KAKI KING: Queen of Experimental Guitar

I can't believe I haven't gotten into Kaki King until this year. Her guitar-playing style, that she describes as "eclectic and unorthodox", is too intriguing to miss, and impeccably executed. The 29 year-old song-writer and NYU graduate, identified by her Hilary Swank-like cheek bones and thick eyebrows, has been highly endorsed by Foo Fighter's frontman Dave Grohl since she guested on the song "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" off the Foo's latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Recently, King has opened for gypsy-music reviver Beirut. She's also covered pop poster boy Justin Timberlake's "LoveStoned". You may recognize Kaki's sound from the 2007 film August Rush, about a kid from the streets who rises as a guitar prodigy. King is the heart & soul and even the hands (literally) behind the songs that the main character "plays" in the movie. KK also contributed songs to the multi-award-winning film Into the Wild.

Now the thing about Kaki King is that she doesn't just play guitar. She takes full advantage of the instrument, utilizing the body to create percussive beats, and the lower strings as a bass substitute- no need for a band. KK also uses unconventional techniques such as fret-tapping and slapping to create specialized sounds. Her graceful right hand, adorned with superlong nails, crawls along the neck of the guitar, tapping at notes that reverberate on her electric-acoustic, while her dexterous left hand presses at the strings from above. The Right retreats to finger-picking at the mouth while Left slides along up the road. The way in which she uses both hands to create melodies is reminiscent of piano playing, and the result is a layered and complex sound that King has coined since her premiere album Everybody Loves You.


Here's "Bone Chaos in the Castle" off her latest album Dreaming of Revenge:



note: Kaki is not the first to experiment this way with the guitar. Michael Hedges established his slap-tap sound in the '80's and is considered instrumental in the history of American guitar playing. King covered his exceptional single "Ritual Dance" for August Rush. Preston Reed is another incredibly talented slap-tapper with a more blues-y edge. Check out "Slap Funk". And Justin King's skills are absolutely astounding - definitely check him out if you're liking this style.

Here's more innovation by King, "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers", off ...Until We Felt Red. Don't get excited, there's no lyrics. Just loops of lap steel guitar:



Prefer a more traditional style? Kaki's mastered that too. Check out "Neanderthal": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-getNkpZeI

And don't forget her breakout single "Playing with Pink Noise": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRttF8yL77A