THE GENRE-BENDING MUSICIAN

KELSEY LU ISN’T INTERESTED IN TRENDS AND AVOIDS BEING TYPECAST. THE SINGER-CELLIST JUST WANTS TO MAKE HER MUSIC HEARD.

- HAYLEY TAI

Nice to meet you, I’m Lu,” Kelsey Lu greets everyone as she enters the studio. The 30-year-old American musician radiates childlike naivete, taking down local food tips from the stylist on her iPhone, while he works on her long, pin-straight hair, complemented by flaming red bangs. One would expect a rising international star to be chaperoned by an entourage, or at least an assistant.

Not in the case of this North Carolina native, who has in recent years collaborated with global acts such as American DJ-producer Skrillex, English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, and American singer-songwriter Solange.

It isn’t just about Lu’s talent as a trained cellist that has captured the music industry and fans around the world. It’s also her sense of individualism enveloped in her free-spirited style that makes her a breathtaking performer.

And she’s disrupting the status quo in mainstream music. Lu leads her own way with just her cello and a loop pedal – as she did with her 2016 debut EP Church. It was recorded in just one take in a Catholic church in Brooklyn. Last year, she co-produced her first full-length album Blood with Columbia Records.

The result: a record that belongs in an experimental space, exploring the territories of pop, R&B, electronica, blues and ambient, juxtaposed against the rise and fall of her cello bow and haunting vocals.

Blood marks the beginning of Lu’s bigger musical journey, travelling to South-east Asia last year for performances, including Wonderfruit festival in Pattaya, before landing a gig with music agency Collective Minds, at Kilo Lounge, in Singapore.

“I ate a pandan pancake and grilled squid at a beach in Pattaya,” she beams. “Tonight, I’m going to try the chilli crab you guys raved about!”