Listening to Si*Sé’s self-titled debut album, you would never expect that sensual vocalist Carol C could also be a slamming drum-n-bass DJ. There are hints of drum-n-bass in album cuts like “Steppin’ Out” and “I Want You To...,” but for the most part, Si*Sé (Luaka Bop) is an amalgam of Latin flavors mixed with acoustic strings, thoughtful keyboards and jazz-inflected percussion—all produced by Cliff Cristafaro aka U.F. Low. Still, Carol C’s entry into the DJ world has paid her big dividends.

With a background that includes vocal recordings in Spanish, the Dominican/Arabic Carol C (short for Cardenas) released a few records in Latin America. But after meeting New York drum-n-bass DJ Dara and singing on his debut full-length, Rinsimus Maximus, she decided breakbeats were for her. Taking her mic along to clubs, she started singing on top of instrumental tracks in DJs’ sets. Intrigued by the turntables and encouraged by Dara to get a pair of her own, she took the initiative and started spinning.

“It wasn’t terribly hard,” she says of her DJ beginnings in early 1998. “At the time it was only me and Reid Speed DJing in the city. [Promoters] wanted to get more people to their parties, so it was, ‘Oh, we have a female DJ’ type thing. I wasn’t crazy about it, but I needed to get in somehow, so whatever. I have to be good at what I do so people don’t think it’s just because I’m female.”

After practicing four hours a day, she says, Carol started her own all-female line-up party (Funktion, named after the Ed Rush and Optical track) and honed her DJing skills in front of an intimate audience. It was, she admits, a trial by fire. “You can be dope in your room,” she recalls, “but then you get in front of people you get nervous—you fuck up.”

During her residency, she realized she preferred Rane mixers. “Depending on your needles, or sometimes if you’re playing dubplates, the levels can be so different that you’re playing something and then the next track comes on and it’s boom-bam!” she says. “The Rane [TTM-54] mixer has the levels so you see the level of the one playing and you can see the level of the one in your ear, so you can see how it’s going to come out.”

While living in New York City, she developed relationships with global promoters, which resulted in gigs for her in places as far away as Brazil, Puerto Rico, Iceland and Denmark. When DJing at non-drum-n-bass events, Carol likes to blend Latin, African and trip-hop sounds into her sets for a multi-cultural vibe. In the studio, she doesn’t restrict herself to drum-n-bass, either, as she also dabbles in nu-skool breaks and two-step. Prior to the release of Si*Sé, Carol worked on various recordings with artists like Kazimir and J Warrin, which have turned up on F-111 and Ism Records, respectively.

Working in different studios, Carol’s sampler is her main piece of equipment. With Cristafaro in Si*Sé it’s the Akai MPC2000, with Kazimir it’s the Akai 2000XL, and with other partners she’s used E-Mu models. When Si*Sé performs live, the group incorporates two viola players, percussion, bass and drums, while Carol sings and Cristafaro mans the MPC.

“I would love to ideally work it out so I can go to a city have a DJ gig and do Si*Sé,” says Carol hopefully. “I’m going to balance them out for a while and see what happens.”

– Lily Moayeri