Kimbra is hard to forget, probably because like most of us, we all truly discovered her via her collaboration with Gotye and that epic song Somebody That I Used To Know. But it’s probably unfair to keep bringing up that fact, especially when as an artist in her own right, she is equally bold and creative. When it comes to adding layers and textures to her sound she is perfectly happy sampling, looping and creating synthesis magic. With her distinctive often sultry vocals set against this electro-pop vision Kimbra has without a doubt grown into a formidable talent.
But what people often don’t realise is that Kimbra is also a very good guitar player. It’s something we don’t associated with her because of her love for catchy hooks and beats but in her early days as a performer she often relied on her guitar for inspiration.
Throughout her latest Primal Heart Tour Kimbra stripped back her shows to perform acoustic and or electric guitar versions of many of her songs. While I’m unable to find anything audible and/or visually worthwhile on the net of her intimate sets, except maybe a bad sounding fan upload of Past Love, she did perform admirable on camera for Rolling Stone last year, which I recommend you should check out. Going further back to Kimbra’s early years, she has also performed many wonderful impromptu performances, which includes two very rare acoustic performance I tracked down for Sideshow Alley and BalconyTV way back in 2011.
So while Kimbra is not someone you would except to be a guitar hero, I still immensely enjoy how she works her magic gently caressing her Albert Lee guitar as if it was a long lost lover. Anyway check out Kimbra’s fragile renditions of Human, Everybody Knows and Past Love from her album Primal Heart at Rolling Stone here below. Enjoy!
Rearview Mirror 
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