Tip the Artist

Artist Bio

With a sweet, soulful voice and fresh, yet timeless songwriting style, 16 year-old singer Keta is positioned to be a powerful new force in the world of pop. Signed to 1916 MGMT, this Indiana-bred artist landed a record deal from the first batch of songs she had ever written and recorded — a dreamy brand of deeply melodic dance-pop that merges magnetic beats with organic instrumentation. Making her live debut by opening for fast-rising UK singer/songwriter Sam Smith on his recent West Coast tour, and releasing her debut EP this past summer, Keta seems positioned to take the music industry by storm.

Keta’s debut EP features deep-reaching lyrics, masterly vocals and strong lyrical sensibility, featuring the hypnotic lead single, “Wooden Horses.” The track perfectly captures Keta’s intricate and beautifully layered approach to songwriting.

Keta first brought her vocal performance to the stage as a little girl, singing for audiences at local civic events, county fairs and church services. But at age ten, Keta’s singing ambitions were derailed when a case of Lyme disease triggered a fast and drastic decline in her health. Misdiagnosed for a year, Keta entered an advanced stage of the disease and a challenging health crisis. “My life was all doctor’s appointments, tests, needles and experiments with different medications,” recalls Keta. “I remember lying in bed thinking that I needed to rethink my entire life and who I was going to be.” Thanks to successful treatments and her own determination to overcome her disease, Keta began her recovery at age 12. As she regained more strength and health back, she returned again to music, learning to play ukulele and guitar.

Despite her novice status as a songwriter, Keta has achieved a singular sound and sensibility right from the start of her music career. A refined vision has guided even the earliest stages of her songwriting as she draws from inspiration from the music she grew up on (“everything from the Supremes to Elvis to Rachmaninoff to Fugazi”) as well as from newer influences like the atmospheric alt-pop of Imogen Heap and Kimbra’s dance-infused indie-rock.

Another key factor in Keta setting herself apart as a singer and songwriter: the intensely inspiring mix of honesty and optimism that informs all of the songs on her debut.

“My music is driven from things I’ve personally gone through. My goal is always to recognize the negative to bring out the positive, because I believe that life is what you make it,”