Joe Kye is a violinist, vocalist, and looper whose Sacramento-based solo project Joseph in the Well brought him regional recognition before he relocated to Portland, Oregon.[1][2] Working as a one-person orchestra with violin, voice, and a looping pedal, he wove together jazz, classical, and hip-hop elements, and was repeatedly described by Submerge as a Sacramento musician during his years in the capital region.[1][3] The Sacramento Bee called him "A single violinist … one mesmerizing symphony."[4]
At a glance
- Violinist-looper and vocalist; built his sound around live violin loops layered in real time.[1][3]
- Moved to the Sacramento area in mid-2013 and launched the solo project Joseph in the Well in December 2013.[1]
- Won two Sacramento Area Music Awards (SAMMIES) — Outstanding New Artist and Artist of the Year — in 2015.[1]
- A full-time musician since 2013; previously a high school English teacher in Seattle.[5]
- Released the EP Joseph in the Well (May 9, 2015) and his first official album Migrants (January 8, 2018).[1][3][6]
- Relocated to Portland in July 2016 but continued returning for Sacramento-area shows.[5][3]
Background and origin
Kye was born in South Korea and, by his own account, moved frequently as a child — attending five different elementary schools across the United States before finishing high school in Seattle and attending Yale.[1] He attributes his emphasis on community and supporting local culture to this migrant past.[1] He moved to the Sacramento area in mid-2013, roughly six months before founding his solo project, after his wife came to the region for a medical residency at UC Davis Medical Center.[1][5] He had been a high school English teacher in Seattle and became a full-time musician in 2013.[5]
Joseph in the Well
Kye founded the indie "string pop" project Joseph in the Well in December 2013, framing it around a theme he called "universality" — the idea that all people share joy, pain, and suffering.[1] In Sacramento he honed the project at open-mic nights, including Capitol Garage's open mic, and credited that homegrown scene as where his momentum began.[1] He performed alongside local upright bassist Casey Lipka and a rotating "cadre of drummers," mainly featuring Andres Salazar on percussion for the EP.[1]
Musically, Kye sings and plays violin (plucked or bowed) through a looping station he had owned since 2007 — his first one — building songs live by recording short violin parts and layering them in real time, so no performance repeats a loop exactly.[1] His style was variously characterized as indie string pop and contemporary jazz, blending jazz, classical, and hip-hop.[1][7][3]
Local recognition
Despite having played with his band for little more than a year, Kye won two Sacramento Area Music Awards (SAMMIES) in 2015: Outstanding New Artist and Artist of the Year — before the Joseph in the Well project was even fully released.[1] Submerge described him as a "Sacramento sensation" and "Sacramento violinist-looper," and Rasar Amani noted Kye was "Sacramento's own."[1][8] Kye openly advocated investing in and cultivating the local Sacramento scene rather than shunning a small market.[1]
Releases and touring
Kye ran a Kickstarter campaign (with a $7,500 goal) to finish the EP and fund a national tour, and planned to attend the NAMM convention to seek booking and promotional connections.[1] The EP Joseph in the Well dropped May 9, 2015, celebrated with a release show at Harlow's featuring Rasar.[1] At the 2015 Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Kye performed on the Acoustic Nation stage, playing his original piece "11/8" from the Joseph in the Well EP.[9]
His first official album, Migrants, was released January 8, 2018 as a self-released record containing eight songs; collaborators include spoken-word poet Jason Chu and Rasar, both from Southern California — Rasar also known as a member of fusion hip-hop group The Lique.[6] By 2018, his résumé included opening for Senator Bernie Sanders, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, comedian Hari Kondabolu, and rapper Warren G,[4] plus appearances at TedX Sacramento and California WorldFest.[3] He also accumulated nationally broadcast performances on NPR and BBC, with features on BBC World News, PRI's The World, and LA's Music Friday Live.[4]
Relocation to Portland
On June 10, 2016, Kye played what was billed as his last Sacramento show before moving to Portland — a #SeedtoSprout benefit at Beatnik Studios with CORE Contemporary Dance, supporting the Mustard Seed School for homeless children.[5] He did not actually move until July 2016 and continued to return: to California WorldFest in Grass Valley in late July 2016, on tour that October, and for two Sacramento shows in March 2018 (at Sacramento State's University Union Redwood Room and the Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts).[5][3]
Later career (Portland)
By 2023, Kye had expanded his practice in Portland in several directions. He was named an Oregon Arts Commission 2023 Fellow and formed an ensemble called Joe Kye & the Givers, featuring Portland-based musicians.[10] He also launched a children's music project called Hi Joe Kye!, an electro-pop production that incorporates looping and audience participation.[10]
Collaborations and session work
Beyond his own project, Kye worked extensively as a session and guest violinist across the Sacramento scene. He contributed violin to local indie/pop group Musical Charis's live EP/DVD recorded at Velveteen Laboratory in Los Angeles (released Dec. 2013 / Jan. 2014).[11] He guested on local alt-rock/hip-hop/soul group Iconoclast Robot's 2014 EP BrightLights/DarkDepths.[12] He collaborated with London-born, Sacramento-based soul artist James Cavern, and shared stages with R&B/soul artist Zyah Belle.[13][7] Rasar Amani was the only MC featured on Kye's Joseph in the Well EP.[8]