Exclusive Special Interview: Zoe Keating!


Not only does Zoe have over 1.2 million followers on Twitter, she is playing sold out venues across our great country! Come visit with TheAussieWord as I go one on one with the world’s greatest Cello player…. Zoe Keating! 



What can you tell us Aussies about you? How and where did it all begin?

I write and play layered cello music. I was born in Canada, raised in England and America, and live in a redwood forest in Northern California. I’m a mother. I love pancakes.


What first got you interested in music?
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t captivated by sound and music, but I started playing the cello when I was eight. I loved the sound immediately.


Who inspires or influences your quest to make great music?

I’m inspired by world events, by observing humanity from afar, by the way light looks in the evening. Sound-wise though, when I was a kid I had an album by the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and thought the sound of multiple cellos was the best thing ever. 


Are there any tours or gigs planned for the future?

After my Oz tour I’m off to the UK and Germany. Then I hope to take a break to write some new music. 


What are some of the biggest goals you hope to accomplish as an artist?

I have 2 impossible goals: to someday render the music in my head exactly as I hear it in there, and to perform on the space station. 


Success, what is the secret to success and what has been your biggest career highlight so far?

Gosh, I guess I don’t think of myself as successful yet! I’m always striving. I never assume that where I am today will last and so I’m always working towards something. But maybe that is the key to success?

Which current stars in the industry do you highly rate?
Imogen Heap. I love her music and her integrity and I’m as into her as much as a married straight woman can be.

How would people best describe you and your music?
I’ve been avoiding this question for years and if you don’t mind I think I will continue to avoid it. However, I will say, I hope my music can take us out of time.

Tell us a bit about your first EP or album?

It was the first thing I ever recorded, and while I like the music, I’m not entirely happy with the recording job I did. I’ve had plans to re-record it for about five years.

Do you have any exciting projects in the works?

A new album that I hope to finish this year and an elaborate stage set with cello-controlled video projections.

The industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now?

Hopefully doing exactly what I’m doing now, but better.

Name a few of your favourite Aussie artists.

The Necks and Nick Cave

The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what it means to you in getting your records out into the public eye?

I think it’s a great time to be an artist. My recording studio consists of a laptop and a microphone. I can sell music directly to listeners on the web. I can talk to them on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a marvelous democratization of the arts and I can’t imagine that I would be able to have had this career a decade ago. I’m not going to become a multi-millionaire, but I can make a living and I can reach people. It’s hard work, but it always was. 

Thanks for the interview! What can you leave fans with here on TheAussieWord blog today?

I just taught my toddler how to skip and then we went skipping down the road in Sydney, laughing our heads off. I highly recommend skipping.

Twitter: @zoecello

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