Celene Ramadan, aka Leeni, aka Prom Queen is a Seattle musician, artist and performer. She’s worked a ton of jobs, including as a singing telegram deliverer. She has also composed music, called chiptunes, with a Ninetendo Gameboy. Her most recent project is a compilation of songs and videos. The Monarch Review got a chance to chat with Celene about all that’s going on.

Jake Uitti: Before we get into your new project/album, I want to talk about two videos you’ve helped out with recently: the Blurred Lines parody and the unicorn video. What was the inspiration for these projects and what did you and the team hope would come from the work?

Celene Ramadan: First off, I should say that I’ve had the privilege to perform as emcee and singer alongside Mod Carousel for almost two years now. They are incredibly hard working and professional and it is refreshing to collaborate with artists who go above and beyond to make sure the end product is the best it can be. So, needless to say, video production is a tricky animal and it’s a world I come from myself, having worked in production since I was in college. But, like everything else they do, they not only pulled it off they exceeded every conceivable expectation for its success! I merely helped!

Trojan was the one who came up with the Blurred Lines gender swap idea and pitched it to the troupe: and he’s also the reason why Mod Carousel is making videos in the first place, having just forayed into video from his career as a photographer. And the unicorn video came about because the boys have had that unicorn act for a little while now and always wanted to make a video of it. The idea grew more intense with everything that’s been happening in the news of late in regards to gay rights around the world. Tying it in to something topical and lending a positive message to the conversation really made it work.

The costumes were made by the guys and I made the music so it was a great collaboration that really showed off everyone’s assets. Cute, pink-tailed assets.

JU: And you’re working on a solo project now, a multi-media effort. Can you tell me about that? And is there a Kickstarter?

CR: Why yes, there is!

I began Prom Queen about 2 years ago to have a medium for some of the writing I had been doing. It’s as much a pet-production-project as it is a vessel for my writing and composition. The production goal was to try to pull off a sound that was as authentically vintage as I can get for using Garageband for all of my pieces.

Over the years it’s grown into a band with live instruments, but still keeping the backing bone of the orchestrations I had built behind it: so our live sound still has the vintage quality I cultivated for the recordings.

Having made a few pretty neat Prom Queen music videos over the years and, having also landed a licensing deal with Zync Music, it was apparent that the music I was making was something that was very cinema-friendly. Practically every write-up that Prom Queen has ever had has mentioned David Lynch or Tarantino. It just seems to naturally evoke imagery and mood in such a way that I almost felt like the live shows weren’t enough.

So I launched a Kickstarter to make a film out of my next album “Midnight Veil”. It’s 12 songs and I want to make 12 music videos so people can watch the film/listen to the album continuously. The plan is to release the film on DVD, have digital downloads for the music and maybe even try to get it into a few film festivals or streaming online somewhere. The goal being that people who watch it will have a richer experience and a deeper connection to the music than if they were just passively listening while doing other things.

The rituals surrounding film consumption are something that I am envious of as a musician. The fact that people regularly buy tickets, turn off their cell phones, sit in a darkened room and consume art in movie theaters is fantastic. Musicians rarely get that kind of undivided attention. But when you marry music and film together, I think magical things happen and that’s what I aim to explore with this project.

JU: Can you give a couple examples of the music videos you’re planning – I should add, you often dress (alluringly) in costumes, and the cover of your album looks like you’re inside a magic lamp!

CR: Every video will be it’s own little world but they are all tied together with a baton pass of a magic lamp: ala The Red Violin. So the only connection between the stories will be that this lamp ends up in each of the worlds in some way. The lamp is a cheeky nod to I Dream Of Jeannie as the album has a decided Middle Eastern exotica feel to it, but in a cartoony Hanna Barbera way.

Each video will have it’s own look and feel and will also bring it’s own interesting production challenges. For instance, we have one video where we are using a crazy amount of fire effects, another where we filmed underwater, several that use animation (both stop motion and drawn), another that has multi-media within the shoot: using live projections to help tell the story. We are filming a very cool pole dance sequence for one and trying to make our own homemade colored smoke bombs for another. The pre-production is insane right now because we are simultaneously dealing with so many videos all at once. But it’s really fun. I’m having a blast with all the challenges.

JU: Who are you working with to produce all this?

CR: For the music, I’m mostly building them at home and then Tom Meyers (my drummer) is helping record live musicians and helping mix the tracks. Also, I’m working with Ground Control Recording. For the film, it’s all me and my boyfriend Danny: with some help from friends. Anna Bananna from Pretty Parlor is doing most of the styling for the film and she’s doing a phenomenal job!

JU: Your boyfriend is in the boylesque scene here in Seattle, right? Can you talk to me some about the burgeoning culture of boylesque, burlesque and that sort of fantastical performance here in town? How does it inspire you?

CR: My boyfriend is Trojan from Mod Carousel. Since we got together I’ve been so much more exposed to the burlesque scene than ever before. What I love about that scene is the integrity of the artists and their self-respect and hard work. The artistry that is cultivated from this flourishing scene is top notch. I’ve now seen burlesque in so many different cities all around the world and I can truly say that Seattle has something very special going on. It’s hard not to be inspired when you see people putting so much into their art all around you.

JU: There seems to be such a strong collaborative culture there, no infighting, no crabs in a barrel mentality. Do you get this sense, too?

CR: Well, I am still on the outside of it so I can’t really say with total authority. What I can say is there is a strong sense of community in the scene, both local and internationally. A lot of touring opportunities grow from that and it seems there is a burlesque welcome-wagon in most of the cities we’ve toured to, which I think is lovely.

I think that’s why I value tapping into niche communities with music. Those smaller scenes have a similar feel. With my years doing chiptune music: I felt booking shows in other towns was a cinch because there was always a chiptune musician in any city where you might find yourself going. It’s just plain easier than if you were a musician who was self described as an “indie rock artist”.