Biography
Keren Ann crafts eclectic adult-alternative pop that draws upon an expansive array of sources, such as Joni Mitchell, Serge Gainsbourg, Suzanne Vega, and Tom Waits. Having launched her career amid the 1990s, the singer/songwriter/producer delivered her debut solo album, La Biographie de Luka Philipsen, during 2000. Her recordings often convey an intimate yet cinematic atmosphere, which helped secure multiple Top 40 entries on French charts, commencing with the English-language Not Going Anywhere in 2003. She has additionally scored films, among them the 2010 comedy Thelma, Louise et Chantal starring Jane Birkin. Bleue, issued in 2019 as her eighth LP, constituted the first project sung entirely in French since the early 2000s.
Keren Ann Zeidel entered the world in Israel during 1974, born to a Dutch-Javanese mother and a Russian-Israeli father. At age nine her parents presented her with a guitar, prompting her to master pieces by Joni Mitchell and Serge Gainsbourg. Over subsequent years she also adopted the harmonica and clarinet. Zeidel and her family resided in both Israel and Holland prior to relocating to Paris, France when she turned eleven.
During the 1990s Zeidel encountered musician/arranger Benjamin Biolay, initiating a productive collaboration. As part of Shelby she issued several singles in 1998, among them "I+I+I." These attracted scant notice, yet she rebounded with the solo full-length La Biographie de Luka Philipsen in 2000. Merging trip-hop, folk, and French pop, she referenced Russian literature, Jewish folk music, French poetry, Bob Dylan, and Suzanne Vega—whose "Luka" informed the title—as shaping her distinctive approach.
La Biographie received warm European acclaim and drew favorable parallels to Françoise Hardy, Portishead, Beth Orton, and Dido. It further garnered multiple Victoires nominations, the French counterpart to the Grammy, spanning Best New Discovery for both artist and album plus Best Song of the Year. One track, "Jardin d'Hiver" co-authored with Biolay, achieved success for Henri Salvador, whose platinum-certified Chambre Avec Vue incorporated five songs jointly penned by Zeidel and Biolay.
In 2001 Zeidel reciprocated by contributing to Biolay's Rose Kennedy. Her next effort, La Disparition, appeared the following year alongside a simultaneous English-language counterpart. While shaping the record she immersed herself in Beatles, Chet Baker, and Tom Waits material, yielding a bluesier, jazzier texture. As before, much of the writing occurred alongside Biolay. Late in 2003 the English-language Not Going Anywhere emerged, reaching American listeners via Blue Note the subsequent summer. Concurrently Keren Ann partnered with Barði Jóhannsson under the Lady & Bird moniker, releasing an album that year.
Following her move to New York, Keren Ann unveiled the bilingual Nolita in 2004, her first undertaking without Biolay as she instead handled writing and production duties on most tracks herself. She continued with a self-titled album in 2007 that attracted some of the strongest notices of her career and peaked at number 13 on the French chart. During 2010 she supplied covers of 1960s French pop songs for director Benoît Pétré's Thelma, Louise et Chantal, created music for the European channel Arte, and wrote and produced material for actress, model, and singer Emmanuelle Seigner. She resumed solo work in 2011 with 101, another self-produced set blending folk, dreamy pop, and French chanson. The next year she supplied six songs to the soundtrack of the Israeli film Yossi by Etyan Fox, performed onscreen during a concert sequence, and welcomed her first child.
Upon resuming recording Keren Ann altered her workflow, partly funding sessions via crowdfunding. Collaborating in Brooklyn, Paris, and London with producer Renaud Letang, she captured performances live in the studio for the first time. The resulting You're Gonna Get Love appeared through Universal in April 2016. Her eighth album, Bleue, arrived in 2019 and earned its title from its melancholic character; it marked her sixth Top 40 placement on the French album chart.
Keren Ann Zeidel entered the world in Israel during 1974, born to a Dutch-Javanese mother and a Russian-Israeli father. At age nine her parents presented her with a guitar, prompting her to master pieces by Joni Mitchell and Serge Gainsbourg. Over subsequent years she also adopted the harmonica and clarinet. Zeidel and her family resided in both Israel and Holland prior to relocating to Paris, France when she turned eleven.
During the 1990s Zeidel encountered musician/arranger Benjamin Biolay, initiating a productive collaboration. As part of Shelby she issued several singles in 1998, among them "I+I+I." These attracted scant notice, yet she rebounded with the solo full-length La Biographie de Luka Philipsen in 2000. Merging trip-hop, folk, and French pop, she referenced Russian literature, Jewish folk music, French poetry, Bob Dylan, and Suzanne Vega—whose "Luka" informed the title—as shaping her distinctive approach.
La Biographie received warm European acclaim and drew favorable parallels to Françoise Hardy, Portishead, Beth Orton, and Dido. It further garnered multiple Victoires nominations, the French counterpart to the Grammy, spanning Best New Discovery for both artist and album plus Best Song of the Year. One track, "Jardin d'Hiver" co-authored with Biolay, achieved success for Henri Salvador, whose platinum-certified Chambre Avec Vue incorporated five songs jointly penned by Zeidel and Biolay.
In 2001 Zeidel reciprocated by contributing to Biolay's Rose Kennedy. Her next effort, La Disparition, appeared the following year alongside a simultaneous English-language counterpart. While shaping the record she immersed herself in Beatles, Chet Baker, and Tom Waits material, yielding a bluesier, jazzier texture. As before, much of the writing occurred alongside Biolay. Late in 2003 the English-language Not Going Anywhere emerged, reaching American listeners via Blue Note the subsequent summer. Concurrently Keren Ann partnered with Barði Jóhannsson under the Lady & Bird moniker, releasing an album that year.
Following her move to New York, Keren Ann unveiled the bilingual Nolita in 2004, her first undertaking without Biolay as she instead handled writing and production duties on most tracks herself. She continued with a self-titled album in 2007 that attracted some of the strongest notices of her career and peaked at number 13 on the French chart. During 2010 she supplied covers of 1960s French pop songs for director Benoît Pétré's Thelma, Louise et Chantal, created music for the European channel Arte, and wrote and produced material for actress, model, and singer Emmanuelle Seigner. She resumed solo work in 2011 with 101, another self-produced set blending folk, dreamy pop, and French chanson. The next year she supplied six songs to the soundtrack of the Israeli film Yossi by Etyan Fox, performed onscreen during a concert sequence, and welcomed her first child.
Upon resuming recording Keren Ann altered her workflow, partly funding sessions via crowdfunding. Collaborating in Brooklyn, Paris, and London with producer Renaud Letang, she captured performances live in the studio for the first time. The resulting You're Gonna Get Love appeared through Universal in April 2016. Her eighth album, Bleue, arrived in 2019 and earned its title from its melancholic character; it marked her sixth Top 40 placement on the French album chart.
Albums
Singles
