Next up in our interview series with the performers of the AITP Online Music Festival is Cecilee! Cecilee makes beautiful music, is a teacher, and has a golden soul.
Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us a little about yourself. how and when did you start making music?
Ah the beginning, always a good place to start! My name is Cecilee (I just go by my first name when doing music) and I am many things, most importantly a writer, French teacher, and electronic pop musician. I began making music as a clarinetist in the school band. From there, I learned to read music and began writing my own ditties to go with my poems. Then I joined the high school choir and took voice lessons. I always had a song in my head even then, not much has changed on that front! I really started taking my music making a little more seriously about two years ago when I bought Logic and began teaching myself piano and music production.
Why do you do it, now?
I do it because if I don’t, all the emotions I have inside will have no place to go. Writing music is a form of therapy for me. Everything in my life has led to music somehow, so I feel that it is something I need to do or I will go insane. Not a day goes by when I don’t go upstairs to play piano to unwind for a while or even sing along to whatever song is in my head. I create music because I love it.
What were some of your early influences and what inspires you today?
Kate Bush. She was the first and is still my most important influence. I love that she forges her own path and creates music with such passion. She creates because she loves it. I’m especially inspired by the way she uses her voice. I’m also influenced by French-language music like Mylène Farmer, Zazie, Alain Souchon, etc, and 80s synth pop like OMD and Pet Shop Boys.
What was the last song you listened to (disc in the car or what-not)?
Pet Shop Boys – Listening, on my iPhone. It’s a recent b-side and a beautiful composition at that!
How did you connect with Artists in the Plus and what attracted you to working with them?
I connected with AITP last year when someone posted in their stream about the music festival. And at the very last minute, John found a slot for me. And it went from there! I was attracted to working with AITP because I like being part of a huge music community. I like to support independent musicians as much as I can and I feel that I can do that with AITP.
Last year’s festival was a huge success and changed a lot of things about music on the net. Were you a part of that?
Yes I was, at the very last minute, as I mentioned before! I think it was about two days before the festival when I found out about it and just for fun, I asked John if there was a slot for me. It was one of my first experiences in doing a HOA and it was a lot of fun!
What would you like to see as a result of the festival, this year?
I would like to see this idea of doing music gigs online really take off. I think that being able to do online concerts can reach even more potential fans, all from the comfort of your living room especially for those of us like me who don’t have the money or the time to tour all over the country.
Have you been using services like Hangouts On Air, U-Stream, Street-Jelly, or others to perform live via video on line? What kind of reaction are you getting?
Oh yes! I’ve used such services for about three years. Before Google Plus, I used Ustream for doing online gigs. I don’t get to play out very much, so I thrive in doing online shows. And what makes these gigs even more enjoyable is the reaction I get from people. Doing these online gigs has allowed me to play to anyone anywhere in the world and people seem to like what they’re hearing.
Village Studios in LA will be hosting the festival, this year and there will be a studio stage in North Carolina and another in Norway. Will you be travelling or performing remote from your own studio?
I would have liked to join everyone in L.A. or North Carolina but money is tight, so I’ll be performing remote from my own studio. Which is fine by me! I feel more comfortable being at home anyway. Plus my two cats can sit in and listen to me play like they always do!
If you could ask one performer to join you on a record, who would it be?
If we’re talking about “absolutely won’t ever happen but it’s always fun to dream,” then Kate Bush or Mylène Farmer. It would be fun to speak in French with Mylène! If we’re talking “far more likely,” then Charlotte Martin, another one of my favorite female artists.
What one thing would you change about this world, if you could?
Well, I guess if I had to choose anything, I would make people more accepting of others and their belief systems.
Where can we find you and your music?
For my writings, you can find me on Amazon under my full name Cecilee Linke. There is my young adult novel “Elodie and Heloise” as well as chapters of an English translation of a French novel that I spent two years working on. For my music, there is my Bandcamp page (http://cecilee.bandcamp.com) and my website, where you can read all about my sewing adventures, my writing projects, and my music of course! 😀 http://www.cecilee.net . And lastly, you can always find me on Google Plus. 😀
In closing, is there anything you would like to add or anyone you would like to shout-out to?
This fall will be a season of releases from me! I will be releasing on Amazon Kindle the first novel in a planned historical fiction trilogy set in a ghost town in Virginia (no title yet!) as well as a music album of 80s-inspired synth pop, so expect something coming on my Bandcamp page!
And I want to give a shout-out to my loving husband, my biggest critic and fan, my good friend Amy who has been one of my biggest supporters of my music from the beginning, and of course, my two loving cats who love to sit upstairs with me while I practice piano and singing. 😀
