DCist Interview: Keren Ann

You have a very interesting background and a multi-ethnic heritage, how has this affected your growth as an artist?

New York is actually the latest place I've lived in, Though I've been living on the road touring since last April and will be on the road till next summer and planning to find a new pad in Israel after the tour. I don't think that multi-ethnic heritage builds your personality as much as the places you walk through as an adult. I believe touring has affected my writings. I believe living the life of a musician is still affecting my writing.

Who do you look to for inspiration, musical or otherwise, past or present?

My inspiration is the life that I live. Without being dramatic, writing songs, in some way, is giving a physical form to blends of emotions and situations you live. I like creating moods, through a good balance of melodies, words, orchestrations, sound and musical shape. It usually starts with something visual that I try to turn into a sonic landscape. I like the architecture of music.

You're touring in support of your latest eponymous release. It's a quiet record with a lot of depth. Are there any specific themes or ideas that you wanted to develop over the course of the recording, or does each song have its own story?

A record for me is both a continuous music piece with a beginning, a middle and an ending, but also a number of songs that have their own mood and personality without necessarily belonging to one particular story. I produce the record according to the musical landscapes I am attracted to during the period of the writing. I like creating an atmosphere with the music, whether it's light, tense, dark or luminous. I like sketching the songs and then using an impressionist way of coloring them. I'd say the basic song is the drawing and production is actually using the brush.

"It Ain't No Crime" and "Caspia" are the two biggest sonic departures on the new album. What was your intention with these songs, especially "Caspia," which has almost an 80s New Wave kind of vibe?

For "It Ain't No Crime" I explored the Idea of my own private blues song. For Caspia, I wanted a dance-electronic mood to end the record, kind of a repetitive "low core funk."

My favorite song on the album is "Liberty," which features some rich orchestration, as do some other songs. How did you go about working the textural elements into what are essentially straightforward songs?

I am a big fan of emotion in repetition. In my opinion Philip Glass and Steve Reich have really succeeded in that. "Liberty" is one of those repetitive pieces that I made for travel, kind of "trance" mood, along with a story.

You're signed to the Blue Note label, which of course is best known for its priceless jazz catalog. What attracted you to the label and what do you think the label executives see in you as an artist?

I liked the fact that it's a very small label and that the people I get to work with are the same ones I get to go have drinks with. Smaller labels will take bigger risks and I need musical freedom. I need to work with people that listen to a finished record and understand the direction I wanna take without interfering.

Despite the obvious stylistic differences, there are bound to be comparisons between you and Norah Jones simply because you are both singer-songwriters, you both have a subdued style, and you are both signed to a traditionally jazz label. Has this, in fact, been the case and how do you respond to these comparisons?

I don't necessarily feel like a singer-songwriter. I think the "producer" and "arranger" part of my job takes just as much space. I think people compare us only because we are signed to the same label, I don't see any musical relation, though I think she is fantastic.

What has your experience been with Washington, D.C.?

I've played 3 times around D.C, twice at the Iota Club in Arlington which I really liked.

What can we expect from your upcoming performance at the Black Cat?

We are three on stage, the set is mellow though we do get to rock every now and then.

Keren Ann will appear on the Black Cat's mainstage tomorrow night along with Dean and Britta. Doors are at 8 p.m. $15