Whipped Cream closed Halloween week with a scary-good show at Meow Wolf Dever’s Convergence Station. Her performance was anything but light and fluffy! Of course, I’m talking about Caroline Cecil, who goes by the stage name Whipped Cream. The Canadian-born producer and DJ played the Perplexiplex on Friday, November 1st. Cecil delighted fans at the sold-out, intimate gig with a bevy of original works.
Most of Cecil’s youth saw her dedicated to high-level, competitive figure skating. Her life transformed, however, when a broken ankle derailed her Olympic dreams during her senior year. She recovered fully, though the pins she still carries in her leg prevented her from achieving that golden goal. Cecil found her way to electronic music soon after, and a new fire began to burn.
Cecil taught herself the basics of musi cproduction and sound manipulation through hours of trial and error while watching YouTube videos. She launched the Whipped Cream persona in 2014, starting out remixing other artists. One of those remixes blew up, and she began touring the festival circuit. After a decade of cutting her teeth in the industry, Cecil is breaking out in a major way.
“If it’s Got to Be, it’s Up to Me”
Those powerful words and mindset, relayed by her father, are the epitome of Cecil’s meteoric rise. With the Whipped Cream project, she does more than produce and perform songs. Cecil recently began handling the singing duties on many of her tracks. But she soon realized that achieving the energy she wanted at shows couldn’t happen while attached to the mic. Instead, she prerecords her vocals, mixes them, and plays the recordings back live.
Friday’s show demonstrated that “I can do anything” attitude. After the opening acts, Cecil commanded the stage alone, without guest performers or playing back remixes of popular songs. Beyond the consistent presence of photographers on the stage, it was all Caroline up there! The exception was Cecil teaming up with a fan to show off some groovy dance moves. That lucky attendee earned her way onstage by having a Whipped Cream tattoo!
Bangin’ Beats and Happy Feet
Growing up with hip-hop and rap influences in urban Toronto, Cecil is no stranger to dope beats and flowing rhymes! Her early affinity for trap EDM means she doesn’t shy away from pulsating rhythms either. These inspirations were displayed at Meow Wolf, with a hard-hitting collection of tracks.
The local openers selected for the show also demonstrated similar diversity. Denver’s own Critz began the night with laid-back house vibes. He built momentum and BPM as the crowd filled the cube-shaped space. By the end of his uplifting set, he’d made some new fans — myself included! I loved his engagement with the music and his live production skills on display.
Blasting the crowd with high-energy mixes, Acyan went hard! He started with bass-heavy tracks over dreamy pop vocals. Next, he pummeled the crowd, delivering dubstep banger after banger. Throughout his set, Acyan’s stage presence was undeniable. Jumping about emphatically and parading around the platform, he engaged the audience and got heads banging. I got a great workout!
Caroline Calling, is Anyone Home?!
Ever expanding her musical universe, Cecil recently launched a DJ side project known as Careline. Cecil is also branching out the production aspect of her career with her CherryPit identity. She’s tying the Whipped Cream Universe together: Cecil played the first Careline single, “Intro Call,” engineered by CherryPit, at Meow Wolf Denver.
With a trifecta of talent outlets, Caroline, AKA Whipped Cream, AKA Cherry Pit, AKA Careline, is making moves! Her inclusion on the 1001 Tracklists ‘The Future of Dance 2024’ list is a shout-out to her impact this year. She’s in good company alongside notable artists like LP Giobbi, Hamdi, and Gioli & Assia in that group of up-and-coming taste-makers. Do yourself a favor and catch her on the way to superstardom!
