Zoë Keating - Escape Artist
Into the Trees (2010) on Itunes | Official Website | Free Album Streaming



What else can be said about Zoë Keating that hasn’t already been said? As one of the more famous Web 2.0 musicians (she’s part of the suggested user list in Twitter - a fact she concedes has helped her success), her eclectic methodologies (as a one-woman orchestra) and her indie status (producing her own albums and keeping all profits) define the kind of experimentation and exploration that you don’t often see in mainstream music.

I was first introduced to her through a WIRED feature. As in the Jerry Maguire movie, she had me at her “hello” with that first caress of her bow with the cello’s strings. That first song (which I’ve embedded above) led me to a place of excitement and novelty I had not felt since hearing Yann Tiersen’s Amelie soundtrack. She sets up her tone not by lyrics but through the more difficult task of careful arrangements and layering of multiple instruments. The fact that her music sounds as full and vivid as a fully-staffed chamber orchestra is a testament to her skill both as a composer and as a performer.

On a side note, I recently listened to this improvised cello jam session that included Zoë and once again, it was refreshing to see the sense of experimentation and ultimately sense of fun at play.

Yes, her music jives more with certain moods and moments (it’s no workout music) but in times when you do want to feel and you do want to moved, her one-woman orchestra is something you wouldn’t want to miss.