CIQ, better known in music industry circles by her producer name Gsynth, takes a few minutes out of her insanely busy schedule this week to introduce herself to the worldwide music industry, for those who have not yet had the opportunity to meet her face to face.

Included here is the transcript from the videos, which are posted on CIQmusic and Gsynth video channels.

Hi everyone, I am CIQ in Canada… originally from “Hollywood North” also known as Toronto. (Laughs.) Most people probably recognize me by my producer name, Gsynth, since about 1995, USA. Some people may know me by my real name, Shana Christine Gray.

At this point I’m looking to do something worldwide in an artistic and business capacity to make a difference in the world. A bit of background on me, since a lot of the industry don’t seem to know me worldwide.

I played violin in a symphony orchestra when I was 13 years old. I’ve been self educated since then in psychology, business, social causes, and my favourite saying in high school was ‘the world is his who can see through its pretension’. At age 15 I started working worldwide, nonprofit causes, I spent my summers overseas in Central America and Eastern Europe. I was trained classically in piano and violin since the age of six and nine.

I did two years of postsecondary training in music at York University in modern electronic music performance, and I studied producing engineering in the studio at Harris Institute in Toronto. I studied business under Robert Allen’s protege program from America. Previously to that, my first postsecondary education was two years in the USA in the arts discipleship program in Master’s Commission. At that point I worked with youth, young adults, children and all ages.

I also taught myself fretless bass guitar in one hour when I was 20, and I taught someone else how to play piano in two hours. I play a lot of musical instruments, run the recording studio by myself, and I’ve worked in nearly every capacity in the music industry, many more in the greater entertainment industry, and other industries and businesses, mainly in Canada and USA. I’ve worked for many top companies in the music industry in Canada and USA, while I was still in school. Some of those would include MuchMusic, BMG Records, Contact Music Industry Directory, and CMJ Music Marathon in New York City… and the rest of those were in Toronto.

Basically I’m a producer, entrepreneur and artist, with six years of postsecondary formal education, a lifetime of classical music education in piano and violin, plus self education.

Most people who know me from the internet, probably know me from my DJ network, DM4C, which covered one fifth of North America, and my events list StreetBeatz. I was an events promoter, worked in media, organizing events, booking talent, performing live myself, mainly electronic bands… all this while I was still in school, approximately 97 to 2002.

I may well be one of the most talented modern electronic keyboardists and producers in the world. I don’t consider myself to fit into the current DJ industry right now that claims that the top one hundred DJs in the world are 100% men. (We actually had a good laugh about that in Canada, because it IS fine arts, people.) I also don’t fit into the A&R expectations of pop singers, because I didn’t want everyone else writing my songs for me, telling me what to wear and what to do in all of my music videos. (I actually found that process rather offensive to be honest.) My current favourite saying since about the age of 20, is ‘Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, for I will do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”

(continued in 2nd video…)

I am Canadian, I am a Christian, I accomplish the impossible every day. One more thing I want to add… I graduated in a preppy high school with 98.5% average in math and science. I don’t even like math and science. So please don’t underestimate me. (Laughs.) I spent a lot more time on travel, outside trips in and out of school, and some in the gifted program.

At this point people who hire me for jobs tend to offer me upfront contracts, with clear expectations of a time frame and enough money to motivate me, otherwise you probably won’t get a response from me. Most top companies I worked for did pay me an extra 50% after I completed my work. I haven’t worked a lot for others since I was about age 28. I have been travelling worldwide. I was a little bit bored with what was left of the Canadian opportunity. I really had accomplished all of my goals here. So I have attended a lot of music and business red carpet events, and the internet has made a lot more possible in recent years. So expect to see me more online. It is my goal to do something worldwide. So I’ll see you around everyone… Peace Love Unity Respect.

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CIQ would like to wish everyone a beautiful and blessed New Year 2012.

“I really believe life is what you make it, I believe in the power of prayers, choices, visualization and action,” CIQ says, “I encourage everyone to imagine the world they dream for and to create it, to reach for their highest dreams, to never give up, to give the best of themselves to this life and this world. To believe in Love, in Truth, in Action, to reach for their highest dreams, and give the best they’ve got to make good things happen in the world. It all begins with you, in your heart, in your friendships, and as you reach out.”

Some random 2011 behind the scenes memories in CIQ’s life are posted at Facebook.com/CIQmusic . Enjoy, and all the best for the New Year!

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Just in time for Christmas, CIQ Moment updates are live! Check out the screenshots. The new design is like a magazine, with direct links to web for video, music, downloads, promos, lifestyle blogs and more. Built in are all the latest news and social networks. The new downloads and CIQWeb sections are all ready for unlimited content. Content is updated in real time. CIQ artist websites can be accessed through CIQWeb.

As always Gsynth studio tends to overdeliver, with a compact design loaded with creative content. Get to know the heartbeat of CIQ.

All the details are at CIQApp.com …

CIQ MOMENT APP
A Special Edition Lite App capturing the heartbeat of CIQ & most important updates as they happen!! Here you can follow and share in CIQ’s personal artistic journey, moment by moment as it unfolds, her thoughts and actions, as she continues to carve out her creative niche and personal influence in history.

Be sure to get yours now.

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M.CIQ PLAY App is released. It is a music player app, jam-packed with music, videos, pictures, a section for what’s new, downloads, links to social media via the web, and more.

“I tried to keep the design simple, with as much content as possible,” CIQ explains. “I found through the Beta apps that people didn’t dig through menus, they mostly read what was right in front of them. So with simple navigation, it is easy, fast and accessible for people to find exactly the content they are looking for.”

The beautifully designed music player app currently has four channels of audio, two video channels, four fantastic photo albums, news updates and download sites, direct links to websites and social media via the web, free promotions and CIQclub.

“I’m trying to include a special section in every app for what’s new, including official news, new music, apps, and song lyrics,” CIQ says. “But if people want up to the minute twitter updates and facebook built right into the app, that’s what the CIQ Moment app is all about.”

There will be a lot more music, videos and content coming as all the CIQ apps are continually being updated. “I’m just getting started!” CIQ laughs. All the details and download links are available at CIQApp.com . “Merry Christmas world,” she grins. “I’ll just keep loading this up with fresh content.”

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Above: closeup CIQmusic apps installed. Below: previews of facebook and M.CIQ PLAY Apps.

The download is available at http://ciqmusic.toolbar.fm/ and the details are at CIQ Promos. Enjoy!

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Just a few hours after CIQ uploaded some screenshots from her new mobile app release, the designs were updated. “I love working with arts and technology on the cutting edge,” CIQ laughs. “I love it… when you create things and they leave your studio on the fly and you are always building and tweaking things. It’s like new ideas that take off as soon as you create them.”

In light of the updates CIQ has almost completed her collection of currently six mobile apps (and a browser toolbar). “I considered streamlining and doing just one app like some artists do,” CIQ admits, “but I like to create experiences, no matter what art form or medium I am working with, and I have never been able to stick to one style of music, or one type of music in any live event, or one style of anything, I like variety, I like different colours, styles, and flavours, so I’m putting out as many as I realistically can right now.”

The new designs are slight adjustments that make the apps look more like a fashion magazine than mini websites inside your cell phone. They also offer more functionality and space to pack more inside, so CIQ is taking full advantage of the updates, and the creative opportunity to get her message out.

“I’m a communicator, I really am.. all the art forms I’ve worked with in my life.. I look back and understand why no one could ever pin me down and put a label on me. The arts might be my giftings, but LOVE is the message, and I definitely try to communicate that in my art, life and music, and in everything I do.”

A few new websites have been posted online as well, that will appear in some apps, including CIQWeb and CIQ Promos. A new email list is posted at CIQClub. There is a lot of good stuff coming out very soon!

Watch for more updates… and new apps… coming out very soon.

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CIQ’s first mobile app is officially released. The CIQ Moment App is a beautifully designed news & updates app to keep people in touch with all things CIQ Music in real time. The early CIQ beta app prereleases have been very popular so far. A small handful released made it to every corner of the globe.

CIQ Moment is technically a Lite app, though it is packed with continually updated information. It has all CIQ twitter and facebook pages, and links to more social networks. The official news site is included along with direct access to updated information on CIQ apps, songs and new music releases. There are four photo albums built in, and a web section for access beyond the app itself, including music, videos and social networks. The news, facebook and twitter sections all have sharing capabilities on facebook, twitter and email.

“It’s the fastest way to stay in touch on everything, other than continually reading all my websites, and getting on all my email lists,” CIQ laughs. “You get the whole overview right on your cell phone.”

The CIQ Moment App has been released to iTunes and Android market and can be downloaded via the web.

GET THE APP NOW!! WEB ANDROID ITUNES (soon!)

More apps are set to be released very soon, with more functionality, such as music and video players built into the apps, and more photo albums, among other things. Most will include at least some updated news information and access to social networks. Each app is set up differently. “I have four apps installed on my phone right now, and I use all four of them all the time,” CIQ explains. “It’s really convenient to have things set up this way.”

Check out the beautiful screenshots. It really is a simple, convenient way to check on what’s new at anytime from your mobile. And keep an eye out for the new apps coming soon! They could be officially released at any moment!

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CIQ is on lots of social networks if you’d like to join her circles at any of her websites. Here is a quick list! Have fun!

FACEBOOK CIQmusic GSYNTH
MYSPACE DJCIQ CIQ GSYNTH
TWITTER @CIQmusic @DJCIQ @GSYNTH
SOUNDCLOUD CIQ GSYNTH CIQAPP CIQvocals
YOUTUBE CIQmusic GSYNTH
GOOGLE+ CIQmusic
CIQ APPS CIQAPP.com

Watch for mobile apps coming soon!

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CIQMUSIC FACEBOOK PAGE

CIQ has just redecorated her facebook pages with 18 tabs of full on fresh content. “It kinda needed an update,” she admits. “I think it looks fantastic! I might even add a few more tabs soon.”

Her colourful and creative CIQMusic page includes the wall and info tabs, a website, bandpage, youtube, twitter, multimedia, links, news & blogs, special deals, a chatroom, photos, tracks, extended info with more social networks links, blog, notes, Google plus, and a promotions tab.

“I like to overdeliver a bit on expectations. Bring something kind of exceptional and extraordinary into everyday things.” It still has a nice uncluttered flow, and is packed with lots of fun and interesting content.

She has also recently updated her online lifestyle blogs including StudioLife, CIQmusic, and DJCIQ. And she is about to release a handful of mobile apps. “I have some beta versions already in use. These apps will be fully functioning pre-release and proper release versions. They are very cool… and coming very soon.”

Her main CIQMusic page is at facebook.com/CIQMusic and another page for Gsynth Studio is at facebook.com/Gsynth .

Please take a minute and show your support by “LIKING” her page. She has some free stuff promotions (and maybe some contests, time permitting!) for her CIQMusic facebook page coming up soon!

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Electronic Music = Technology + Talent + Technique

Electronic music is enjoying a revival in American music, making an impact on the mainstream like never before. CIQ explains the origins of this often misunderstood fine art that is based on technology, talent and technique. In her FAQ VideoBlog CIQ answers the question “What is Electronic Music?” Electronic music combines studio technique with creative sounds and danceable rhythms, and there are more sounds than anyone can imagine!

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http://youtube.com/CIQmusic

With her YouTube channel and a handful of websites and blogs, you can now catch some glimpses of the Canadian producer and her creative work. This is just the beginning for this talented keyboardist who has not posted much of her work online previously.

A Glimpse of Studio Life

Some Pictures of CIQ Music

With the upcoming launch of her new mobile and browser apps, soon you will even be able to take her with you, and to stay on top of all the latest news, music, and upcoming releases.

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She’s never really settled in anywhere for very long, and likes to use a single space as much as possible for everything from recording music and internet communications, to photography and video, and even eating and working out, and late nights in the studio. She just put a little kitchenette in the studio mainly for coffee, orange juice and quick meals at all hours.

“I travel a lot too, and some days I have a pretty short attention span. I tend to multitask all the time.” She does have a separate office but often brings her other work into the studio. “I finally stopped spending money on soundproofing and painting spaces, things that don’t matter, heavy furniture that I don’t like moving around. After all these years I still live out of suitcases, but I’ve pretty much been like that my entire life.”

For gear she prefers anything that has sounds she likes and is playable. “I have a few fave synths and can’t live without the Mac laptop and Live software these days. I like an intuitive workflow, and can’t stand having to fix technical things or long processes, so I base my gear choice around that. I’ve worked with a lot of different gear so I can pretty much use whatever I like anytime.”

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“It’s worked well for me in the past that most people consider me an enigma, that I can do everything, because I can usually get a job anywhere doing anything,” CIQ explains. “But what really blows my mind is when I transitioned from an artistic scene that my friends and I created into the so-called professional world of being an artist, I tried to hire management, and I stopped getting paid. My own efforts of opening my own studio and Djing independently were cut short by gangs and crime. Suddenly my personal life was no longer safe and there was no one but my truest friends to help me out.”

“I don’t mean to be mean or cruel but it seems to me that this upcoming generation seems to be more focused on bullying to get their way than they are on searching inside to find out who they are, living their lives doing the right things, valuing their conscience and personal integrity, and treating other people with respect and love. Everyone’s looking for instant gratification and it’s a very dangerous way to live.”

“It should be clear to everyone that this entire society is made up of the people in it. If you have people who are kind and respectful, we will have a civilized society. If you have people who are completely disrespectful and only looking out for themselves, they create a dangerous society, and I for one do not want to live in a place like that.”

“I think it’s time that the entire human race looks inside and asks themselves, what are they giving to make the world better? Some are already giving all they can. But a lot of people have done nothing for others in this world and I think they really need to look inside and ask themselves if they are the problem and how they can become the solution. I’ve spent much of my life working with youth, and frankly it’s all ages of people that need to hear this message now.”

“If you are focused on LOVE, that comes from God, and you’re thankful for this Beautiful World we all live in, suddenly you realize that most the problems in this world are created by mankind, other than survival, we all work, and if we are the problem then we need to become the solutions for a better world.”

“The innocent suffer, everyone suffers, when people don’t keep themselves in check, and channel their efforts into doing the right things.”

“Some people don’t even seem to know what the right things are anymore, because they are completely oblivious to the world operating around them, built and run by people who have cared enough to make it happen. The people who make things happen are the ones who take personal responsibility for themselves, the future, their influence on people around them, and the society in which they live. Nothing just happens. Everything happens, good and bad, because someone made it happen.”

“And everything has a ripple effect, affects everything around it. It’s time people stand up and take responsibility for our world, grow up and be real men and women, forget about all the petty things they complain about every day, swallow their pride, and do something positive for our world, our future, and the next generation. If you’re motivated by LOVE and TRUTH you’ll be on the right track. Real Love and Truth is the only thing that this world needs. And that can come in any form, through any person, any work, job or gift you give for our world. We are all created to make a difference.”

“Life is not about getting, it’s about what you give for our world, motivated by Real Love from your heart. Don’t let this be the generation that completely misses the reason why we are here. The bottom line is educating yourself on the right things every day, and giving the right things every day. Things that create more Love and clarity in our world. Give from your heart without demanding more in return. That is how we all should live. Real Love, in Truth and in Action, can and should be your way of life.”

“For most of us, living our lives the right way, giving what we can, and being an example, is the most powerful way to influence the world around us and the next generation. It all comes down to looking inside and coming up with the right answers and doing the right things at the right times. You’d be amazed at how much you can affect other people just by your own choices, words and actions. People look to you and your example whether you realize it or not for the solutions in their own lives. It’s simple if you just keep your mind focused on the right things and do the right things.”

“I for one, would rather live and create heaven on earth, than hell on earth. I hope everyone will agree with me on that, and translate that into their everyday lifestyle in their own social circles. Everyone has something to give to everyone and everything around them. It’s who you are, it’s who you are created to be. To live honestly with Real Love from your heart.”

“Sometimes people will subtly pretend to be your friends so they can take you off guard and hurt you. This can do as much or more damage than trying to hurt you upfront. At this point I go to great lengths to protect myself, see through people, and trust no one except my closest friends. And I try to have several backup plans, since things can be unpredictable at times.”

“Be smart, be wise. Be the solution not the problem. If no one else comes with you, be the first. People who stand up and take real action are the ones who move forward our world day by day and moment by moment. You’d be amazed how far your little efforts might carry on into the future. Go ahead and shine your light, the darker the world is, the brighter you will shine. You can’t turn off the sun, and darkness is powerless in the presence of Light. Light is the truth that you live by every day from your heart. Everyone can make a difference. If you’re not making a difference, why are you here? Everyone is here for a reason.”

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She worked years of freelance creative work in both USA and Canada since she left home at the age of twenty to take on creative projects at arts schools, jobs and in the music and entertainment industry. There aren’t many stones she’s left unturned. “I’ve done just about everything creative by now, between schools, jobs and freelance projects over the years.” Most the steady jobs she’s worked also offer a great deal of creative opportunity and freedom.

In Toronto freelance often means working for many companies simultaneously, so CIQ chose the projects that interested her most, and put a higher priority on higher paying work. She paid her way through school and bought her recording studio with the money she earned, and some trips around the world after that. “I actually ran out of new types of jobs to try after awhile and at that point I felt I wanted to start my own business. But I tend to make up my career as I go, so who knows what next week holds, let alone a few years from now?”

What motivates her the most is the people she’s with for the journey, and of course from a practical sense, the work she enjoys the most, coupled with a rewarding paycheck, perks and lifestyle.

“In Toronto we’re used to pulling off miracles on a shoestring budget. So it starts there and the sky is the limit as to what is possible. I’ve turned my attention to the internet mainly because I can live anywhere in the world and work creatively this way. I’ve also found socially, it can be pretty fun and exciting. Who knew so many of your friends and favourite people were online worldwide basically around the clock?”

She’s pretty happy with her life but has always wanted to be an investor or own businesses. Either way her music always motivates her. “To me music is a sport, like soccer. It’s fun, but I also treat business like a game. I like the feeling of winning, conquering a new skill, bringing something new to the marketplace. I like to inspire people with fresh perspective.” In other words, she follows her heart, and plays as she likes, in business, music and life. “I like beautiful things and I think a lot, I read a lot. Most of my ideas are inspired by travel, the great outdoors, and brilliant thinkers from many different industries, especially writers. I like technology and the arts and the thrill of sports and travel and new experiences.”

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CIQ has been enjoying some vacation time and travel, but she has also found some time in the studio, working on her new collection of mobile apps.

One of her newest apps this week is the beautifully styled CIQ Moment App, a Lite App with updates and news.  Here you can follow and share in her personal artistic journey, moment by moment as it unfolds, her thoughts and actions, as she continues to carve out her creative niche and personal influence in history.

Updates to the original CIQ Beta App continue to be made. It has been renamed the CIQ Access App. The Access Features went live a few days after its original release. More fun features continue to be added to the already extensive content, and navigation has been simplified.

There are more fun and exciting apps still in the studio for future release.

CIQApp.com

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CIQ has been busy at work in the studio, and this week she presents her new creative CIQ Beta App for mobile phones. “I’m very excited about sharing my new mobile app. It’s my first one, so I’ve called it the CIQ Beta App. I was able to completely design my own, so it really reflects all the things I love to do. I hope people will find it to be pure portable inspiration in their pocket.”

It’s loaded down with free fun features, websites, and up to the minute information on CIQ’s creative work. It already brings together more than a dozen online websites with dance music, photography, video, song lyrics, news, and has even more special features coming soon. “I wanted to make it so that I could add anything I want to at anytime, so it’s not like a game that you get bored of, but it grows with me and my people in time. If it works out really well, it might not really be a beta at all.”

It has four twitter sites (for music, studio, DJing and app), two youtube video channels (music and studio), streaming music and potential for free downloads, extensive photo albums of worldwide travel, news articles, song lyrics, fun personal pictures, two facebook sites, a thank you letter from CIQ, and an exclusive special access section, which is in process and basically limitless in its ability to grow and change with CIQ and her friends and audience.

“It’s completely free right now, so I finally have a chance to give something back to all the people who have shown so much love and support for me for so long. I have a lot more great stuff coming real soon, so please keep your eyes peeled!”

Putting it out as a free beta gives her a chance to try out features to see what works best, but it also gives her an opportunity to create an exciting app for a mobile platform that can keep up with current technology as it evolves.

“Thanks again, everyone… I hope you find this to be completely fun and inspirational. I want it to be free and I want to get it out there where people can find it, so please feel free to share it with your friends and enjoy it. And there will be more new music coming real soon.. so you can get excited about being the first to know about it, and you will be able to listen and download it right from your mobile app, the minute it is released, as you like!”

Right now the app has two fantastic streaming remixes CIQ has done which have proven to be favourites online so far. She hopes to share at least one new free track in the very near future, plus lots more music after that, and she has some exciting creative plans for the special access section.

The CIQ Beta App can be downloaded at CIQApp.com and is compatible with many platforms including iphone, ipad, blackberry, android, nokia, windows phone 7, bada, and even computer browsers. So what are you waiting for? Go get yours right now! It will soon be available in stores.

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It was 1995 when CIQ first moved to USA. Among several other creative projects she worked on, she soon found herself playing in several different bands every day of the week. All of them, with her keyboard sounds and skills, were live bands with an electronic music element. But she had to give up her first trip to LA to audition for York University’s modern electronic music program in Toronto. It was a great decision. After her acceptance into the program she fit four years of keyboard performance classes into two years. She spent most her spare time jamming with friends, performing on local stages, and picking up work in the local music industry. Then she studied producing engineering at Harris Institute for the Arts until she found herself working 24/7 in Toronto’s music industry.

But her work in Toronto’s industry started before she even started school. Right before frosh week, she showed up at a local music festival and introduced herself to the bands there. This soon led her into a string of performances in a few different cities. She had started her own band with friends from school but it wasn’t long before they said “say no to gigs” because between the shows, travelling, practices and writing songs, school was getting pushed aside. They had been asked to open for a band at a festival with an attendance of 30,000 people, and to open for them on their upcoming tour. But after talking it over with her band, CIQ and her friends decided to finish school first, because they had just started.

So CIQ decided to get involved with local media instead. Soon she was working with and hanging out with people in radio, print media and TV. She started a few of her own projects, mainly on the internet. During this time she was hitting local shows with her media passes and soon took a trip to Kingdom Bound festival in Darien Lake, New York. When she was interviewing and meeting all the bands in the media tent, a radio network took note of her and asked if she was interested in being a station manager at a new radio station they had just purchased. As tempting as it was, she returned back to school to finish her keyboard studies first.

But what happened next put CIQ on the worldwide map. She went with friends in the media industry to a club night and it was her first real encounter with DJ culture. That night she began working with local events in Toronto’s underground club and rave music culture. For the next five years she worked with several local promoters, booking talent and promoting events. She ran a DJ network online along with an events mailing list and websites with pictures from the events. Most of the events were within a day’s drive of the Great Lakes area in Canada and USA. Often there were three events every week. The internet was still fairly new. Her promoter years were mainly 1998-2002. The scope of the internet put her in touch with DJs and performers, music lovers and the industry worldwide.

She eventually made a decision to put promoting events aside because she wanted to spend more time in the studio. It seemed everything she took on became a full time job very quickly. While she was still in school, she had found time to work for several businesses in Toronto’s industry, mainly in studio engineering and the gear industry. She had worked in the synth shop at Long & McQuade, a handful of studios including MuchMusic and temporary studios in clubs, warehouses and private mansions, and record labels including BMG in Toronto, and independent Hollywood electronic labels in USA festivals. She worked a few times with the CMJ college radio music festival in New York City. She wrote the gear section for Contact music industry directory and joined the publishers at the Juno Awards where they had published the program guide. She really enjoyed networking in the business and artistic industries in Toronto, and her work also took her to other cities including Montreal, London, New York, Miami and Cannes.

She was offered many more opportunities, including taking over well respected business, but she wanted to focus on her own creative project. She set a goal for herself after working for so many companies, to start her own business, to make her own music, and to reach out on an international level. So she took an entrepreneurial business course, started writing songs in the studio, and networking more seriously worldwide.

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CIQ has a way of accomplishing the impossible as a matter of daily life. “I’m a Christian, I believe I can do anything. Why not?” she laughs. It’s more a matter of figuring out what she wants to accomplish than actually carrying it out, and sometimes finding time for everything amidst all the challenges she takes on.

“There’s a lot of opportunity in life and you really have to make the most of it. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what life has handed you, but more your choices, what you really want, and what you can do with what you have available to you.”

“I didn’t know when I started working in Toronto’s music industry that I’d work for several top companies in my first year and be bored by the professional options I had available to me after that. I also didn’t know it would be so hard to find people worldwide to promote what I really like to do musically because I’m apparently so original. And I had no idea when I jumped into the international DJ industry that it was 99% male at the top.” After an initial sigh and rolling her eyes, she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work.

She has her own recording studio in Canada with her recording gear, musical instruments, and a bit of photography and film gear. She learned her skills working for others in the entertainment industry, and arts schools in North America such as York University, Harris Institute and Master’s Commission.

When she was new in Toronto’s industry, she made a name for herself as a producer engineer, also an events promoter, and a highly original electronic musician and performer.

Her events became known worldwide because the internet was one medium used to promote them in 1998-2002. The events were mainly in Canada and USA within a days drive of the Great Lakes area but she received demos from known and unknown artists in Hollywood and UK and other places hoping to be booked for her events.

She also had a DJ page on myspace which wasn’t highly promoted, but it might be one of the reasons she is often recognized by other DJs, producers and business people in places like London UK, Nashville USA, and Cannes France.

As a live performer, mainly singer songwriter and keyboardist, sometimes other instruments, her music was occasionally compared to other unique artists over the years like Jean Michel Jarre, Enigma, Evanescence or Moby. But most of the time she was considered completely original and unique, fresh and pure inspiration. “The only person I actually get compared to rather frequently in real life right now is Sandra Bullock,” she laughs. People often see some similarities to the actress in her appearance, voice and personality.

She was involved in many other places in the entertainment industry as well and her resume is too extensive to list here. Like a young entrepreneur she tried everything professionally available, to learn all the skills she possibly could, as much for entertainment as wanting to see if she really could achieve anything she wanted. “People were obviously happy with my work. Most of them paid me more than they said they would, like fifty percent more.”

One of her teachers at Harris Institute said to her, “You’re a total enigma, what do you plan to do with your career? You’re good at everything.” She had surprised him the first day of class by calling a phaser effect by its technical name filter sweep. She also received a scholarship for the highest mark in her first semester at the prestigious music business school in Toronto. She was in demand by many studios, but at that point she mostly preferred to work independently with electronic musicians and new artists with fresh sounds on the cutting edge. “I was really into the sounds my friends were creating, electronic musicians and DJs and live artists, locally and internationally. I was friends with really creative people, like Jeremy Dawson in LA (who is now keyboardist of Shiny Toy Guns live band), and a long list of other really creative electronic artists I met through playing in bands, producing music at school, working with record labels at music festivals, and promoting events in the electronic music underground.”

When her attention turned to the international music industry, she had the option to move to another location like London UK or USA, but she chose to stay in Canada and work with the internet. “I had just moved out of the city so I could find more studio time, and wasn’t really wanting to stay in London UK at that time, which was really just another busy city like Toronto.” It was refreshing to be outside the city where it was quiet, there was more time to reflect, and she could definitely find studio time. “For awhile people kept hanging out at my studios after I stopped promoting events,” she laughs. “It took awhile to get out of the industry and creative circles which were my social life 24/7 so I could focus on the next thing, my own artistic projects in my recording studio.” No doubt she was pulled into promoting a few last events before she moved out of the heart of Toronto’s arts district.

But nothing really holds her back from travelling worldwide whenever she really wants to. As long as she plans in advance and has the money and enough reason to do so. But she values her time staying at home because ultimately it means more studio time, and right now she also enjoys working part time with youth, mainly over the weekends. “I’ve commit myself to working with youth right now. But if I was offered a professional option that was even more fun, that took me anywhere (or even everywhere) in the world, and paid what I would expect at this point, I would certainly consider it. I really don’t know what the future holds, I just know what I like.” At the moment she really enjoys seeing her family so often and spending at least three weekdays in the studio working on whatever catches her fancy. “The people you’re with can really make or break your journey. It’s my life. It’s not just about some job or career, or what I do. I love what I do. Life is an amazing experience and an exciting journey. But who you’re with really matters. I love my people more than anything.”

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When a Canadian says, “the world is my backyard,” they might be referring to Toronto, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. But it is more likely they are referring to the endless expanses outside the cities, otherwise known as the Great Outdoors, that makes up most of Canada’s geography as one of the largest countries in the world.

A lot of Canadians grow up outside the cities and towns, and in order to survive they must learn basic survival skills. They don’t have buses and taxis to drive them home. They must learn to drive through all types of extreme weather, especially in the winter. That might include snowstorms and blizzards, glare ice, hail, heavy rains, freezing rain, lightning, high winds and maybe the occasional tornado, to name a few. Snowstorms can last for weeks and the snowbanks often rise higher than the cars and people. Snow shovels are essential gear. It’s not uncommon to rescue each others’ cars from snow banks in the winter when they slide right off the road. You don’t wait for a tow truck in the extreme cold when your friends could be there in a fraction of the time. It’s pretty normal for teenagers to test the limits of their cars in fields and empty parking lots in the winter to learn how to handle a car in the snow. Everyone keeps survival gear in their cars and houses. You don’t get far without it.

But to Canadians, even though lives are saved every day (and many people do that for a living), they laugh about it. It’s a matter of daily life, and most Canadians consider the Great Outdoors to be their playground, a place for all types of sports. Hiking is popular, so are hobby vehicles, including all types of boats and airplanes, and even children drive four-wheelers now. But even though people joke that they risk their lives every day, they remain humble about it, knowing that any poor decision could really be a matter of life and death in the Great Canadian Outdoors.

There is also a sense of responsibility and a sense of wonder that comes from living in a place with such radical weather and four distinct seasons. There is a high respect for human life and lower respect for people who abuse that privilege. It’s not that Canadians are tough, but just in order to live day to day, they have to know how to survive. And many work in medical or safety careers, including emergency workers, and others make a difference every day in the lives of others. They also deal with the local crime which comes and goes.

People who frequently overcome great obstacles typically have their priorities in full view all of the time. They know how to keep their heads screwed on straight and expect that from each other. They don’t have time for people who don’t have other peoples’ or society’s best interests in mind. They typically see through people in three seconds and can tell you what kind of person they are and will call them out to their face if they consider them to be flaky or dishonest. No one wants to depend on someone who isn’t on the same page if you actually needed anything. People survive because they depend on themselves and each other.

These are the people who grow up in Canada’s great outdoors, and when they speak, people listen. No matter where they go in life, they make a difference. They don’t bend their integrity for anyone and couldn’t care less what others think of them. Because they know what life is about and the reason why they are here.

And because they are strong people, the great outdoors is sport. When you see hobby aircraft flying around in the sky, hear four wheelers in the fields and forests, and see speedboats on the lakes, and all manner of outdoor sports, the Canadians are outside enjoying their beautiful and sometimes insane weather!

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Never one to sit still, CIQ has been to many known and unknown corners of the world, whether for business or pleasure, music, vacation or nonprofit youth work.

By the time she entered high school, her music teachers had taught her everything they reasonably could. She turned her curiosity to the world and people, reading books from thinkers, meeting people from everywhere, and traveling to remote corners of the world in a pursuit of knowledge, experience and understanding.

Some of her first international trips brought her to Central America and Eastern Europe in the nineties. After training in the jungles of Florida in skill sets for international volunteer work, she found herself involved in construction projects in poorer communities. She spent a summer at a Central American orphanage, another in a community in Bulgaria, and another in Poland. She was also able to take in some tourism during her travels, particularly in Europe.

After high school, following a gap year with some intense music studies, she moved to the USA, to Illinois’ midwest and Arizona’s desert, for two years with Master’s Commission, an arts focussed youth ministry program that enabled her to further develop her skills on stage and in the arts, and working with people in the local communities, covering a wide range from youth and young adults social and popular culture, to children in the inner cities of America. Her special focus was music, a keyboardist and multi-talented musician in constant demand. She also found time to learn many new skills and be involved with many different creative projects in all the arts.

Following a successful audition at York University she moved back to Toronto where she spent two years focused on keyboards performance study, improvisation and electronic music. She didn’t waste a moment, jumping into the music industry, networking and finding leads before frosh week had even started. At this point, she became involved with working for a handful of media sources, promoting local events with club night and rave promoters, and performing mainly locally as long as it didn’t interfere with her studies. She also began travelling internationally to satisfy her curiosity with the music industry with a trip to Nashville during a school break.

She stayed in Toronto a few more years, studying producing engineering at Harris Institute music business school and working for a string of top companies in Canada’s music industry. She learned many new skills working for the best. Most of her work was in Toronto but she did occasional work with big events in USA such as Cornerstone Festival in Illinois and New York City’s CMJ college radio event.

She took plenty of time for international travel to places like London, UK, New York, USA, Cannes, France, Miami, USA, and several other popular cities worldwide, Southampton to Manchester, Detroit to Nashville, Montreal to Calgary, Stockholm to Gothenburg. She had already been in many countries in Europe since the nineties, including France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, United Kingdom and Sweden, Canada and United States in North America, and in Belize and Guatemala in Central America.

Eventually she moved back from the heart of Toronto’s arts district to a quieter location outside the city where she could focus in the recording studio, rather than working in Toronto’s music industry nonstop and promoting events on the weekends. In addition to creative projects, nonprofit youth work continues to be an important part of her life and career. Her motivation for working in music and the arts and with people was always to make a difference in the world, and to inspire people to live their dreams and to love one another. She now has the opportunity to reflect often near the beaches of Lake Ontario, and to spend quality time with her extended family. Too young to retire or lead a too quiet lifestyle at home, she took another entrepreneurial business course and is considering options for the future, and is still deeply involved in the international music industry. She spends most her spare time in her recording studio loft. Her work with youth takes her on adventures exploring beaches, parks and events in local communities and is a continual source of inspiration. She hopes her music will be influential in the international music industry in the future, and will inspire those who come into contact with her and her creativity in a unique and fresh way.

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Here’s a sneak preview of the new remix:

CIQ’s PLAY HARD PARTY MIX (remix)

TIESTO WORK HARD PLAY HARD feat. KAY (original track)

This remix is for a competition and voting for the best remix will begin in a few days. Watch for details!

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It’s very possible that CIQ might be one of the most creative producers and studio engineers in the world. She learned her studio skills engineering records for other artists while attending the prestigious Harris Institute arts school in Toronto, while studying producing engineering and working in Toronto’s music industry.

“I worked with some great artists from many different styles of music. But I always felt held back working on other people’s records. I always wanted to do more with the sounds. Add more flavour, more style, more instruments and sounds, new different effects. But not every artist wants that, they want their exact sound.”

Before she was mixing records she was playing in live electronic bands. There was never a shortage of demand for her unique performance ability. Often people said she was ahead of her time, always original. She was also in demand because she was completely flexible, at times playing different instruments in different bands, working with different artists, capable of many genres of music. When she started her first electronic live band playing keyboards and singing lead vocals she was the instant favourite at the first festival she played. At that time she could have started touring but had just started at York University for music so she decided to focus on her studies first. “I wanted to be a musician that I could respect.” Considering many of her family and friends are multi-talented musicians, most with training in classical music, she feels the need to measure up to a high standard.

Growing up she listened to music but spent more time playing with her own keyboards. When she worked for awhile in Toronto’s downtown synth shop, she was exposed to some great synthesizers and learned to play even more with the sounds. At that time she picked up several new synths for her own studio.

She has always been ahead of her time. At thirteen she was the youngest violinist ever in a symphony orchestra. She was DJing and working in studios long before many women considered that an achievable career option.

“What inspires me these days is working on my own music. I have complete flexibility over the sound and I can do whatever I want.” People are always asking her for tracks with her own vocals. So she has decided to commit some of her own music to records. In the past she hadn’t done so as a performer, before she learned studio engineering for herself, because she didn’t find any studios that she realistically thought could help her create the sounds she wanted and who could understand her creative vision.

“I’m not as much of a perfectionist as I used to be. Which means I am far more productive.” Part of her studies were in improvisation, so she didn’t just perform live, she made an art form of live creative performance. Now she is translating all those years of experience into the studio with her mixing skills and her studio equipment. She hopes to release a lot of tracks this year.

Listen to CIQ Studio Technique: http://soundcloud.com/CIQ

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For some, live improvisation is not just a skill, it’s an art form.

“The focus of my study at York University was live keyboard improvisation and electronic music,” CIQ explains. “I studied four years of keyboard performance classes in two years, and relied on my classical background to get into the courses through auditions.”

But improvisation wasn’t new to her and neither was the music industry.

“The year before I started university I was living in Phoenix, Arizona and I was basically playing in bands everyday.” This included her live alternative rock electronic hybrid band, Bean Dip, as well as several other bands and special events where she played with other bands, mainly keyboards, sometimes violin, vocals or bass guitar.

“The first time I walked into a recording studio I was nineteen years old and the producer showed me how the entire studio worked. I never forgot a thing.”

Her piano teacher who prepared her for her first university classical audition compared her early original music to Jean Michel Jarre. Not only did she pass her university audition, she completed her Grade 8 Conservatory piano and Grade 2 Theory (minimum entrance requirements) with the Royal Conservatory of Music in less than a year (normally a two year course), and won several awards in classical piano competitions and a scholarship that year for her performance.

“Most of my piano lessons and violin lessons were actually before I entered high school. I really didn’t do anything in high school except hang out with my friends and travel a great deal.” Her music teachers at that point had already taught her everything they could reasonably teach her, and she started spending summers working overseas in places like Central America and Eastern Europe. “I was so bored in high school I took calculus just to see if I could do it.” She graduated with a 98.5% average in maths and sciences. “I spent a lot of time on school trips and other activities.”

“When I’m in the studio I’m so intuitive with the mixer I forget it even exists. I just play with the controls and move the sounds around and alter the effects.” She studied producing engineering at Harris Institute for the Arts, but before she graduated she was working full time in the music industry, for several top companies like BMG, MuchMusic, Contact, and Long & McQuade. Her weekend social life was promoting dance music events with her friends from Canada and USA. She also did some work outside Toronto, mainly festivals like CMJ in New York, but most of the festivals she attended were really just for her own interest, in locations such as Miami and Detroit in USA, London, UK, and Cannes, France in Europe. “It was really quite glamourous, to be honest. Hanging out in mansions and bumping into friends in random locations such as London. Going to awards shows in limos and attending all the industry parties and events.” But glamour doesn’t always pay the bills. “I was hoping to find a good manager but my experience working with management was basically I just stopped getting paid.” The music industry was going through a lot of changes at that point so she took her own business course. “I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in the music industry. Basically, I don’t. The music industry will have to change to accommodate me.”

At this point she considers her music a pretty expensive hobby. “Really it’s more like an Olympic sport. I don’t like to waste my time on projects that don’t go anywhere. At the end of the day, if I’m happy, that’s what matters.” As far as management, she really doesn’t trust anyone. “Most people I’ve met are all talk and no action. It’s not really helpful when you’re trying to get something done.” No doubt she would love to have a real job touring or just making her own records, whichever comes first, but dependable partners are few and far between when you’re a talented female DJ, keyboardist and producer. “You can only go so far on your own. You can’t tour on your own, not if you’re a female DJ. You can do everything in your studio if you don’t mind taking forever to do it.”

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It seems unlikely that the official Top 100 DJs In The World is decided by an internet vote – but it does to some extent seem to reflect the popular vote of clubbers and music listeners worldwide – and is taken very seriously in the international electronic music industry. So as much as DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs Poll may seem like just another poll by another media source, it is considered very important to the industry, particularly for establishing new and up and coming talent.

Please take a minute and cast a vote for a gifted Canadian talent, CIQ, here now: http://www.djmag.com/top100

Be sure to find CIQ on twitter, myspace and facebook if you are feeling social, and check out her blogs from time to time. She can be found under the names CIQ music, DJ CIQ and Gsynth studio.

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