Causing a stir in the contemporary electronica scene, Singapore-born CC Sound Factory is making waves as a crossover artist from Singapore, with musical roots in New York, being on of the first to release her music through a new memory-stick/mp3 player hybrid, branded as the Mu-Stik, including her hit "So Shiok".

She actually started as a vocalist with a couple of New York indie rock bands in the vibrant downtown Manhattan arts scene. Quite by chance she landed herself a deejay gig and found herself deejaying ever since, at numerous galleries and art events surrounding 'the city'

As her band was disbanded, CC took things into her own hands, churning out several productions and accompanying videos that were received really well. In fact, she won the award for the "Best Music Video" category in the European Video-Art Festival, "DigiFestival" in Italy. Apparently the appeal of her tracks transcends electronic music as she scored scores of commercials, amongst them Olympus, Formula One (F1 Powerboat), Jacques Dessange, MediaCorp Radio and Watsons. We had the chance to talk to her for a few questions

Just as a further introduction to our readers, where does the name CC sound factory come from? And what does 'shiok, as in shiok waves and so shiok' stand for?

CC is my name and sound factory is what I strive to be. I wanna produce as much sound as I can! It's also a tribute to the legendary New York club… I don't know, I guess you can say I LIKE the sound of it :)

“Shiok” is Singapore-speak for cool, super, awesome, etc. The track 'So Shiok' is not really about anything in particular, it depicts a mood, it's a flow of emotions, it's a cross between illusion and reality and how/whether we can cope with it.

You started out in rock and turned to dance music... why? Are you still working on more-rock oriented projects as well?

Hm…this sounds like I turned my back on indie rock but nothing cud b further from the truth. If u listen to my stuff, you'll hear all my indie influences, so I'm going to call my music indie dance if u don't mind :)

Well if u really wanna pry… the band I was with at that time split up, terrorists blew up the world trade centre blocks away from where I was, I was undergoing some major personal changes in my life… I was looking for something different in my life and I guess my musical choices reflected that.

My music will always be a reflection of my life, the world around me at any given moment in time.

You seem to be particularly popular in Asia, with a strong basis in New York as well are you touring Europe any time soon? What is your favourite place to play at the moment?

Touring is definitely on my agenda, in fact we are figuring out the specifics of it now. I won't say too much cos it's still in the planning stages but definitely a couple of cities in Europe will be included.

I would say it's New York, but there are still tons of places I haven't played yet, so the verdict's still open!

You are one of the first artists to release on the mu-stik format... how did you get this idea? Are many other artists jumping on the bandwagon as well?

Well, we all know the clock is ticking for the CD, the way the majors have been totally OVERPRICING CDs for the last couple of decades, I think, is the main reason for its imminent death. Everyone knows that digital distribution is the way to go for music right now. But the problem with mp3s is that they are faceless and impersonal and people have no second thoughts passing around mp3's cos it's just a file, why should there be any strong attachment to it. The mu-stik on the other hand is something material, there's a sense of ownership, and not only is it a vehicle for music, it also has the functionality of a memory stick, I mean, u can USE this thing. AND u can't transfer a mu-stik over the Internet! What's cool also is that the shell of the mu-stik cud literally be ANYTHING. But really the cherry on the cake is the mustik player, this flash-based user interface cos it really caters for a totally customized user experience. I think the mu-stik interface allows the artist to offer a more personalized experience to the listener. We've discussed this over weeks, months, about what people want when they get music, and hopefully, we've come close to that…Yes there will be other artists soon, but I won't tell you who yet!

You have a strong emphasis on videos for your tracks, and even won several prestigious awards for them; what is your role in the video production process?

Collaboration is a big part of this whole process. It's important to work with a director you trust because after the initial conceptualization part where we discuss everything, during the shoot, I let him do whatever he wants, because it's important that other people are given free rein to their creativity. Nobody wants to work with someone else looking over his shoulder!
So the first step really is to convey the essence of the song to the director, we discuss the mood, feelings, or motivations behind the music and then I let the director get back to me with a treatment. When we agree on the treatment, we start discussing specifics like the look, the location etc.

With “So Shiok” we decided that it was going to be a 'trip', and we made that happen literally! We shot it on a speeding train, or rather what looked like a speeding train, cos it wasn't really moving at all, that was done in post-production.

With the upcoming “Crazy Nasty” video, we have this character who's this mousy secretary-type that gets so pissed off at her bullying boss that she transforms all that anger into becoming a super-fit, karate-chopping, fist-clenching ass-kicker and decides to take on the bullies and bad guys of the world. The whole point of “Crazy Nasty” really was to have someone to get crazy nasty at, and besides the bad boyfriend who spurns u (boring!) we felt that since most people have been bullied at some point in their lives, it was time for the bullies to pay back! Besides, the director was particularly inspired by my kindergarten story, where I chased 2 bullies with a stick and beat them BOTH up. I was really scrawny and I was quite surprised myself that I cud have scared them so much that one of them locked himself in the toilet and refused to come out even when the school bell rang.

Usually because of budget constraints, there's a doubling or even tripling of duties for most of the crew, so I try to help out in any areas I can - like in wardrobe, props, some production. Choreography for “So Shiok” was done somewhat on the spot, the day itself, we kinda just said “ok you can do this and this” and “I can do this and this and we'll just put it together”. For “Crazy Nasty” I just came up with whatever I could think of and we shot it! Haha, I think choreography was probably not our strongest point in the videos…I want to take this opportunity to thank my extremely talented director who directed, production-coordinated, shot, gripped and even PA'd, my fabulous make-up/hair person who also did wardrobe and props, my super knowledgeable editor who also shot, gripped and PA'd, same thing with my excellent behind-the-scenes camera, my wonderful second camera/grip/set-designer/PA, sound playback guy etc… It wouldn't have been possible without the very generous support of my crew. Also, the actor friends who lent their presence. I owe any success of the music videos to these guys, they're really the BEST crew and cast anyone can wish for!

Do your performances also involve video? Do you perform live, or mostly DJ-sets?

Of course! Great visuals complement and even enhance aural experiences so unless I'm doing an acoustic set, which might happen in the future, visuals are a MUST!

I performed live when I was with my ex-bands before, but in the last year, I've mostly done DJ-sets but this will change once we get the performance schedule sorted out!

In your bio you refer to your 'many many machines' that help to guide you in the musical process... what machines are you referring to? Or in other words, how do you create your music? (gearwise) Do you work alone?

My 'army of machines' currently include the Korg Triton le, Roland MC 303, Digital Performer, Reason; I'm in the process of recruiting the new MacBook Pro and Logic Pro 7, the Novation Remote 61 Key USB Keyboard, any EMU or AKAI sampler and Ableton Live.

For my album, I mostly worked alone except when I did 2 of the “So Shiok” remixes where I worked together with 2 of my producer friends. It was actually a nice change. For vocals, so far I sing everything myself but that's not to say I won't consider working with other singers.

Your tracks are being picked up by several global brands for commercials; what do you think is the factor that makes them so successful?

I don't know…maybe they find the music catchy? Or groovy? Or maybe I was just plain pushy? Haha, whatever works guys!

You seem to have a broad artistic background; what (music and non music) projects are you working on at the moment?

I have a couple of unfinished film scripts that I work on every now and then. I'll definitely put more time into them when I get a break. I also have 3 web projects I'm working on with a couple of brilliant people I know. We're gunna come up with the new MySpace, haha, well not exactly, just that it's got a little of the social networking part included in it but with a strong revenge theme!

Anything else you would like to add to the interview?

Yes I am in utter disbelief after just having read from the news about the nearly 600 slaves who were freed from brutally managed brick kilns in two provinces in China. SLAVES in this day and age??? Apparently globalization and the voracious appetites of the world market has not only seen to it that this millennia-old practice of coerced, unpaid labor exists, it has also ensured that the slave business has never been busier. According to some estimates there are about 27 million slaves worldwide, more than the number trafficked from Africa to the US in the 19th century.

I believe that if we are not part of the solution, we must be part of the problem. We need to be more discerning about where we get our basic commodities, much of which has been tainted with slave labor…… Every day I see with my own eyes how humans waste huge amounts of everything with no second thoughts. The way I see it, the value of every human slave is inversely proportioned to the lack of care and value we place on all these commodities of production. The more we waste, the less a slave's life costs. Currently, 150 Euros cud buy u a slave.

:(

We would like to thank CC for this interview