Exposed Vocals Interviews Danish artist Cecilie Beck
Cecilie Beck is a Danish artist and musician, who earned a Master of Fine Arts from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in May 2013. Within the Academy’s department ‘School of Walls and Space’, Beck studied along with other artists developing Art-as-Activism in public spaces. During her education she did an internship for Berlin-based artist Annika Lundgren, and went on educational exchanges to Konstfack in Stockholm and Parsons The New School for Design in New York. In 2010, she travelled through Singapore, Nepal, Malaysia and India and Lombok in Indonesia for 6 months, where she created a series of street art and music.
Beck is now based in New York City, and in 2015 she established a label with Alexandre Christophe Morris called Sound Vision Lab, Inc. On January 14, 2016, Cecilie Beck released her debut album Here is Now at Rockwood Music Hall. She has performed at various venues in NYC, such as Nublu, Bar Matchless, The Spot, Paper Box, Red Door, Black Bear Bar and Arlene’s Grocery, The Bitter End and Pianos. Internationally, she has performed at Spikersuppa Sound Gallery in Oslo,The Artist House Museum in Oslo, Basso in Berlin and Litteraturhaus in Copenhagen.
Cecilie Beck’s work encompasses a broad exchange of sounds and visuals. Currently, she performs with Cecilie Beck & The Elements, an experimental folk band, for large and intimate stages like museums, galleries, venues, pop-up shops and private parties.
Cecilie Beck:
I grew up in a Danish town called Randers. When I was about 6 years old my parents saw me play the piano at a family party. Though none of them had any musical background they instantly decided to buy a piano for me. There was a great music school in Randers and I took classes in piano, guitar and “band” all the way through the rest of my childhood. I was very young when I began writing my own songs. I never decided to be an artist. It just happened. I need to create. My mother is a visual artist, so it felt natural to express myself creatively. I was shy about my artwork though. It is very personal. In 2006 I applied to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Denmark. All of my friends were surprised that I was accepted. Only a few knew I did any artwork. To me, visual art and music is very closely related. One is just based in time and one is in space. I was always very shy about my voice though, and it wasn’t until I moved to New York in 2013 that I finally began to feel somewhat ok on a stage. But I soon realized that I had to make the decision to make sound & visuals into my career. That moment when you realize that someone is inspired by your music and you feel the connection with the audience means everything.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Cecilie Beck:
It’s my name. I do have two other names as well, but I liked the rhythm in these two names together.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Cecilie Beck:
I have a soundcloud, where people can listen to my music for free. I think, it is a great community for musicians.
Else from that I am very careful about who I give my music to. I think we as artists have a responsibility to each other to maintain a certain standard. For most of us, music is not a hobby. It may be a passion, but it is a career and a job as well. And it is important that we demonstrate this.
If I believe in a cause, I enjoy playing a concert or giving a piece of art to show my support and to help them raise money. I would never sell my work cheap though. And I don’t pay to play. The industry can be poisonous and it is important to stay true to your art! If you are looking for exposure, I think, you should be very aware of choosing the right channels. Supporting an important cause can give much better exposure than playing in a fancy club for free while only the booking agent is getting paid. Also, remember; without you, there is no booking agent or club.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Cecilie Beck:
Be true to yourself. Do you. The industry is changing so rapidly anyway that there is no certainty in any trends; they can change over night. See your music as a business. But be weird. Be original. Work hard. Learn your instrument. Get good at it. Develop. Keep your channels open. The hardest and most important thing is to be tough and professional while staying sensitive.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Cecilie Beck:
Of course. I used to be so afraid of being on stage. I was way to self conscious. If I made a mistake I would have to start all over. I would also sing out of tune in the beginning of shows when I just started performing. It was because I saw myself from outside. At some point I learned to get over myself. I realized that the concert was not about me, but about the interaction with the audience. I had a message to deliver. Now I get to my center and embrace my nervousness. If you are nervous it is only because the music means something to you.
There is no way of getting through a concert without making mistakes or variations. That’s why you have to leave room for improvisation. One time I completely forgot the lyrics to the 2nd verse while doing an unprepared encore. I honestly just said it as it was, made a joke and let my beautiful dancer do her thing while I stepped back. It was kind of embarrassing, but luckily I was surrounded by friends.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Cecilie Beck: I still haven’t been on a big tour. But I’ve been flown out to do concerts at different destinations. My favorite was when I was invited to perform at an outdoor ice skating rink in the center of Oslo, Norway. The curator Andreas Hald Oxenvad had made the rink into a sound gallery – Spikersuppa Lydgalleri. I was performing in front of families and other locals. It was magic. I of course sang my song “The Strangers run on Ice”. My assistant passed out bottles with red color to people. As they were dancing on skates to my performance, my music was recorded with red as a painting onto the ice. Here is a video of the performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
It was a beautiful experience that led to meetings with wonderful people. I met a great artist from New York, Dave Smoota. He is a soul and funk one-man-band who sings his own hyper sexy songs when he does not perform with TV on the Radio. He later ended up playing trombone on one of my songs on the EP A Space between Spaces, and he will be featured on my next album as well. At the same trip I connected with Norwegian DJ collective Too Many Girls and got to perform at the museum Kunstnernes Hus.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Cecilie Beck: I get my inspiration from the people around me and the places I travel to. The last couple of years most of my inspiration has come from the streets of New York.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Cecilie Beck:
Yes, it is called www.ceciliebeck.com
I also use Reverbnation, soundcloud, instagram, twitter, facebook, indieonthemove and many of the platforms that are connected to these ones.
twitter: ceciliebeck1
instagram: ceciliebeck1
facebook: Cecilie Beck
youtube: Cecilie Beck
label: Sound Vision Lab.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Cecilie Beck:
I love Buffalo Stance with Neneh Cherry. It’s so 80’s and I keep rocking to it on and on again. What else…? How about 2 Unlimited with No Limit? The rap part is horrible, but it brings back good memories from the childrens’ disco at school. Then there is of course 4 Non Blondes with What’s Up and Tracy Chapmans Revolution. The 2 last ones can still make me scream for a revolution when nobody is listening.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Cecilie Beck: I would keep a quarter and then hold the rest for a while so it could grow from interests. Then I’d donate it to a non-profit organization with a great cause. And I’d spend the time creating artwork and music and tour the world.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Cecilie Beck: Reverbnation, Soundcloud and Indie on the Move have been great. They are a good for connecting people in the industry and fans with musicians.
Facebook is an easy way to spread the word to your friends. I guess twitter has worked well for me too. All of it is important really.
 So, social media, press and
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Cecilie Beck: Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock 1969. It is a sexual and spiritual fantasy. He was the best of the best. I rarely like guitars but the way he played and sang was just magic. His lyrics are so beautiful and soulful to me as well.
I have a dream of collaborating with Tom Waits. His voice and artistry is deeply inspiring to me. He’s such a great performer. I think, we could be a great duo.
And then there is Beck. I grew up on his music. He was kind of my teenage idol. I love the way he keeps developing and staying playful.
I wouldn’t mind putting some vocal and lyrics on Mozart’s music either. We’d have to talk about that if he’d been alive.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Cecilie Beck: Well, I’m working on a few projects. One of them is my 2nd album. It’s a mix of acoustic and electronic sounds and instruments. I’ve decided to produce the music myself this time. I’ve been nervous to do so, since I’m not a technical genius. But I have my ears. Those are the most important instrument when making music. And I’ve worked closely together with producers before, so I’ve learned a lot from my collaborators. I just had to get over the first scary bump of creating the first beat. It turned out I’m better than I thought, and it is so much fun, so I’m extremely excited about where the sound is going.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Cecilie Beck: Visual artwork. I need to create.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Cecilie Beck: It was the House Party V – The Ultimate Megamix cd. I was buying a ghetto blaster and had planned to listen to the radio. When my mom wanted to give me a CD, I had no idea what to choose so the guy in the record store chose it for me. It was totally of random. I was 8 or 9 years old. After that, my older siblings started educating me by giving me old CD’s.
 They introduced me to Faith Evans, Beck, Whitney Houston, Erykah Badu and many more. My parents used to listen to Scandinavian church music and Danish 80’s pop and folk as well as several classical composers.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Cecilie Beck:
I could write a whole book about this. It is important to know what you are good at. Your time is everything. The key is to know your worth. Make sure you get a side gig that pays you very well. Go for the less expensive option when deciding where to live. It is crucial! Then you can work less on your job and more on your art. It is very important for me to stay true to my artwork. I can’t do that if I create it in order to make money. So it’s a principle for me to always have income on the side. 
If I get rich on making music, that would be brilliant. But until then, I refuse to compromise my music and create it with the intention of making money. Luckily my partner in crime’s parents were both artists, so he is very understanding of the processes and need for creative space.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?
Cecilie Beck:
I’m working on both an EP and my 2nd album. The EP is a dedication to a loved one who passed away recently. The album will come out in the Spring. There will be a lot of collaborations on it. Amongst others I will be featuring Jackson Whalan from Technicolor Lenses and Smoota (who also plays with TV on the Radio).
