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Ember Swift will perform Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, at Key Cinemas.

I can barely hear Ember Swift's voice over the pans clanging in the background.

"Are you cooking?" I ask.

"Yes, butternut squash soup," Swift says with disarming kindness in her voice. "I'm putting all kinds of veggies in there."

Swift is talking to me from her countryside home situated between Ottawa and Montreal, Canada. It's snowing there, she tells me.

A singer-songwriter who personifies fierce independence, Swift toes no prescribed line. She channels world, jazz and punk and a litany of other genres through the folk tradition. And she does it on her own terms.

The outspoken vegan and environmental activist will perform at Key Cinemas, 4044 S. Keystone Ave., on Jan. 26. Here, she shares some of the wisdom she's earned as an independent artist who has toured internationally and released nine albums without the support of a major label.

Whatever alchemical thing that happens when you listen to music that moves you, that's what I'm after, both as a performer and a listener. I've chased that my whole career. To find it, you can't stay in one spot. You have to move around.

The word "activism" gets misused in a way that makes it seem dry and boring. "So she's a platform artist and tell-me-who-to-vote-for artist." That's not what I do. I think the best form of activism is to inspire people to have their own ideas.

I have been a consistent believer that music is best experienced live. It has this nebulous magic that you can't hold in your hands. You experience that with all of your senses and you walk away with a memory of it.

If being true to myself means that I will always be a fringe artist, that's fine. It is not an indication that I've failed. It's not about me. I'm just a vehicle to transport ideas, perspective and hope.

This industry requires points of reference, so I have no complaints being compared to Ani DiFranco. It could be a lot worse.

My parents are very supportive of what I do. They are both artists and teachers and have always believed in the power of expression. I am more radical and left-wing than they are, but they have always encouraged me to do and say what I feel.

I went through a phase of really outspoken lyrics halfway into my career. I had a song called "Rubber Bullets." I think I needed to get that out of my system. Now I can say what I mean without having to be so blunt.

You don't have to sing about democracy to be an activist artist. If you sing about being true to your heart, that is a form of activism. Many people see songs about love and being true to yourself as non-activist songs. I think that's crap. Love is the greatest activism there is.

It is not hypocritical not to be 100 percent vegan or 100 percent anything. It is your responsibility to take stock of what you are doing and try your best. Let's celebrate what we can do.