Spotlight on CHAINES
Composer CHAINES' experience has been about community, not competition.
- Date
- 29 November 2023
- Category
- Stories
CHAINES (Cee Haines) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and tutor. Having come from a conservative path in musical education, where competition is very much baked into the fabric of it, CHAINES found themselves creatively drained by the experience. To the point where they were thinking about calling it a day as an artist and going straight into teaching.
Then in 2016 they came across a course we were involved in with Modular Music School for laptop musicians to learn about electronics, which was where CHAINES’ musical interests really lay. That was just the beginning. In the following years CHAINES went on to join two residencies with us, one led by Anna Meredith and the other by Imogen Heap.
With the Anna Meredith residency, specifically for women, CHAINES reflects on how, as an AFAB (assigned female at birth) person, it was refreshing and electric to be in a space dedicated to AFAB people and women making electronic music, as opposed to the male-dominated environments they were used to.
"Without Brighter Sound and the education I received through them, I don't see myself being in the place I am now."
Across all projects CHAINES has worked with us on, the sense of community was particularly positive for them. Unlike their experience in education, it was more about everybody contributing and building something together. It was about sharing skills, teaching each other, combining ideas and practices, which led to wonderful and unexpected outcomes.
One of CHAINES’ main reflections has been how much they’ve learnt about the wider industry and everything that makes it up. From how the sound desk works, to what the working culture’s like, what you might expect from a stage manager, or how early to arrive at the venue on the day of a gig. CHAINES now feels more confident as they make their way in the professional world. Rather than feeling like an imposter in these spaces, they now have a better sense of belonging.
And CHAINES certainly belongs. In 2019 they won a PRS Foundation Oram Award. They’ve had three collaborations with the BBC Proms to date. And they’re currently conducting doctoral research at the RNCM, where they also teach Sound Art and Composition with Technology.
