Off the Grid and on Her Game

During Summer in Exile, McKeown Records 1st Album of New Material in 4 Years

I f you wanted to reach singer Erin McKeown this summer, she certainly never made it easy.

After releasing two albums in 2007 (a bubbly collection of jazz standards called "Sing You Sinners" and a live album titled "Lafayette"), McKeown has spent this summer "off the grid," spending time in Nova Scotia, remote Michigan and rural Maine, where she recorded her upcoming album.

"I've actually been kind of disconnected from the communicative world this summer, and I prefer it that way," she says with a slight laugh. "There's definitely a thrill that I get from traveling, and I love to play for people . . . but I think my natural state is a more disconnected state."

The Fredericksburg native's career spans five albums, earning her a devoted following drawn to her powerful voice and guitar skills. During her dynamic live performances, she illustrates a diverse set of styles: swing, pop, flat-out rock.

McKeown, 30, has averaged 200 shows a year during her career. Although she has played the piano since she was 3 and guitar since she was 12, she never pictured performing for a living until she was 19 or 20. She says "music was just another thing I did, like going to gymnastics practice or doing homework." Now, she participates in Girls Rock! camps, which aim to teach and inspire young girls to play music.

During her summer in exile, she managed to record her first album of new material in four years. It's made up mostly of a backlog of songs from that time.

"The two-year writing-to-recording cycle of a record -- including touring for a large portion of that time -- is really hard," she says. "Honestly, I think three or four years of your life go into the writing and recording of a record. I know there's an expectation to have something new soon."

The record, she says, will be a more emotionally diverse set than "Sing You Sinners," her last studio recording.

"There's definitely some darker songs, but there are some songs that might even rival 'Sing You Sinners' in terms of verve and spirit, but the language is totally different. There's no swing on this record."

Furthermore, the record promises to have a different sound because, for the first time, McKeown won't be producing or co-producing the record. Her longtime friend and collaborator Sam Kassirer will handle production.

"I've always loved his take on my music -- the way he harmonically hears what I do," she says. "I've been working with him long enough that we've kind of been growing toward this project for a long time."

The production, McKeown says, will explore new territory by incorporating a different palette of sounds. The album will feature fewer traditional rock instruments and incorporate strings, horns, acoustic pianos and "tiny electronic sounds," she says.

With an ethnomusicology degree from Brown University, McKeown originally intended to become a scientist.

However, she changed course after becoming involved in music outside the classroom (she eventually wrote a thesis on performing at house parties).

"Very shortly, once I went to college, I had this epiphany -- a combination of meeting female musicians [and] understanding that music could be a career," she says. "I was just magnetically drawn to do that."

Erin McKeown Appearing Thursday at Iota (2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington). Show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets:$18, 703-522-8380 The Download: For a sampling of McKeown's music, check out: From "Distillation":· "Queen of Quiet" From "Grand":· "Born to Hum" · "A Better Wife" From "We Will Become Like Birds":· "We Are More" From "Sing You Sinners":· "Rhode Island Is Famous for You"