Keren Ann has a voice that seems like it was made for soft French music. It floats tenderly over her superbly crafted compositions in a way that even Norah Jones would envy. A polyglot who’s fluent in 4 languages, she imbues her music with a smart, cosmopolitan vibe.
Over the course of 6 albums, she’s become a sought-after songwriter, and she remains the underground artist to name check when you wanted to impress your friends.
A multinational citizen at an early age, Keren Ann Zeidel moved to Paris (where her mother grew up) at age 11 after living in the Netherlands and Israel. Always one with eclectic tastes, she takes her songwritng cues from Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Nancy Sinatra collaborator Lee Hazlewood.
The artist worked as a songwriter for hire for while waiting tables. One of her big writing credits was Henri Salvador’s hit album Chambre avec vue. She wrote songs for herself, too, but didn’t put them out until after she saw the songs she wrote for other people become hits.
La Biographie de Luka Philipsen 
On her 2000 debut album, La Biographie de Luka Philipsen, she blends Jazz, Folk, Rock, and Electronica to dazzling effect. It’s the kind of sophisticated album you could put on in the background for a cocktail party. The album was co-written and arranged by Benjamin Biolay. And yes, it was named after that Luka, from Suzanne Vega’s song, along with her grandmother’s family surname. The French singer counts Vega as one of her influences.
Here’s a single from the album called “Sur le Fil.”
La Disparition In 2002, she teamed up with Biolay again for her somber sophomore album, La Disparition. Full of Folk and sentimental Pop ballads, the stripped down production allows her delicate voice to shine, Many of the songs have a retro Pop feel like this single, “Ailleurs” (the French word for “elsewhere”).
Her vocals barely rise to the level of a whisper on “Au Coin du Monde.”
Starting with her third album, Not Going Anywhere her albums began to feature less and less French. Her fourth album, 2004’s Nolita, was a bilingual ode to her new, adopted home of New York City. 2007’s Keren Ann and her latest effort, 101 are exclusively in English.
Keren Ann continues to be respected and collaborator and songwriter. She co-wrote Emmanuelle Seigner’s 2010 album. She also represents half of the duo Lady & Bird, with Iceland indie singer Bardi Bardi Johannsson. Their music has a global following and their songs have often been used in TV shows and commercials.
Though this global jetsetter may have moved on from France — linguistically, at least — she’s given French music fans an archive of beautiful albums that we can always enjoy.
What do you think of this soft French singer? Leave a comment below.
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