We slouch our bodies in the back of a red Toyota Tacoma outside Miki’s, where late-night cruisers and construction workers share the same curb for Filipino-local plate lunches. Motorcyclists burn so much rubber I’ve to bring the recorder up to our ears. An AriZona iced tea can lounges in his lap, while a Celsius in mine, ammunition for the dialogue we’ve been teasing since last December. As the co-founder of one of Hawai’i’s loudest parties, Sean Lin – “Mr. Celestic” to the outside world – mentions how talking about his career seems like a rarity, save for a short video segment done last year. Earlier in the week, he requests to skim the interview questions: an estimated 80 questions feels less intimidating when you preface it as a conversation, and I can barely remember ten questions off the top of my head. “So let’s just have a conversation,” I say before pressing “record.” He agrees and laughs with his signature dolphin laugh, infectious as the influenza.
“Celestic” was taken from a Chinese-American history lesson. In the 20th century, the western world recontextualized negative associations with the Celestial Empire to combat the new wave of Chinese immigrants. Contrary to his full Taiwanese heritage, Celestic was born into an immigrant household and grew up in Maui where the Japanese population dominates the island’s Asian percentage. Taiwanese YouTubers like KevJumba felt like a lifeline during his childhood, though other Asian-American personalities like NigaHiga provided a necessary sense of familiarity. The internet parented him in a way his parents couldn’t, a means of escapism that bridged a community beyond physical proximity. Music blogs all over the web, he forgot their names, further introduced the underground music scenes from which he’d later take inspiration in his career.
As he recalls his introduction to hip hop, Celestic claims the “hipster” title before I could even christen him. His older brother’s mixtape and CD bunch peaked Celestic’s curiosity. Blue Scholars, Living Legends, and People Under the Stairs rounded out the first section of his musical lexicon, with thoughtful lyricism laid atop gentle harmonies, and the latter two steamed over punchier bass lines. The background music behind his favorite YouTubers furthered his fascination for underground hip hop. Songs from A Tribe Called Quest linger while the comedy sketches roll, as well as varied beats and samples from J Dilla and 9th Wonder.
In high school, the hip-hop head experimented with music production for his friends’ work, the files he eventually lost. However, the exploration curated a baseline for his sonic palette, blending his hip-hop and pop-punk knowledge, the latter genre he now disdains hearing in the club. In college, his Chinatown party-boy chronicles guided him through the nightlife scene. Raves and drinking mandated his early undergraduate years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH), when he and his friends entertained the benders until they couldn’t lift their heads up from the stairs. All these misconducts he enjoyed at the time, but the mainstream club scene became a matter of missed potential: “this party music is fun, but you guys are playing the same songs all the fucking time.”
Celestic would graduate with a Bachelor of Economics and later a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, though his interest in the Los Angeles-based creative platform Soulection directed his attention toward the DJ world. Circa 2018 his parents gifted him a controller for Christmas, and his mentorship from DJ CL Slick in 2022 would strengthen his craft early into his career. The UH graduate acknowledged DJ’s Delve and Tittah Byte for their dominance in Chinatown pre-COVID-19, the latter whom he learned, with DJ Revise, brought Soulection and Soulection and SoSuperSam from R&B-focused radio service 143 Worldwide to perform on Oahu.
Soulection, as well as music platform Majestic Casual, sparked Celestic’s newfound love for the sonic capacities of DJ’ing. Performers like Mr. Carmack, Joe Kay, and Andre Power blend the velvety R&B and soul and the percussive weight of hip hop with an electronic warmth, amongst miscellaneous conventions at their disposal, all for no less than two hours at a time. Canadian producer KAYTRANADA, house DJ and producer Jared Jackson, and the Chicago house scene all attribute to his house music milieu, as they trickle syrupy melodies down the four-by-four rhythms, synth bass flourishing between the offbeats, tick marks scattered in the crevices.
COVID-19 inspired the rise of Instagram and Twitch livestreams, where various DJ’s compensated for isolation with ambient lighting and hour-long broadcasts. Audiences filled up the digital space and absorbed the vibrations, chat boxes praising each edit, soulful, romantic, or complex. Co-founders Kay and Power quickly curated this fanbase of music lovers, artists, and creatives by setting up a Discord server for these “super fans.” Bonds formed within moments of noting each others’ presence in past livestream; in came multiple posts about recent or old mixes; new DJ mixes, edits, and blends; and tips and tricks of DJ’ing, and so forth. Different mixes were thrown into the chat boards, where Celestic finally caved into the pressure: his first mix garnered 1,500 views in the first week, necessary momentum leading into later installments of his “Hoodie Szn” series, as well as other projects he’d have in mind up to 2022.
So how does Celestic respond when given his first break? I barely DJ’d out in public, he thought when DJ Revise offered him to open for Soulection affiliate LAKIM in 2022. Celestic gets flustered recalling the details: about four months of preparation, with DJ CL Slick, Ibyss and Infinite Peace assisting his mix and Celestic’s overall craft. At the event, he performed as the last of three openers, “murdering his set” in the process, pride glowing as fluorescent as the lamp posts by the car dealership across from us. From there, Infinite Peace inquired about starting their own party. About a month of brainstorming mixed with hesitance and excitement led to the beginning of WANNA BE DOWN., rebranded as DOWN. in the summer of 2024.
“If White people are a little afraid, that means we’re doing something right,” Celestic opens up as we delve into DOWN.’s origin. In August 2022, he and Infinite Peace established their party project, branded by high-energy beats and international club rhythms. Open-format sets marry the accessible with a sonic palette including afro house, amapiano, funk brasileiro, and ballroom. DJ CL Slick got onboard, as well as DJ’s Cowboy Jarvis, and Nasty Nate, to promote the party. As Celestic puts it, “playing the game” through content creating and embracing the “superstar DJ” status has its values, though becoming the face of the function isn’t his prerogative.
“If I could have it my way… we could be tucked away in the corner, and… they still know who [we] fucking are,” Celestic said.
In 2023, DJ Slick and Nate separated from DOWN., along with Infinite Peace the summer after, though these changes neither slowed the movement’s propulsion nor discouraged its vision. Opening for The Do-Over Hawai’i in 2024 and the following year with the Netherlands musician and DJ Jael for the second time furthered DOWN.’s steady integration in the Hawai’i’ nightlight scene. By the end of 2023, EDM-based DJ Caldee joined the roster and emphasized a grimier global palpitation, contrasting Jarvis’ east coast bounce and complementing Celestic’s unconventional deep cut selection.
In June 2023, a New York roster was formed, spotlighting more attention on the scene while reaching another diverse pool of music lovers across the nation – Willneezy (DJ) leads the NY team, including Nonchalant Jay (DJ), Meesh (project manager), Aishah (DJ, graphic designer, and photographer), Absconded (DJ and cameraperson), and Brunetic (DJ and promoter). Meanwhile, the HI team has since expanded to eight members, including Ibyss (DJ), Chunior (DJ), Bo Seph (DJ and emcee) Yaba (DJ and visual creative director), and Woozy (photographer and visual arts person).
But what started as a party has now shifted into a fellowship between creatives and music lovers of all different backgrounds. Beyond its rapport for club music and sweatbox functions, DOWN.’s driven by its sense of belonging and appreciation of the arts. Last November, the DOWN. team hosted a daytime event at the Holey Grail Donuts café for all ages to attend, where DJ’s curated sets evoking roasted coffee grounds, fresh Aimé Leon Dore sneakers, and art exhibition tours. Supporters, as well as people outside the movement’s club scene, were encouraged to connect with each other on an interpersonal level. The team plans to host more events that prioritize building relationships and strengthen their ties to the island’s local and creative communities.
DOWN. finds its identity not just through its team, but rather through its various supporters — the dancers who heighten the atmosphere, the media team that captures the night and instills that “FOMO” sensation, and the guest DJ’s who craft the night with zealous commotion, among others. Throughout DOWN.’s continuous development, Celestic adapted to be its adhesive, enlisting creatives “who can do things [he] can’t” while unifying everybody with a common purpose. He still feels uncomfortable claiming his position as the founder when so much support ties into this collective. Nevertheless, DOWN. ultimately echoes Celestic himself, a product of his imagination and healing of his inner child.
“That’s like, the immigrant struggle anyways. Just, like, where do you belong? I will go back to the Motherland, [and] people[‘ll be] like, ‘You’re not fully Taiwanese, are you?’ Yeah, no, I grew up in America. You’re just living in this world…. just [on the] edge,” Celestic adds.
Both excitement and rumination creep into his voice once we overview future plans. A revised mission statement takes first priority, aligning the HI and NY bases through the same objectives. Establishing the HI base takes second, entrusting the scene maintains a strong following and identity even in Celestic’s absence. Education of club music took precedence as well, as DOWN.’s identity ties to its authentic execution and knowledge of these different genres. One day, he plans to host a night for the more off-kilter rhythms – amapiano, 3step house, and gqom all mentioned, yet he’s waiting for the right time to spotlight them on the island.
When asked about the before and now, Celestic realizes he hasn’t reflected much, just that the journey of DOWN. has been fun. Nostalgia kicks in, and we return to that first Discord server.
“Through that Discord, I have friends in the UK. I have friends in Atlanta, New York.… Seattle, Chicago, California, like, this is great. I keep on making friends from all over the place, and [I] got to know some people in South Africa [and] Nigeria. It’s fucking dope if I get to meet these guys one day through, like, music, but for me, it’s just always been just keep on meeting people in this music space. I’m such a bad music nerd. Music nerds are my people. DJ’s are music nerds. I keep on meeting dope people through this. Let’s just keep it going,” he adds.
By our fifth hour, the truck bed makes fidgeting as noticeable as a puka on a t-shirt, and the ambiance minimizes to a timid breeze. But the conversation still flows steady: Celestic’s ready for his next project, whether it be through DOWN. or for his personal record. His recent blend attained recognition on Soulection #661, coming full circle to his sources of inspiration and a reminder to keep his ingenuity uncompromised. For some DJ’s, the balance between familiarity and movement keeps them grounded in reality. But within Celestic’s viewpoint, we witness a different outlook.
“I want you to not know what I’m playing,” Celestic adds. “I want you to get out there [and] actually look it up. Are you moving? Then my job is done.”
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