Caila Thompson-Hannant (born February 14, 1985), known professionally as Cecile Believe (formerly known as Mozart's Sister) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and music producer. Originally starting her music career in the band Shapes and Sizes, Thompson-Hannat started her solo career with her EPs Dear Fear (2011) and Hello (2013), and later her albums Being (2014) and Field of Love (2017), at the time being under the stage name Mozart's Sister. She began getting involved with the label and art collective PC Music, with early collaborations with Kane West, later gaining recognition for collaborations with music producer Sophie.
Thompson-Hannat has consistently worked with other artists, being involved with projects from A. G. Cook, Hannah Diamond, Oklou, Kero Kero Bonito, and Steve Lacy.
Biography
Thompson-Hannant's musical beginnings are much accredited to the electropop introduced to her by her uncle. She went on to play guitar & synthesizer in the band Shapes & Sizes, which was on the Asthmatic Kitty label. She was also a member of Montreal-based bands Miracle Fortress and Think About Life.
Thompson-Hannant independently released her first EP, Dear Fear, in 2011 through Bandcamp. For the two years following this release, she garnered press attention through playing festivals such as SXSW and Pop Montreal. In February 2013, she released her second EP, Hello, through Merok Records. In June 2014, she announced a new album, titled Being, for release on August 5 of that year and released the single "Enjoy". She thereafter released her second album, Field of Love, on February 17, 2017.
In 2017, she became associated with works tied to the record label and art collective, PC Music, starting with vocal work on Gus Lobban's side project, Kane West for the song "Definitely Come Together", and Kero Kero Bonito's EP, TOTEP. In 2018, she gained recognition for her vocal work on Sophie's debut studio album, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides, which was later nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. She was also credited as a co-writer for the remix album, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Non-Stop Remix Album.
On February 18, 2020, Thompson-Hannant released her first solo single under the Cecile Believe moniker, titled "Last Thing He Said To Me In Person", accompanied by its music video and a pre-order of her album Made In Heaven on which it appears. Her second single, titled "Pick Up the Phone", was released on April 8, 2020, along with a music video that was released a day before the official release. Her debut album Made In Heaven was officially released a month later on May 8, 2020. The album was completely written, produced and performed by herself.
On November 20, 2020, she released her mixtape, Plucking a Cherry from the Void, which included the single, "Times", that was officially released prior on November 12, 2020, along with a visualizer video the same day. The mixtape features additional production from PC Music founder A. G. Cook on two tracks ("Crickets" and "Living My Life Over (Extreme Vocal Edit)"). Thompson-Hannant also appeared on Cook's 7G album in 2020.
In 2021, Thompson-Hannant was revealed to be working on an album by Ssion. She worked with other artists such as Shygirl, Hannah Diamond, Dorian Electra, among others on their respective projects, and remixed tracks by caro♡, Magdalena Bay, and Say Lou Lou throughout 2022 and 2023.
in 2024, she released her EP, Tender the Spark, being released under the label Ambient Tweets. She appeared on Britpop (2024) by A. G. Cook as a vocalist, and also being featured on Sophie's posthumous album on "My Forever".
Discography
As Cecile Believe
EPs Made in Heaven (Self-released, 2020) Tender the Spark (Ambient Tweets, 2024)
Mixtapes Plucking a Cherry from the Void (Self-released, 2020)
As Mozart's Sister
EPs Dear Fear (Self-released, 2011) Hello (Merok, 2013)
Albums Being (Asthmatic Kitty, 2014) Field of Love (Arbutus, 2017)
Remixes
Dizzy – "Heavy (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2019) Homeshake – "Another Thing (Cecile Believe Mix)" (2019) Tops – "Colder & Closer (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2020) caro♡ – "heart in 2 (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2021) Owlle – "Le goût de la fête (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2022) Magdalena Bay – "Something for 2 (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2022) Regularfantasy – "So Sweet (Cecile Believe's Pixie Mix)" (2022) Say Lou Lou – "Waiting for a Boy (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2023) Emma Beko – "lookinforu (Cecile Believe Remix)" (2023)
Other appearances Title Year Artist(s)Album Credits Additional notes "Definitely Come Together" 2017 Kane West Un-credited vocalist rowspan="3" "Cutlass Cruiser" TOPSSugar at the Gate Backing vocalist "I Just Wanna Make You Real" rowspan="3" 2018 Kero Kero BonitoTOTEP Credited as Caila; as part of "The Parakeets" SophieOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Vocalist, co-writer Kero Kero BonitoTime 'n' Place Backing vocalist Credited as Caila; as part of "The Parakeets" "One More Night" 2019 Slaters rowspan="2" Featured artist, co-writer Credited as "Cece B" "Yes Exactly" 2020 Kane West & Thomas Van Party rowspan="5" "Mountain Baby" Austra Hirudin "Anywayz" Co-writer "Show Me What"A. G. Cook7GFeatured artist "Wish I Could Fall in Love" 2021 DAGR DAGR Featured artist, co-writer "Cerise" Mutants Vol. 5: Free Lead artist Compilation track, Bandcamp exclusive "Shots Fired"NamasendaUnlimited AmmoCo-writer rowspan="4" "2 AM (Real Love)"Teen DazeInteriorFeatured artist, co-writer "Olivia"2022Tiberius B Co-writer, co-producer "honest"UmruComfort NoiseFeatured artist, co-writer "Theme for Flight" For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, Vol. IILead artistCompilation track "Firefly"ShygirlNymphAdditional vocals, co-writer, additional production rowspan="33" "Juicy Fruit"2023Brooke Candy Backing vocals, co-writer, co-producer "I Got a Bike"Casey MQTwo Songs (Live)Featured artist, co-writer "Idolize"Dorian ElectraFanfareCo-writer, co-producer "Manmade Horrors" "Lifetime" "No FX"Hannah DiamondPerfect PictureCo-writer "Lip Sync" "Twisted" "Divisible by Two" "Dang"Caroline PolachekDesire, I Want To Turn Into You: Everasking EditionCo-writer, co-producer "Run"(feat. Cecile Believe)2024TR/STTR/ST EPFeatured artist, co-writer, co-producer "Me, I Think I Found It"Casey MQLater that day, the day before, or the day before thatCo-writer, co-producer "The Make Believe"(feat. Oklou) "Sucia"Empress OfFor Your Consideration Co-writer "Elk Skin"Sega BodegaDennis Additional vocals, co-writer "Blue Screen"Cadence WeaponRollercoasterFeatured artist "Silver Thread Golden Needle"A. G. CookBritpopVocals "Prismatic" "system"saluteTrue MagicAdditional vocals, co-writer "Drive"Miss MadelineSo DramaticCo-writer, co-producer, programming "Dark Day"TR/STPerformanceCo-producer "Warp" "My Forever"(feat. Cecile Believe)SophieSophieFeatured artist, co-writer "Eurostar"NemoCo-producer "Believe"Yunè PinkuScarlet LambCo-writer, co-producer, programming "Angel Tattoo"Brooke CandySpiralCo-writer, co-producer "Is There Anyone Out There?"Betta Lemme rowspan="2" Co-writer "Rare Baby"KUKIICo-writer, co-producer "Thank You for Recording"2025OklouChoke EnoughCo-writer "Family and Friends"Vocal choir "Obvious"Co-writer "Take Me by the Hand"(feat. Bladee) “lovesexdrugbomb” (feat. Cecile Believe)2026Steve Lacyoh yeah?Featured artist, co-writer—
References
External links Windish Agency Asthmatic Kitty Records