Suzanne Ciani: Engineering Legend

Suzanne Ciani is a legend in the music engineering world, best-known for unparalleled innovation in sound effects and a discography full of mesmerizing, trance-like tracks.

Ciani got her start studying classical music and music composition at Wellesley College and U.C. Berkeley, respectively. She went on to study computer generated music at Standford’s Artificial Intelligence Labs, where she worked heavily with synthesizers and music production technology.

In 1974, Ciani formed her own company, Ciani/Musica, through which she worked on television commercial scores and sound effects for companies such as Coca Cola, General Electric, and AT&T. She had a knack for getting sounds that engineers previously had trouble with, such as that of a Coca Cola bottle being opened and poured.

In the 80’s Ciani began to increase her focus on music, recording new-age albums such as Seven Waves (1984, Atlantic Records) and The Velocity of Love (RCA Records). She went on to sign with Private Music, on which she released a series of albums from 1988 to 1992.

In the 1990’s, she formed her own label, Seventh Wave, on which she released all of her following records. She went on to be nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album five times. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women in Audio Section of the Audio and Engineering Society in 1997.

In 2017, Ciani was selected as the recipient of the 2017 Moog Music Innovation Award, which was awarded to her at their annual Moogfest. She will be returning to the festival this year to perform.

Listen to more of Ciani’s music on Spotify, check out her sound effects on Youtube, and keep up with her on Instagram!