Priscilla Ahn can play the part of a '60s chanteuse

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      When she calls the Straight, Priscilla Ahn is getting ready for a club show in Philadelphia, not far from where she grew up when she wasn’t in South Korea or elsewhere with her U.S.–serviceman father and Korean-born mother.

      “I’m excited to play here, because my parents and old friends are going to be here,” the singer-songwriter says during a sound-check break.

      It’s a pleasurable homecoming for an artist who started dabbling in composition at age 14, inspired by the music of heroes like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Not many years later she drove her first car to Los Angeles, acoustic guitars and harmonicas onboard, and, unlike most such strivers, she rather quickly recorded an album. Better yet, the disc was soon picked up by prestigious Blue Note records.

      “After I moved to L.A., I got more into jazz and started buying vinyl. I’m sure it comes out somehow in my music today. Anyway, they were the one label that really intimidated me; they have such an amazing history. Lately, they’ve been experimenting with more current sounds, and obviously they did pretty well with Norah Jones. Actually, I was interning at the studio when Amos Lee was recording for Blue Note, and people there showed some interest in my music.”

      That first album, A Good Day, showed her clever songcraft, and she managed to get the song “Dream” and several more (sometimes Cranberries-flavoured) placed in Love Happens and other movies. Her tunes have also been featured in more than a dozen TV shows and commercials. This bought more studio time. Her follow-up record, When You Grow Up, is a deluxe affair, full of unexpected instrumentation, spookily multitracked vocals in a Twin Peaks vein, and a surfeit of gorgeous melodies.

      “There’s a lot of instrumental variety, so it probably takes a couple spins to get into this one,” she asserts. Actually, it would be difficult not to get quickly seduced by her playful blend of off-kilter lyrics, soulfully breathy vocals (especially on the showstopping “City Lights [Pretty Lights]”), and retro-pop effects recalling French lounge singers like Françoise Hardy, most obviously on the sultry “Oo La La”.

      “That’s exactly what I was going for,” says the raven-haired guitar wielder, who could easily fit in with the glamour chanteuses of the swinging ’60s. “Fortunately, I had really wonderful support from my producer, Ethan Johns.” (He’s the son of legendary Brit hitmaker Glyn Johns, who made key albums with the Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Bob Dylan.)

      “These songs were written in the last three years, after a lot of reflection, and the album title just popped into my head; I guess it relates to thoughts about how to improve myself as a human being. Not that it’s educational in any way,” she adds with a laugh. “The first album was a flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants, and this one came out a stronger conception.”

      Priscilla Ahn plays the Media Club on Friday (October 14).

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