Caroline Cecil, under the DJ moniker Whipped Cream, has performed all over the world, most recently at the major Coachella and Lollapalooza music festivals.
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission for purchases made through links on this page.
.
Whipped cream
Announcement 2
.
When: August 20, 2-9 p.m.
Where: Railtown (Railroad to Dunlevy Streets)
Information: monstercat.com/composite
When she was 18 years old, Caroline Cecil’s figure skating career came to an end due to injury. Two years later, she had an epiphany seeing American producer and singer-songwriter Patrick James Grossi, aka Active Child, in Sasquatch. Music Festival and she decided to focus her energies on becoming a DJ and producer. Under the moniker DJ Whipped Cream, the Nanaimo musician has since performed around the world, most recently at major Coachella and Lollapalooza music festivals, and has released numerous singles and a nine-track album, Who is Whipped Cream. of 2020. ? We spoke to Cecil about her origin story, the joys of living on an island, and her upcoming set as part of the free one-day Monstercat Compound music and game festival.
Announcement 3
.
Q: What was it about watching Active Child that made you think you could do this?
A: Figure skating seems like a creative and artistically free art form. But for me it was much more about the technicality. You have to be prim and correct. You are judged for all sorts of things that are more technical than artistic, in my opinion. When I saw Active Child, it was on one of the smaller stages and there were only about 50 people there. I think what grabbed me for the first time in my life was this feeling of not needing approval or being judged. It was like, Holy cow! There is a feeling in this kind of music that I have never felt before. He told me it was going to be fine. That, and the sunset, and the wind blowing through the band’s clothes, I’ll always remember. I remember walking away saying, Yeah. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make music.
Announcement 4
.
Q: Are there ways figure skating prepared you for the life of a musician?
A: Those years taught me persistence and resilience. The thing is, you’re always falling. You’re doing very complex jumps and turns and even just skating really fast on one foot back and forth, back and forth. You are training your body to overcome pain and you are training your mind. You have to be in the best mental space possible to make those jumps. Everything is more mental than physical. It is the same with music. Skating taught me that it’s very much a mental practice, getting up on days you don’t feel like it because that’s how you become the best at your craft.
I am very grateful for that accident. At that point I was devastated. Now there is not one percent in my mind, body or soul where I don’t believe this is my calling. When I was skating, I always had questions and I’m not sure. It wasn’t that I didn’t love it, or that I gave it my all, it was more like, it just didn’t exactly feel right.
ad 5
.
Q: What are the positives and negatives of living in Nanaimo for what you do now?
A: I ‘ve been very lucky. I’ve been able to travel all over the world now and see all kinds of places I never thought I’d visit and experience some amazing things. That said, I grew up in Toronto and moved here when I was 12 years old. My whole family is here and my childhood friends. But I am also inspired by nature and being able to see the four seasons. In LA you can’t see all four seasons. I like cold weather, I like warm weather. I don’t like it when it’s hot all year round. There is a beauty to this island, especially in the Nanoose Bay and Qualicum area. I could see myself 100 percent establishing myself in that area. The downside to living here is really the commute. If I need to go to Los Angeles for a shoot or New York or Miami for a show, I have to take an additional plane ride to Vancouver. That is definitely the only big drawback.
ad 6
.
Q: Dance music seems very urban, but you create it in places like Nanoose Bay. How do you get into that club headspace when you’re out in the wild?
A: I’ve toured and played so many shows and clubs that I can close my eyes and feel that feeling. It inspires me more to be away from it than to immerse myself in it. I create much more when I am alone in a different place, far, far away.
Q: What is your relationship with Monstercat, the label that puts on the Vancouver show you’re playing?
A: We’ve done a couple of releases together. I really enjoy them as humans and their passion for my projects. I am delighted to play this Compound event that they are organizing. I love what they’re doing as a label.
Q: And it’s just a ferry ride away.
A: That’s how it is! Not a single plane. I love that
More news, less ads: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.
