Record Shopping With Keren Ann Issue #36

The multi-culti musician roots for the underdog

By Amy Westervelt & Lora Kolodny
Published: June 1st, 2008 | 2:14pm

Effortlessly beautiful and cool, it would be easy to hate songstress Keren Ann if she weren’t so damn nice. The singer’s multi-culti histoire is pretty much old news at this point, but just in case you missed it, she was born in Israel to a Russian Jewish father and Javanese-Dutch mother, they moved to the Netherlands when she was young, and then to Paris, where she mostly grew up. Her full name is Keren Ann Zeidel, and she now divides her time between Paris, New York, and Israel. Because of her time in France, reviewers often call her a “chanteuse.” Aside from the three places she calls home, Zeidel is on the road a lot performing, but, she tells Venus Zine on a quick trip to Other Music that she brings her family with her when she tours. See what we mean? Nice.

The traveling also inspires Zeidel and influences her music quite a bit. She wrote the songs for the album that won her acclaim in the U.S., Nolita, in New York and used her neighborhood’s nickname as the title. Her most recent, self-titled, album is more of a mix of places and influences. Some critics have panned it for that reason — there’s not a unified voice or feel to the album, they charge — but its fragmentation is very much like the singer herself. “Living in three very different places and then being on the road a lot has a huge influence on my work — each place has its own story, its own feel, and those things affect how I write songs in each place,” Zeidel says.

Although we half-expect her to pick up some Serge Gainsbourg or maybe some Edith Piaf, Keren Ann makes a beeline for the classical music section. “I’m very influenced by classical music,” she explains, although Beethoven eventually gets beat out by Blonde Redhead and Beirut in her purchases.

We caught Keren Ann in New York in the midst of a short U.S. tour with Dean & Britta, formerly of Luna, and suggested meeting at Other Music for record shopping. “I’m so glad you picked this place,” she says, her speaking voice almost as quiet and soothing as her singing voice. “I like to support the local underdog.”