keshi

A master of lowercase alt-pop, keshi has the gift of doing everything with a little. A flickering falsetto and plucked guitar strings are all he needs to construct the love song “UNDERSTAND” from his 2022 debut, GABRIEL. On “LIMBO” from the same release, scattered piano notes fall over a mellow R&B beat. His vocals come in between a croon and a mutter. This barely there approach to songwriting might seem thin at first, but stand back and a tune emerges, fragile but undeniable. Those who lean in, or lean back, and listen will be rewarded with artful sketches of love and other seasons of life. Born Casey Luong in 1994 in Houston, the singer-songwriter first recorded under his own name before finding his distinct sound and uploading new songs under the name keshi. The new minimalist tracks took off, taking the young Texan’s music career up with them. It goes to show that, in songcraft, less can really be more.