Making Sense Of An Abstract Sound
Kaki King isn’t ordinary. The Atlanta native was named a “Guitar God” by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2006. A year later, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the music she contributed to the film Into The Wild. Such honors are considered prestigious, so does the 29-year-old deserve them?
What separates King from the average musician is her style and sound. By combining fret-tapping with slap bass techniques, she’s able to create genuine yet complex arrangements that are exotic to our ears. Some critics have declared their distaste for King’s talents while others have praised her. Like Rolling Stone Magazine, notable figures such as Jimmy Page and Serj Tankian are known to be fans of the musician. Even Dave Grohl was quoted saying: “There are some guitar players that are good and there are some guitar players that are really f**king good. And then there’s Kaki King.”
But should Kaki King be classified as a critically acclaimed guitarist?
To help you decide, here are a few of her live performances
Since she IS a critically acclaimed guitarist I don’t think there’s any doubt that that is how she should be classified. That’s like asking if a dog should be classified as a mammalian quadruped. A more fitting question might be if she deserves the hype. Which, yes it seems like she does.