Cindy Li, known professionally as Ciel, is a Canadian DJ, producer, and promoter. Based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Li is known for her solo and collaborative electronic

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

and for founding the label Parallel Minds. Li is also known for her advocacy work for women in the electronic music scene in Toronto. Li was born in

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Career

Li studied English at Queen's University. Her career started as the radio host of CFRC-FM, a station in Kingston, Ontario, where she emphasized music from women-identifying artists. There, Li developed an interest in

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

music. In 2015, Li developed Work in Progress, an event designed as an extension of her radio show and exclusively showcasing music by women-identifying artists. Guests at the shows included D. Tiffany, Volvox, and DJBOYZCLUB. The event was designed to push back against all-male DJ lineups and improve the safety of the spaces where performances take place. Her debut EP, ''Electrical Encounters'', was released in 2017 to positive critical reviews. In 2018, her mix "Radio Buttons #20" was described as one of the best of January by Pitchfork with acclaim for its atmosphere and pacing. Her second EP, ''Hundred Flowers'', was similarly acclaimed as one of the best electronic records of the year. In 2020 and 2021, Li released collaborative EPs with fellow Canadian producers D. Tiffany and Dan Only as Psychedelic Budz and Cloudsteppers.

Style

Her work has been described as fast-paced, with an emphasis on percussive sampling, lead synths, and bass tonality. She works broadly within electronic and dance music.

Discography

Albums and EPs

* ''Electrical Encounters'' (2017) * ''Hundred Flowers'' (2018) * ''Why Me?'' (2019) * ''Trojan Horse hanks for Enlightening Me' (2020) * ''All We Have is Each Other'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciel Living people Canadian DJs Musicians from Xi'an Musicians from Toronto Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian electronic musicians Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian women DJs Juno Award winners