About me

Cecilia Mörnhed, also known as Cili, is a Swedish songwriter and producer with many years of experience in the industry. She’s got a broad range of talents and a long track record of projects behind her.

Hi Cili! Tell me about yourself, who are you and what do you do?

– Hi! My name is Cili (or really it’s Cecilia, but everybody calls me Cili!) and I am a songwriter and producer from Sweden. I basically work with making music. I write lyrics and melodies, compose, arrange, produce & mix songs!

When did you first get into making music? How did it all start?

– Well, it actually started when I was 11 years old and my parents had bought a piano, mainly to have as a interior detail in our house. I started playing that piano and it sounded terrible, but it made me curious about music so I just kept on hiting those very untuned keys and I loved it! I wrote my first song back then as well, to my grandfather who had just passed away. So I guess that’s where my journey as a songwriter begun, and also that’s when I found both my singing voice and more imortantly – my inner voice.

Have you had any musical education or are you self taught?

– A bit of both actually! In 2003 I got in to the highly esteemed education Musikmakarna, located in the north of Sweden, where I learned a lot about writing and producing music. It’s one of those educations where you, apart from learning about music, also get assignments from publishers, A&R’s and other people in the industry who are looking for the next big hit. So it was really a combination between learning and getting work opportunities at the same time.

Two years ago, when I decided to leave my full time job as a theater producer I attended to another education similar to Musikmakarna, called AMPS (Advanced Music Production & Songwrtiting) for a year where I got to dust of my production- and songwriting skills and also I learned a lot of new things. After AMPS I decided to really honor my craft as a songwriter and producer, find opportunities and basically become someone who people really would enjoy working with and can count on 100%.

What happened after your education at Musikmakarna?

– So I graduated in 2005 and after that I had a large variety of jobs, basically to make ends meet. I always wanted to pursue my career as a producer and songwriter, but kept hearing this voice in my head telling me that I wasn’t good enough and I guess I was too scared to really give my music a fair chance. Today giving up is not an option, I have much more faith in myself, a lot of experience as well as amazing support from friends and family, but back then I didn´t know how to deal with setbacks and I got very affected in a negative way every time someone questioned me as a producer, due to the fact that I am a woman. Unfortunately, that happened a lot (and still happens). So I think deep down inside I knew I was, or at least could be, good enough but I thought that others wouldn’t agree, and wouldn’t see me as a “real producer” because of that..

So I worked with artist management, bookings, marketing strategies on record labels, managing festivals, producing theater and so on and I kept getting the “wrong” jobs at the right companies, which was frustrating. I mean I wanted to create music, not book other artists – don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun and I learned so much but I just felt like I had a lot more to offer in the industry creating music instead of being the person who provides everybody else with the right conditions to be creative..if that makes sense?

I quit my job in 2012 (working with a little of everything on a record label) to focus entirely on my own career as a producer, songwriter an also an artist. I gave myself a niche where I sang and made music in Swedish and my own accent, but it was hard to land gigs and to create a name for myself where I was living. Eventually, I was offered a job in Eskilstuna, the city that later became my home, managing a festival project. It was a lot of fun and I continued working with that for several years, but it still didn’t feel 100% right, you know? I was successful in that genre of work but it wasn’t my dream.

In 2018 I had my daughter. It was the best thing that could’ve happened to me, not only due to the joy of being her mom, but also because it gave me the courage to pursue MY dream. I thought to myself – if I want to be a good role model to my daughter, if I want to teach and show her that she can do anything, I have to start by following my own dreams – how else will she learn that she can do the same? So I took a leave of absence, built my studio and started working full time as a producer, songwriter, mixer and a sync artist! I’ve signed up for a couple of Master classes, courses and joined several groups and communties where I’m constantly learning about the sync industry and that’s also where I have gotten multiple opportunities to place my music in various production music libraries (such as Warner Chappell Production Music, Audio Active etc). It’s also where I have made very valuable connections, made friends with likeminded people who I now work with or for.

So, besides working on creating music for sync I also offer my services as a producer, songwriter and mixer. So, that’s what I do – I wake up, drop my daugter off at her kindergarten, make my coffee and then I go out to my studio which is located next to our house and I create music. And now I need a moment to pinch myself!

What’s next for Cili?

As of right now I’m working on different projects with artists from both Sweden, LA, NY, Maui & Sydney as well as writing my own music for sync. I am full of ideas and I can’t seem to stop – I’m living the life I’ve dreamt of for over two decades. I’m truly blessed and I feel so grateful everyday. I want to keep making music and hopefully I can be an inspiration to other women in the industry.

Interviewer: Isabelle Andersson