“As a first-gen immigrant, I shared little commonality with my parents in terms of music…I felt like I had to develop my own relationship with it, completely separate from my parents.”
Through her formative years, Ciel often envied friends whose families seemed blessed with impeccable taste in music. Yet, in hindsight, she recognises that this absence became a gift–it pushed her to seek out sounds that resonated deeply with her and her alone. A self-confessed music geek, it was only natural that Ciel found her way to the university radio station as a DJ. Finally given a platform to champion the tracks she believed deserved time in the sun, she quickly became consumed by the art of spinning records. Interestingly, it wasn’t until well into her thirties that Ciel began creating music of her own. She attributes the delay to unresolved traumas from her early years of conservatory schooling. “I was afraid that the education would actually hold me back. In the end, I actually found the opposite to be true, and I wrote my first EP 3 months after I started learning Ableton.”
Since then, Ciel’s output has been remarkable. From her debut on Eris Drew’s vinyl-only label, Ecstatic Editions, to her Chinese-influenced LP Homesick, and collaborative projects with Dan Only (Cloudsteppers), D. Tiffany (Psychedelic Budz), and CCL (Tilda’s Goat Stare), not to mention remixes for King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Adam Pits, and more—her catalogue burns brightly.
When I caught up with Ciel last week, she had just landed in Berlin and performed at Club der Visionaire for the popular MUDD Show videostream. The weeks before had been spent at home, preparing the next release on her imprint, Parallel Minds, from Toronto-based duo Phèdre. Staying firmly in the Canadian lane, time’s been spent holed up in the studio with Emissive, crafting a forthcoming collaborative EP. What’s more, Ciel dropped hints of a new live hardware set and an EP with Mathis Ruffing on Spray’s label Punctuality. “I’ve been getting familiar with the gear, watching tutorials, collecting samples and writing a lot of loops.”
Flights to North America for gigs are a regular weekend affair, but in her downtime, Ciel nourishes herself with pals, pets, and the great outdoors. “I go raving with friends, eat momos in the park, take nature walks with my boyfriend, and look after my plants and my cat, Ginbobo.”
About time we set sail on TROVE’s 028.
