their own canvas and participating in a great polyptych. In the midst of this full day event, ILLUMINARI provides the musical element to this monumental expressive adventure.
RUBEN ROSAS ART EXHIBITION
First show with i ever, in Txalaparta, Oaxaca City.
Opening for The Buonamicos in Txalaparta, Oaxaca City.
Continuing our test shows in Casa Babylon, Puerto Escondido.
Opening for Larifer in Casa Babylon, Puerto Escondido.
Birthday Event for Paco, Owner of Bajo Circuito
4to Aniversario de Bajo Circuito
Our very first FB show and online showcase of AcclimatIZe. Real Live Session.
Our second of such online shows, this time with our new keyboardist.
Playing at this new performance venue, this can be said to be our first official concert after all the test shows.
Live sesh @ the record store, Musica En Vinyl
Doing a show with a jazzy twist to share our show for the upcoming Jazz fest in the state of Mexico with our friends in Mexico City.
ILLUMINARI has been invited to our very first Jazz fest! We have prepared a special show especially for this occasion and we are glad to share some songs from our upcoming album with the people of Estado de Mexico, a place we started our Mexican journey from.
Held at the popular Pulsus studios, this live sesh was opened to all and was a real party to remember.
Our very first show in Puebla at the fifth anniversary of this beloved arts space in this beautiful city.
Last show of 2019
Playing Live on Grita Radio.
VIPYOUNOW Hidalgo Livestream Variety Show
Mid Autumn Festival celebrations