Kaki King

Having been introduced to the guitar at the age of four, King was subsequently taken by the drums, which dominated much of her teenage musical output. After moving to New York and studying at New York University, Kaki resumed her interest in the guitar and studied with guitar professor Dr. Bill Rayner. In 2002 King signed a record deal with Velour Records, who issued her debut album “Everybody Love You” in April 2003. Earning a spread of positive reviews for its unusual tunings, flamenco style percussion, and fret tapping, the record was support by King’s first promotional tour of the U.S.

Following the musician’s national TV debut on the “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”, King signed with Epic Records’ imprint Red Ink and returned to the studio. In 2004 the musician issued her sophomore “Legs to Make Us Longer”, marking the arrival of a lap steel guitar, which would find prominence on later albums. “Legs to Make Us Longer” was released to positive reviews, showcasing an artist who finds comfort in her experimentation. Following the release and subsequent tour, which included opening for Eric Johnson, King returned to the indie label Velour to release her most ambitious album to date. 2006’s “…Until We Felt Red” was co-produced by Tortoise’s John McEntire and is marked by the use of a full band.

A year later Kaki King was invited by Dave Grohl to appear alongside the Foo Fighters in aid of their new track “Ballad of the Beaconsfield”. The guitarist was subsequently invited to open for Foo Fighters on their Australian tour, in which time King finished the recording of her fourth full-length 2007’s “Day Sleeper”. Prior to the release King contributed alongside Eddie Vedder and Sean Penn to the “Into The Wild” soundtrack, which later earned a pair of Golden Globe nominations.

Continuing her prodigious output, the multi-instrumentalist issued “Dreaming of Revenge” in March 2008 marking her most pop-inspired record to date. The same year, in collaboration with The Mountain Goats, King released the EP “Black Pear Tree”, which spawned the video “Can Anyone Who Has Heard This Music Really Be A Bad Person?”. Returning to her acoustic roots, the subsequent “No Bullshit” Tour of the U.S. and UK featured stripped-down versions of newer songs as well as her old numbers. The EP “Mexican Teenagers” arrived in 2009 on Cooking Vinyl Records, followed by the 2010 full-length “Junior”.

After co-producing the Miley Cyrus song “We Belong to the Music” alongside Timbaland in 2010, King went on tour without her backing band for the first time since 2005. Featuring the accompaniment of the ETHEL string quartet, King’s sixth full-length “Glow” was released in October 2012, and succeeded three years later by the studio album “The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body”.