ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kaki King - Guitarist
Kaki King combines jaw-dropping guitar work with dreamy, searching songwriting.

Why you should listen

Kaki King's percussive technique (guitar geeks compare it to Preston Reed's; everyone else compares it to Eddie Van Halen's) drives her songs forward, while layers of overdubs and her own soft vocals create a shimmering cloud of sound.

King's work on the soundtrack for 2007's Into the Wild was nominated for a Golden Globe, along with contributors Michael Brook and Eddie Vedder. Her groundbreaking multimedia work The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body uses projection mapping to present the guitar as an ontological tabula rasa in a creation myth unlike any other.

More profile about the speaker
Kaki King | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2015

Kaki King: A musical escape into a world of light and color

Filmed:
1,507,725 views

A genre unto herself, Kaki King fuses the ancient tradition of working with one's hands with digital technology, projection-mapping imagery onto her guitar in her groundbreaking multimedia work "The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body." Using her guitar's neck like a keyboard, she plays an intricate melody as she takes the audience on a musical journey of light and sound. She calls it "guitar as paintbrush."
- Guitarist
Kaki King combines jaw-dropping guitar work with dreamy, searching songwriting. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
(Guitar music starts)
0
4257
3000
03:53
(Music ends)
1
221894
3000
03:56
(Applause)
2
224929
3000
04:03
(Distorted guitar music starts)
3
231708
3000
07:45
(Music ends)
4
453797
3000
07:49
(Applause)
5
457220
3000
07:56
(Ambient/guitar music starts)
6
464660
3300
11:09
(Music ends)
7
657916
3001
11:12
(Applause)
8
660941
5000

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kaki King - Guitarist
Kaki King combines jaw-dropping guitar work with dreamy, searching songwriting.

Why you should listen

Kaki King's percussive technique (guitar geeks compare it to Preston Reed's; everyone else compares it to Eddie Van Halen's) drives her songs forward, while layers of overdubs and her own soft vocals create a shimmering cloud of sound.

King's work on the soundtrack for 2007's Into the Wild was nominated for a Golden Globe, along with contributors Michael Brook and Eddie Vedder. Her groundbreaking multimedia work The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body uses projection mapping to present the guitar as an ontological tabula rasa in a creation myth unlike any other.

More profile about the speaker
Kaki King | Speaker | TED.com