If anyone sees a review of "subtle movements" that is not listed here or in the comments, could you please msg me with a link?

Thanks!

....

From Brainwashed:

"Abtan's sounds are magical and transportive; their vivid fidelity and unequivocal crispness weave particular narratives with no small degree of confidence. From the beginning her work is organic, sounding less like music and more like the recorded adventures of an entrepreneurial and esoteric detective probing the deepest recesses of haunted caverns and finding hidden worlds tucked away there. In this way the title of her album reflects its content; that which is hidden, unnoticed, or too subtle is brought to the fore by Abtan's careful arrangements and given a detailed survey. An entire spectrum of insectoid percussion and globular synthetics are revealed in her compositions, their microscopic lives brought to life by gusts of electricity and storming spirits trapped behind a veil of static and other interference. What Abtan does best on Subtle Movements is construct a believable world of sounds, each unique and absorbing in their various depictions. She's captured the megalomaniacal rituals of a modern electrical shaman on tape, teased from the air the tortured confessions of a now reformed specter, and ploughed the ether in order to return a report of all its miniscule interactions."

[edit: the second paragraph says my songs are too short]


From Rough Trade:

"based in providence, rhode island abtan's subtle movements is possibly the most apt title for a record we have stumbled across this year. it is a fantastic record that showcases an artist who is totally on top of her game. her electro-acoustic, laptop based experiments are probably most closely akin to the work of maja ratke's solo work for rune grammafon. cd only on united diaries."


From Weirdomusic.com:

"Subtle Movements is a small masterpiece of sound and its processing. Working in the vein of acousmatic music, while completing her Master's Degree in electroacoustic composition at the Université de Montréal, Freida Abtan has conducted a grand alchemical experiment- one lasting four years. In her words:

"There is a very real magic in the manipulation of sound. Hidden intricacies that might not be perceptible when a sound is ingested raw are rendered audible through processing. Samples take on the characteristics of the methods by which they are treated and become
indistinguishable from others only to regain their separate identities after careful filtering. My compositions follow the path forged by visual collagists: a unified beast created from shards of the mundane."

This "unified beast" seems to be part chimera and part golem. Sometimes it staggers towards toward us with uncanny rumblings, other times it tickles the ear with intimate delicacy. While Abtan takes some points of departure from collaborator Steven Stapleton/ Nurse With Wound (who appears here on two exceptional tracks), she definitely stakes her own territory, a meadow where beauty and weirdness commingle. In a mode that suggests synaesthesia, her sound conjures unusual places, smells and sights. Subtle Movements is a musical potion designed to draw you into the Eighth Climate, stimulating your imagination as it caresses your quivering pineal gland. It is, by turns, exotic, erotic and awe-inspiring. Surrender to its magic; an unforgettable transmission from some distant oneiric outpost."

http://www.last.fm/music/Freida+Abtan

I will be touring Europe this spring with some of the good folks of Panospria. If you are a concert organizer or promoter and are interested in helping me with a show, please contact me directly through this site.

Myself and Anne-f from the band Minibloc are putting together a small series of 3" cds called Ladies Club featuring solo female electronic musicians revolving around Montreal. Le son 666 is gratiously releasing these compilations for us.

The first volume has tracks from:

Martine h. Crispo
Magali Babin
Freida Abtan
Anne-f
Nancy Tobin
Aircraft!


If you would like to purchase a copy you can do so from the label's website http://www.le-son666.com or in various locations around Montreal. They are cheap and lovely and I did all the artwork myself.

These will be officially released on FRIDAY June 8th at the ladies club show (see that account for details).

"subtle movements" will be available for purchase as of next week either directly from me or from the jnana records website: http://www.jnanarecords.com.

HOORAY.

Freida Abtan and Joda Clement live at Mutek 2006

http://www.bandeapart.fm/concerts.asp?id=416