Zoë Keating

Technology should always be treated as another skill to be mastered, and rarely as something to make the creation and performance of music simply easier. It can be used for that in few cases, no-one bar maybe Thurston Moore is going to complain about the self-tuning guitar but true music technology should be used to broaden the horizons of what an artist can do. Canadian born, San Francisco based cellist Zoe Keating is quite possibly the alpha example of what an artist is capable of when they use technology as another instrument in their repertoire and not as a crutch. She’s a magnificent composer and performer in her own right, playing her cello more as an extension of herself than a rather cumbersome instrument in her arms. However, her use of live sampling and loop pedals is what truly sets her apart, able to create pieces of near symphonic levels of complexity simply by playing her melodies and interweaving them with others as they loop around her. It would be simply astonishing to watch if the pieces she could create weren’t so beautiful, which is what stops this from becoming a soulless expression of purely technical wizardry. Her pieces are heartfelt, moving and worthy of anyone’s time, money and attention. You will not see a talent as unique as hers for a very long time, so see it the next chance you get!