The Shortest Review I've Ever Done? Yep...

Album: One Cello X 16: Natoma
Artist: Zoe Keating
Genre: Classical
Year: 2005
Label: Zoe Keating.

There is very little to say about Zoe Keating, but all of it is good. A former member of Rasputina, Keating is a cellist who creates entire symphonies simply using her one cello and a couple of samplers. Here’s how it works: She’ll hit a button and play one piece of the music, which is then recorded. Upon hitting another button that piece is saved, looped and played back, allowing her to continue the process and gradually build entire orchestras of cellos using just her one instrument.

This is by no means an easy thing to do. It takes a very attentive ear to know when to add and subtract each individual piece and not have the whole thing fall apart due to a single error. When done right, which she does, the effect is really quite stunning and the music is utterly beautiful. This album, One Cello X 16: Natoma is wonderfully crafted and a thoroughly rewarding listen from start to finish. Each piece is exquisite and conveys an epic sort of beauty that you just don’t find in other instruments. The cello is probably my favorite classical string instrument and with maestros like Keating directing their movements, that is unlikely to change anytime soon.