Having grown up in Israel, then moving to France and the Netherlands before coming to habit NY, there’s something to Keren Ann‘s music that sounds foreign and familiar at once. Her coffeehouse storyteller themes are universal enough to be heard in a variety of settings (you’ve probably heard her before in any number of HBO shows), but intimate enough to allow you to relate to what she’s singing about on your own terms.
Not only has she lived in some of the coolest places on earth (Paris, Amsterdam, Nolita, NY…), she’s also resided in a huge array of musical locations as well. From the all French singing of her first two records, to Biographie De Luka Philipsen’s trip-hop, Keren Ann has a rare ability to make very diverse styles orbit around her gentle energy without ever sounding like a tourist.
Always a great storyteller, Keren Ann becomes the muse for otherwise anonymous figures on her 6th solo album 101 (out Feb 28 on Blue Note Records), unexpectedly recalling early Goldfrapp and even Blonde Redhead in the record’s first single, "My Name Is Trouble" (see video). These are areas I haven’t heard her step into before, and she handles it as if she’s been working with dance patterns her whole career.
She won’t be in our area until the summer (The Bell House June 7), so you should have plenty of time to catch up on your French by then. Au revoir! – Mike Levine