For Toronto DJ and composer Cindy Li, known by her stage name Ciel, this second appearance at MUTEK will feel like a first: “I’ve been there once before, but it was during the pandemic, so I had to perform for a seated audience,” she recalls. “But since my music is more dance-floor oriented, it was obviously disappointing, even though I had fun. It’ll be good to play now that we’re back to normal!” says the musician, who will be performing new versions of her debut album on Thursday. Homesickpublished last fall.
At least the whole pandemic experience hasn’t been in vain for Cindy Li, who says she’s had “a very productive creative period.” A DJ and musician trained in classical piano, she hosts parties in Toronto, collaborates on events for the New York collective Discwoman (which showcases the talents of women and non-binary people in the electronic scene), and offers her monthly show Work in Progress, her musical selections, on the renowned English radio station Rinse FM.
Published in 2017, Electrical Encountershis first EP, displays his love of electro and breakbeats; more ambitious, his first album Homesick (released by her own record label, Parallel Minds) successfully bets on cohesion through a multitude of influences and tempos: techno with complex rhythmic patterns, mysterious and melodic house. “Bass music and garage influences are never far away in my productions,” adds the musician, who earlier this year released a catchy four-track EP under the name Cloudsteppers composed with her colleague Dan Only.
It’s a challenge to transpose such a diverse album on stage. I also find it rather coherent, despite its unique rhythms; the most difficult thing is to conceive it in concert on a more regular tempo, to invite the audience to dance.
Simple and danceable
This stew of selected grooves is finally seasoned by Cindy Li with several fascinating sonic nods to her Chinese roots, such as the sound of the xiao flute and that of the imposing zither called guzheng. “It’s a challenge to transpose such a diverse album on stage,” admits Ciel. “I also find it rather coherent, despite its singular rhythms; the most difficult thing is to conceive it in concert on a more regular tempo, to invite the audience to dance. Without revealing everything, I will tell you that I redid all the rhythm tracks, all the percussion sounds, to make the exercise more stimulating, but also to not replay the songs from the album as they are.”
“I imagined this album for clubs, and I want to take this idea to the end with the performance,” continues the musician. I come from the world of DJs, preparing sets to make people dance in clubs, that’s what I’m passionate about. But I’ve seen enough electronic performances live to know what I want to present and what I don’t want to present. The watchword is: keep it simple. » Simple, and danceable, obviously.
Ciel will be on the bill for Nocturne 3 at the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), which is giving pride of place to female musicians, at least in the main room on the ground floor (Espace SAT). The opening act will feature the new audiovisual creation by Montreal duo Technologies of Consciousness (Sonya Stefan and Stephanie Castonguay), followed by the brilliant New York composer of Colombian origin Ela Minus, Octo Octa, and then Cindy Li. Upstairs at the Satosphère, the evening will start off gently with Bénédicte and Nick Schofield, but will gain in intensity with the trio Mesocosm and the return to Montreal of the duo Fractal Fantasy, formed by Sinjin Hawke and Zora Jones.
Cindy Li has been involved with the MUTEK organization since she started DJing nearly a decade ago: “I’ve been in touch with the festival people for a long time. Since I was organizing events in Toronto, we often collaborated on parties. I had been invited to play at the festival a few times already, since my first EP, but I didn’t feel ready yet. When I finally accepted, I knew I was embarking on a big project, that of putting on a performance live which is both experimental and danceable.”
Ciel will be in concert at the SAT on August 22, as part of the Nocturne 3 program.