Sun. Nov. 16

 Look up the word chanteuse in the dictionary and you’ll find something like “female singer, especially nightclub or cabaret.” Chanteuse is a word frequently applied to the Paris-born, New York-based elodieO. “It makes me smile,” she told us. “In French, it just means a singer, but I know they mean ‘jazz, torch’ [here].” So, you might be thinking of a range of singers such as Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Amanda King, Nico, Edith Piaf or Jane Birkin.  ElodieO – her first name is Elodie, her surname is Ozanne – has a whispering voice and her music a gentle, entrancing trip-hop vibe. It’s a sexy, elegant sound she and her trio bring to the Beehive Sunday Nov. 16, where she kicks off a ten-date tour.About her voice: elodieO (she prefers the lower case “e”) says that on first full-length CD, “Stubborn,” “the vocals are mixed loud, but what you’re making reference to [the whisper vocals] is I’m not holding notes or projecting. People will say like you’re whispering or talking, I guess this comes from the type of voice I have.  I developed my voice my own way.” She was a fan of Birkin and Bardot, “the way they deliver, not the technique.”

We first came across elodieO in the early aughts and immediately dug the sound, sort of like we did with Young Marble Giants, Stereolab or, well, Nico. (Her songs don't have Nico's doom-and-gloom element; it's just that beautiful, ethereal chanteuse thing.) When asked to describe how she writes music, what her aims are, elodieO says,  “People ask I cant answer. It’s completely uncalculated. It came naturally. Basically, I’m trying to have groove and maybe emotion, some fun and some depth at the same time.”

ElodieO, who came to New York eight years ago, has studied dance (tap, jazz), music (cello) and drama. She went to New York University. Before coming here, she acted in French TV.  “I actually wanted to perform in musical theater,” elodieO says of her earlier self, “and I was trained originally as a dancer. I was fascinated by musical movies, went to drama school, worked as an actress. Always a thing, I had this idea not of being triple threat, but a combining of dancing and music or theater and music. I always wanted to leave France, because I felt there was nothing in that country for me.”

 In New York, she did Off-Broadway and, tellingly, went to perform in a series of music-theater pieces in Ohio. It was a turning point. “I realized it was not for me. In my opinion, it was a beautiful art form that stuck into a commercial thing. I was cheesy, completely. (I’m trying to be polite.) In my head, I thought ‘what am I doing here? This has nothing to do with art.’ I used to be a good student, I like challenges ... I wanted to be a soloist but I didn’t have the voice to be a Broadway singer.”

 ElodieO is a staple of the New York City LES/Nublu electro scene that nurtured Kudu and The Brazilian Girls. ElodieO sings, composes and arranges the music; she employs strings, harp, melodica, drums, guitars and the like. (Live, it’s guitar, bass and drums are life; she’ll play some keyboards and melodica; other parts are sampled.) The sound is never cluttered. She'll cover songs by the late Serge Gainsbourg and The Cure, both of which make perfect sense.

ElodieO formed a jazz band, then later a semi-successful duo with Manuel Bienvenu called Elm. “When I started with Manuel, I was not writing,” she says. “I was looking for poetry to put to music, Little by little, I understood I had so many opinions and I want todo [write lyrics]. I learned a lot of things from things. I was dying to my own thing with my own personality. I was shy, not confident enough. But I finally found a way, did a couple of singles, and [French producer Boris Persikoff] gave me the keys to the studio. I’ve been extremely lucky to have people trust me.” She, essentially, learned on the job to be a composer, arranger and producer.

 At the Beehive, elodieO will play 60-75 minutes, starting about 8:45. (It’s a free show – drinks and food extra, of course – but you might want to call the number below for reservations.) Although her music is cool, she’s far from detached on stage. “It comes from my theater background,” she says. “I am there. It’s one of my strong points. I move a lot; movement is really part of the show."

After all of her bouncing about the art world, does she feel that, with her music, she’s finally found herself? Is it the new her? “I wouldn’t say it’s the new me,” says elodieO. “ I change directions. What I am is the result of everything I’ve collected. Everything I’ve done is coming back. It’s not something I can control.”

541 Tremont St., 617-423-0069 www.beehiveboston.com