CALLmeKAT

Cela fait déjà quelques années que je suis le parcours de la jeune danoise Katrine Ottosen alias CallmeKat, son premier opus le sensuel et délicat Fall Down m'avait enthousiasmée au plus haut point en m'envoûtant durablement. D'ailleurs, si comme moi vous êtes devenu un inconditionnel de la belle jeune dame et de ce premier opus, je vous conseille de découvrir une autre version totalement retravaillée sous le titre de When Owls Are Out disponible à l'écoute et la vente sur bandcamp. Artiste indépendant depuis ses débuts puisque sa musique est distribuée via son label Pixie Booth, la danoise a organisé une campagne sur la plateforme communautaire Pledge Music afin de l'aider à réunir les fonds pour sortir physiquement (cd et vinyl) son second opus Where The River Turns Black. Et le moins que l'on puisse dire, c'est que cela en valait grandement le coup. Entourée d'une équipe de musiciens de choc et de charme : Sara Lee (Gang of Four, The B-52, Indigo Girls), Erika Spring (Au Revoir Simone), Helgi Jónsson (Teitur, Sigur Ros) ou encore le batteur et producteur Joe Magistro (Prophet Omega), la belle et intelligente brune a su mettre en avant des compositions à la fois sophistiquées et rafraîchissantes en renouvelant son univers à la base entre folktronica et pop. Sur ce nouvel opus, la musique électronique se fait plus discrète au profit de sonorités plus organiques donnant une vision plus dynamique et ample à la musique de CallmeKat sans perdre sa fraîcheur et son charme vénéneux. Parce qu'il faut le crier haut et fort, le point fort de Katrine Ottosen est le charme enivrant et irrésistible qui se dégage de son univers musical.

Where The River Turns Black est un album de pop alternative sublime à la fois moderne et vintage, catchy et posé, mélancolique et pétillant. Il est remarquable du début à la fin, l'introduction avec le titre éponyme Where The River Turns Black, mélange savant d'américana, de jazz et de pop, est une bombe mélodique en puissance. De suite, on se retrouve embarqué dans ses eaux troubles avant de déjà apercevoir une accalmie avec le sucré et exquis Sunny Day. Glass Walls prend le relais avec son rythme indolent et un refrain foncièrement ensorcelant. Un titre qui met en évidence l'originalité de l'univers de CallmeKat. You Don't Know renoue avec une pop girlie, sensuelle et une fois de plus irrésistible. Broken House lui vise à instaurer une ambiance plus sombre et intense donnant un cachet bluesy du plus bel effet à ce somptueux titre qui se trouve également rehaussé par la superbe interprétation de Katrine. Tiger Head est léger et catchy, une friandise à consommer sans modération. La seconde partie de l'opus est davantage intimiste et envoûtante. Going Home est le titre qui me touche le plus, une piste aérienne, minimaliste avec un fond sonore à l'imagerie poétique. The Haze remémorre les anciens travaux de la musicienne de par son aspect enchanteur et bricolé. L'hypnotique et grave Dead Of Winter procure des frissons de plaisir à travers sa sensualité glaciale tandis que la reprise Heart Full Of Soul des Yarbirds s'avère un petit bijou de séduction. L'album se clôture sur Black Ink, une ballade sobre, éthérée et puissamment fascinante à l'image de sa créatrice...

Where The River Turns Black est une petite tuerie de pop alternative. Un second album qui devrait révéler l'étendue du talent de l'ensorceleuse CallMeKat. A découvrir avant les autres. Un petit Must. - With Music In My Mind

On Wednesday night after devouring a deliciously colorful macrobiotic plate at Souen, my friend and I took a leisurely stroll on over to The Studio at Webster Hall to check out the Danish songstress CallMeKat. Her set started minutes before we were inside, and I could hear her soft yet boisterous voice emanating beyond the door. I wanted the ticket lady to sort her biz out with a bit of urgency so we could get inside.

Now if you've ever been to The Studio, it's best described as a cave: a dark, dusty cave underground that has probably seen some weird shit it its day. While this crowd was an intimate group of about 50 people, we all stood in awe as Kat Ottosen sung us into oblivion with her hauntingly beautiful voice. Kat is an adorable, slender young woman with long black hair and gigantic eyes that beamed with excitement as she let us into her world. Her new album, Where the River Turns Black, was recorded in collaboration with a full band. On this night, however, she performed solo on synth and mic duty. I am pretty sure my jaw was on the ground during the entire length of this set.

Kat prefaced the song “Going Home” as one of two songs she had written in an airport. This particular one was written from the lovely confines of Newark. Now, I’ve never been to Newark, but I can only imagine that if I ever do end up there, going home would be the only thing I would want to do. We can all relate to the feeling of being away from our nest for an extended period of time. As Kat breezily lulls, "I have seen the scenery but it still amazes me." There is nothing like the comfort of home, being in your own town, seeing those streets you have passed by a hundred times, that house on the corner that’s desperate for a paint job, and the knowledge that, if you ever had to, you could get from Wendy's to your driveway blindfolded in minutes. These images are embedded in your brain.

As if the songstress who captivated our hearts that night couldn’t get any more dazzling, she got us all dancing when she flawlessly busted out a kazoo. I love the kazoo as an ironic noise maker on New Year’s Eve, but this chick brought the plastic toy to a whole new level of awesome and closed her set to a roaring applause.
- Black Book Magazine

On Wednesday night after devouring a deliciously colorful macrobiotic plate at Souen, my friend and I took a leisurely stroll on over to The Studio at Webster Hall to check out the Danish songstress CallMeKat. Her set started minutes before we were inside, and I could hear her soft yet boisterous voice emanating beyond the door. I wanted the ticket lady to sort her biz out with a bit of urgency so we could get inside.

Now if you've ever been to The Studio, it's best described as a cave: a dark, dusty cave underground that has probably seen some weird shit it its day. While this crowd was an intimate group of about 50 people, we all stood in awe as Kat Ottosen sung us into oblivion with her hauntingly beautiful voice. Kat is an adorable, slender young woman with long black hair and gigantic eyes that beamed with excitement as she let us into her world. Her new album, Where the River Turns Black, was recorded in collaboration with a full band. On this night, however, she performed solo on synth and mic duty. I am pretty sure my jaw was on the ground during the entire length of this set.

Kat prefaced the song “Going Home” as one of two songs she had written in an airport. This particular one was written from the lovely confines of Newark. Now, I’ve never been to Newark, but I can only imagine that if I ever do end up there, going home would be the only thing I would want to do. We can all relate to the feeling of being away from our nest for an extended period of time. As Kat breezily lulls, "I have seen the scenery but it still amazes me." There is nothing like the comfort of home, being in your own town, seeing those streets you have passed by a hundred times, that house on the corner that’s desperate for a paint job, and the knowledge that, if you ever had to, you could get from Wendy's to your driveway blindfolded in minutes. These images are embedded in your brain.

As if the songstress who captivated our hearts that night couldn’t get any more dazzling, she got us all dancing when she flawlessly busted out a kazoo. I love the kazoo as an ironic noise maker on New Year’s Eve, but this chick brought the plastic toy to a whole new level of awesome and closed her set to a roaring applause.
- Black Book Magazine

Danish songstress CALLmeKAT blissfully blends her beautifully airy voice with a synth-pop aesthetic that makes for a quiet dance party. CALLmeKAT is the recording moniker of Katrine Ottosen, a singer and musician from Copenhagen, Denmark and she’s one of those artists that has been quietly generating some of the most incredible music around while flying well under most people’s radars. That’s all about to change though when she hits the road this month with indie darling Rocky Votolato.

As CALLmeKAT, Ottosen makes light-as-air synth-infused pop that matches melancholy with melody. She has a knack for pairing the organic sound of her wistful voice with her electronic love of vintage and analog keyboards. The result is a surprising blues-affected sultry lo-fi sound sure to make fans of anyone with a pulse. CALLmeKAT? Sure, when your music is this dreamy we’ll call you whatever you want.
- IFC.com

Danish songstress CALLmeKAT blissfully blends her beautifully airy voice with a synth-pop aesthetic that makes for a quiet dance party. CALLmeKAT is the recording moniker of Katrine Ottosen, a singer and musician from Copenhagen, Denmark and she’s one of those artists that has been quietly generating some of the most incredible music around while flying well under most people’s radars. That’s all about to change though when she hits the road this month with indie darling Rocky Votolato.

As CALLmeKAT, Ottosen makes light-as-air synth-infused pop that matches melancholy with melody. She has a knack for pairing the organic sound of her wistful voice with her electronic love of vintage and analog keyboards. The result is a surprising blues-affected sultry lo-fi sound sure to make fans of anyone with a pulse. CALLmeKAT? Sure, when your music is this dreamy we’ll call you whatever you want.
- IFC.com

Mojo's saw the first visit by indie ingénue CALLmeKAT, the moniker of Katrine Ottosen, who opened for Rocky Votolato with a solo set Monday night. The Danish musician is whipping up more support in Europe and the United States by embarking on her latest tour. With the positive direction she's headed, I imagine I'll end up telling people, "I saw her play back before she blew up."

NPR's Bob Boilen landed on her music during the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival, dubbing her voice "lovely and delicate" and admitting his attraction to the mix of vocals and electronics. On Monday evening, she showed even more facility with her vocal range and creative arrangements than the few videos sneaking around the Internet might let on. Some of my personal favorites are "Tiger Head" and a winsome, wry cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic." Both feature heavy bass lines, a drum machine and jazzed-up vocal hooks. These songs had great energy — both musically and interpersonally — in the intimate setting. Often playing two or three keyboards at a time and even wielding a kazoo for jazz interludes, CALLmeKAT demonstrated her love for the vintage electronic instruments at her fingertips.

Ottosen has been marking herself with a narrative becoming closely associated with Generation Y young adults located around the globe as she has marketed herself to a wider audience. Part of that narrative is her ability to perform in the tension between the technologies of the 21st century and the nostalgic elements of previous decades. "My Sea," for instance, has dreamy echoing harmonies layered over a steady snapping rhythm, at times borrowing from some of the same 1960s moods that New Zealand and Australian artists Kimbra and Gotye have made use of on their way to superstardom. These artists have been reinventing everything from the musical colors of Peter Gabriel to the jazz orchestrations of John Barry's iconic "James Bond" scores.

When it comes to visual art and design, that same tension is everywhere. It's found in the bebop funk soundscapes of Fitz and the Tantrums and the melty orchestral pop arrangements of songwriter Jessie Baylin. But it's also found in the return to the jades and sunny muted colors perpetuated during the 1970s that now reappear in contemporary graphic design and on folk music websites and videos.

Here I cite The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" and basically anything by James Vincent McMorrow. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention photo application Instagram, which is essentially a way for young adults to reimagine or escape to a time we never physically got to experience — a time full of shades and hues that I've only been able to find in 1970s snapshots of my parents.

In a January interview with NPR, Baylin confessed that her entire new album, "Little Spark," was recorded on an analog tape machine to capture the slightly grainy elements of vintage recording equipment; she also cited Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach as influences. Ottosen, in a similar vein, attempts to blend the old with the new, combining 1980s Korg and Casio keyboards with electronic sounds and ghost drums. Overall, her music is distinctly spare and lo-fi — no computers here, just what passed for high-tech a few decades ago. Even her music videos take place in natural areas reminiscent of dusty filtered landscapes. Again, it feels like Instagram-turned-video, where quiet sunlight filters through each cut.

Something about the tactile clunkiness of holding old keyboards — or vintage cameras or analog cassette machines — clearly appeals to the generation that moved from staticky televisions to computers and, now, to mobile devices. It's as if young people are straining to ground themselves in something real when everything is turning cyber. Polaroid and 35mm cameras have been making a comeback for several years now among hipsters, poseurs and true artmakers. I continue to hope most of these baby boomer relics are being used for the kind of vivid, stunning d - Columbia Daily Tribune

Mojo's saw the first visit by indie ingénue CALLmeKAT, the moniker of Katrine Ottosen, who opened for Rocky Votolato with a solo set Monday night. The Danish musician is whipping up more support in Europe and the United States by embarking on her latest tour. With the positive direction she's headed, I imagine I'll end up telling people, "I saw her play back before she blew up."

NPR's Bob Boilen landed on her music during the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival, dubbing her voice "lovely and delicate" and admitting his attraction to the mix of vocals and electronics. On Monday evening, she showed even more facility with her vocal range and creative arrangements than the few videos sneaking around the Internet might let on. Some of my personal favorites are "Tiger Head" and a winsome, wry cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic." Both feature heavy bass lines, a drum machine and jazzed-up vocal hooks. These songs had great energy — both musically and interpersonally — in the intimate setting. Often playing two or three keyboards at a time and even wielding a kazoo for jazz interludes, CALLmeKAT demonstrated her love for the vintage electronic instruments at her fingertips.

Ottosen has been marking herself with a narrative becoming closely associated with Generation Y young adults located around the globe as she has marketed herself to a wider audience. Part of that narrative is her ability to perform in the tension between the technologies of the 21st century and the nostalgic elements of previous decades. "My Sea," for instance, has dreamy echoing harmonies layered over a steady snapping rhythm, at times borrowing from some of the same 1960s moods that New Zealand and Australian artists Kimbra and Gotye have made use of on their way to superstardom. These artists have been reinventing everything from the musical colors of Peter Gabriel to the jazz orchestrations of John Barry's iconic "James Bond" scores.

When it comes to visual art and design, that same tension is everywhere. It's found in the bebop funk soundscapes of Fitz and the Tantrums and the melty orchestral pop arrangements of songwriter Jessie Baylin. But it's also found in the return to the jades and sunny muted colors perpetuated during the 1970s that now reappear in contemporary graphic design and on folk music websites and videos.

Here I cite The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" and basically anything by James Vincent McMorrow. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention photo application Instagram, which is essentially a way for young adults to reimagine or escape to a time we never physically got to experience — a time full of shades and hues that I've only been able to find in 1970s snapshots of my parents.

In a January interview with NPR, Baylin confessed that her entire new album, "Little Spark," was recorded on an analog tape machine to capture the slightly grainy elements of vintage recording equipment; she also cited Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach as influences. Ottosen, in a similar vein, attempts to blend the old with the new, combining 1980s Korg and Casio keyboards with electronic sounds and ghost drums. Overall, her music is distinctly spare and lo-fi — no computers here, just what passed for high-tech a few decades ago. Even her music videos take place in natural areas reminiscent of dusty filtered landscapes. Again, it feels like Instagram-turned-video, where quiet sunlight filters through each cut.

Something about the tactile clunkiness of holding old keyboards — or vintage cameras or analog cassette machines — clearly appeals to the generation that moved from staticky televisions to computers and, now, to mobile devices. It's as if young people are straining to ground themselves in something real when everything is turning cyber. Polaroid and 35mm cameras have been making a comeback for several years now among hipsters, poseurs and true artmakers. I continue to hope most of these baby boomer relics are being used for the kind of vivid, stunning d - Columbia Daily Tribune

Kicking off the show early, opener CALLmeKat (Katrine Ottosen) brought her unique brand of retro, fuzz pop to the stage for a 45 minute set that was both surprisingly captivating and attention grabbing. Though small in stature, the Denmark-bred songstress’ vocal prowess is something to be reckoned with.

Equal parts spooky and mesmerizing, CALLmeKAT kept the subdued Seattle crowd on their feet – slipping seamlessly between indie-pop vocals and futuristic electronic breakdowns in the vein of Inara George, only to be interrupted by a kazoo solo that had most jaws in the showroom dropping to the floor.
- Anotherrainysaturday.com

Kicking off the show early, opener CALLmeKat (Katrine Ottosen) brought her unique brand of retro, fuzz pop to the stage for a 45 minute set that was both surprisingly captivating and attention grabbing. Though small in stature, the Denmark-bred songstress’ vocal prowess is something to be reckoned with.

Equal parts spooky and mesmerizing, CALLmeKAT kept the subdued Seattle crowd on their feet – slipping seamlessly between indie-pop vocals and futuristic electronic breakdowns in the vein of Inara George, only to be interrupted by a kazoo solo that had most jaws in the showroom dropping to the floor.
- Anotherrainysaturday.com

We usually do a South by Southwest wrap up on All Songs Considered. Not this year. With so much live coverage from SXSW, including our daily late night podcasts, blog posts with video clips, live concerts and more, we felt like it was time to move on. Also, our desks were buried under new music we'd been unable to hear for weeks, and we had a lot of new albums and artists to tell you about. (Our show next week is a look at 20 new releases for the spring).

I did feel that a good, short summary would be a fitting guide. To that end, Robin and I did a spreadsheet of all the artists we could remember seeing. I posed the simple question, "Would you see them again or not?"

So here you go. If you click the artists name it will take you to any coverage we have of their music. - npr.org

Good job! CallmeKat, yeah, call me insane if not a whole new special star is born with Kat – or Katrine Ottosen, who sounds like both a purring and playful specimen of the race on Fall Down. She really does take us all the way inside on her musical expedition, where she visits both Lise Westzynthius, Billie Holiday and Ja Confetti. But I have to quote the old poetry book ”Little cat, Little cat, Little cat on the road? Who owns you? I’m my bloody own!”. She is her own. Especially you should listen to ’Flower In The Night’ and ’Sweet You’. And even if my 11 year-old is close to feeling nausea over Kat’s version of Toxic, I would be more than willing to catch her vomit! Sure we will be hearing a lot more about her. - ALT for Damerne (magazine), November 2008:

Take Fiona Apple’s attitude, Stina Nordenstam’s fragility and a bit of that semi-electronic semi-melancholy characterizing CocoRosie, then add Katrine Ottosen’s own addictive magic dream spice - and you’ll have CALLmeKAT, who despite her involvement in the Nouvelle Vague-producer Marc Collins' ’Two For The Road' project, never really managed to attract special attention at home. ?Not? yet anyway. Because Katrine Ottosen has just picked up from this spring's excellent EP 'I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You? " and continues in the same crooked track on the debut album 'Fall Down', which offers even more well-produced, electroacoustic and professionally home made pop compositions, dominated by Katrine Ottosen’s seductive and warm vocal sound.

In particular 'Flower In The Night', which stands as a strong captivating climax in the middle of the record, but also 'My Sea', 'Not awake' and 'When Should We Go' are small, warm and contrasting gems. On the other hand the jazzy cover version of the excellent Britney Spears hit 'Toxic' limits absorption, but is okay because the track in it's basic form is not far from the captivating , covert-y universe CALLmeKAT (also) finds herself in. You can fall or let yourself fall. In 'Fall Down' Katrine Ottosen does the latter, which has resulted in this very promising debut that exudes courage, creativity and a healthy longing for - and certainly deserving – more and other than just to end up in ordinary forgetfulness.



- DR.dk (Danish National Radio's webpage), November 2008. Album review.

Take Fiona Apple’s attitude, Stina Nordenstam’s fragility and a bit of that semi-electronic semi-melancholy characterizing CocoRosie, then add Katrine Ottosen’s own addictive magic dream spice - and you’ll have CALLmeKAT, who despite her involvement in the Nouvelle Vague-producer Marc Collins' ’Two For The Road' project, never really managed to attract special attention at home. ?Not? yet anyway. Because Katrine Ottosen has just picked up from this spring's excellent EP 'I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You? " and continues in the same crooked track on the debut album 'Fall Down', which offers even more well-produced, electroacoustic and professionally home made pop compositions, dominated by Katrine Ottosen’s seductive and warm vocal sound.

In particular 'Flower In The Night', which stands as a strong captivating climax in the middle of the record, but also 'My Sea', 'Not awake' and 'When Should We Go' are small, warm and contrasting gems. On the other hand the jazzy cover version of the excellent Britney Spears hit 'Toxic' limits absorption, but is okay because the track in it's basic form is not far from the captivating , covert-y universe CALLmeKAT (also) finds herself in. You can fall or let yourself fall. In 'Fall Down' Katrine Ottosen does the latter, which has resulted in this very promising debut that exudes courage, creativity and a healthy longing for - and certainly deserving – more and other than just to end up in ordinary forgetfulness.



- DR.dk (Danish National Radio's webpage), November 2008. Album review.

Fall Down is the first long-play from Call Me Kat who goes by the bourgeois name Katrine Ottosen. Earlier this year she released the extremely fine EP ’I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You?’, and Fall Down picks up where the ep left off. The sound moves convincingly between the scrambled and polished with Ottosens expressive vocals as an anchor. The first track Do Your Trick is pleasantly crunchy and full of playful tunes. From here on the record grows in expression, and slowly several catchy tunes sneak up on the listener with a playful sneakiness that's hard to resist. Like Kat-colleague Chan Marshall, Ottosen involves personal covers of other artists' tracks. The version of The Cures ’Lovecats’ is really fine, though a little indifferent, while the tremendously cocky and muggy version of Britney Spears' Toxic certainly benefits from Call Me Kats wrapping. ? With her spinning and purring she creates an exciting sound that cuddles the listener, and potential Kat-lovers have a presence filled experience ahead of them. - Gaffa (leading danish music magazine), November 2008. Album review.

Fall Down is the first long-play from Call Me Kat who goes by the bourgeois name Katrine Ottosen. Earlier this year she released the extremely fine EP ’I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You?’, and Fall Down picks up where the ep left off. The sound moves convincingly between the scrambled and polished with Ottosens expressive vocals as an anchor. The first track Do Your Trick is pleasantly crunchy and full of playful tunes. From here on the record grows in expression, and slowly several catchy tunes sneak up on the listener with a playful sneakiness that's hard to resist. Like Kat-colleague Chan Marshall, Ottosen involves personal covers of other artists' tracks. The version of The Cures ’Lovecats’ is really fine, though a little indifferent, while the tremendously cocky and muggy version of Britney Spears' Toxic certainly benefits from Call Me Kats wrapping. ? With her spinning and purring she creates an exciting sound that cuddles the listener, and potential Kat-lovers have a presence filled experience ahead of them. - Gaffa (leading danish music magazine), November 2008. Album review.

CALLmeKAT
This evening Call Me Kat's appearance is simple. A black dress and a white head band is the visual accompaniment to the music, that is cut to the bone compared with especially her latest release, the fine 'Fall Down' from last year. 'Somewhere' starts off with deep, rasping keyboard sounds, that creates a platform for Katrine Ottosen's alluring voice, which really doesn't unfold itself for real until the next song, the brilliant 'Bug In A Web'.

Ottosen's voice is rich, warm and pleasant while simultaneously possessing a rare sort of jazzy coolness that one just wants to dive into. The minimalist style of keyboard playing adds a daring edge to the total sound scape, that it's very hard not to be infatuated by.

The Kat on the stage simultaneously appears fragile and in total control. The intuitiveness of the songs burns through in the sparse arrangements, and it's a true treat to listen to. The only downside of the delight is the at times loud audience, that to a an unreasonable extend disturbs the attention directed towards the charming performer on the stage.

Call Me Kat has the ability to twist the pop elements of the music to her own advantage all the while making the songs span a very wide range, using very few ingredients. It is beautiful, airy and persistent at the same time, and Ottosen delivers her songs with true dedication. It is absolutely convincing and when considering the means even more impressive is it, that she manages to avoid any monotony in the music. It is simply outstanding.

Although the turnout this evening was nice, Call Me Kat definitely deserves a bigger audience. Tonight she's really proven her worth.

(source: http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/31384%3Cbr/%3E )
- Gaffa (online version of the music magazine), Febuary 2009.

Give the debut artist CALLmeKat a chance - and it could end up being an addictive acquaintance. The young copenhagen-based Katrine Ottosen has one of the most seductive voices announcing its arrival this year and her EP is brilliant. CALLmeKAT is on the same page as Lise Westzynthius and Stina Nordenstam: A shaky and intimate presence with a musically hunting nerve. The arrangements are fragile, creaking and dreamily-delicate. And Katrine Ottosen sings with such sensual and steamy frasings that she risks being met with extraordinary carbon-dioxide-duties from the greedy Danish state. If a little more melodic material is added to the full-length album CALLmeKAT supposedly is going to put out before too long, it risks becoming a fascinating record. - JP, Morgenavisen Jyllands Posten (danish broad sheet), June 2008.

Give the debut artist CALLmeKat a chance - and it could end up being an addictive acquaintance. The young copenhagen-based Katrine Ottosen has one of the most seductive voices announcing its arrival this year and her EP is brilliant. CALLmeKAT is on the same page as Lise Westzynthius and Stina Nordenstam: A shaky and intimate presence with a musically hunting nerve. The arrangements are fragile, creaking and dreamily-delicate. And Katrine Ottosen sings with such sensual and steamy frasings that she risks being met with extraordinary carbon-dioxide-duties from the greedy Danish state. If a little more melodic material is added to the full-length album CALLmeKAT supposedly is going to put out before too long, it risks becoming a fascinating record. - JP, Morgenavisen Jyllands Posten (danish broad sheet), June 2008.

Danish Katrine Ottosen is not a musician who flashes her music muscles. A couple of curly beats, a calm keyboard riff, a little bit of sampled real-sounds and her own expressive vocal is everything she needs to put together a song. To her advantage she has flair for putting together moving and personal soundscapes from her stripped down starting point.

The debut EP "I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You" is oozing out the same mellow thoughtfulness as a summer sunday in the sun. On 'Bug In A Web' Ottosen creates an intimate room that sucks in the listener with its delicateness, by the means of sampled bird sounds and something that sounds like a toy piano.
'Flower In The Night' combines a discrete wavy beat and softly rocking melodica notes into a great little composition, which in a fair world would be mandatory for heavy airplay.
And in the same way all of the five songs from the EP arrives safely into the harbour, brilliantly tied together by three instrumental tracks.

It makes sense to compare CALLmeKAT to American CocoRosie. Partly because both projects swarm for homemade, half-electronic arrangements, and partly because Ottosen's voice has the same crooked, oddly attractive tone like Sierra Cassidy's of the excentric sister duo. This is first and foremost mentioned to underline the unique in Ottosen's solo project, a project that yours truly would love to see in full-length album bloom sometime in the future.
- Soundvenue (music magazine), June 2008. EP review.

Danish Katrine Ottosen is not a musician who flashes her music muscles. A couple of curly beats, a calm keyboard riff, a little bit of sampled real-sounds and her own expressive vocal is everything she needs to put together a song. To her advantage she has flair for putting together moving and personal soundscapes from her stripped down starting point.

The debut EP "I'm In A Polaroid - Where Are You" is oozing out the same mellow thoughtfulness as a summer sunday in the sun. On 'Bug In A Web' Ottosen creates an intimate room that sucks in the listener with its delicateness, by the means of sampled bird sounds and something that sounds like a toy piano.
'Flower In The Night' combines a discrete wavy beat and softly rocking melodica notes into a great little composition, which in a fair world would be mandatory for heavy airplay.
And in the same way all of the five songs from the EP arrives safely into the harbour, brilliantly tied together by three instrumental tracks.

It makes sense to compare CALLmeKAT to American CocoRosie. Partly because both projects swarm for homemade, half-electronic arrangements, and partly because Ottosen's voice has the same crooked, oddly attractive tone like Sierra Cassidy's of the excentric sister duo. This is first and foremost mentioned to underline the unique in Ottosen's solo project, a project that yours truly would love to see in full-length album bloom sometime in the future.
- Soundvenue (music magazine), June 2008. EP review.

This is cool. Finally a liberating initiative from a Danish, female artist.
The Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurdsson has had his hands on Katrine Ottosen’s music as well as he has had his hands on Bjørk’s and Sigur Ros’, and I think that it’s obvious to conclude that Icelandic are capable of special things.
The atmosphere is full of mystery and intensity – and it is alluring. Katrine Ottosen’s jazzy, and Balkan inspired pop electronica is a lasting winner. Top it up with quirky tracks such as cover versions of ’Toxic’ and ’The Lovecats’ and a debut album just doesn’t get much better.
- KBH (magazine), December 2008.

This is cool. Finally a liberating initiative from a Danish, female artist.
The Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurdsson has had his hands on Katrine Ottosen’s music as well as he has had his hands on Bjørk’s and Sigur Ros’, and I think that it’s obvious to conclude that Icelandic are capable of special things.
The atmosphere is full of mystery and intensity – and it is alluring. Katrine Ottosen’s jazzy, and Balkan inspired pop electronica is a lasting winner. Top it up with quirky tracks such as cover versions of ’Toxic’ and ’The Lovecats’ and a debut album just doesn’t get much better.
- KBH (magazine), December 2008.

Good job! CallmeKat, yeah, call me insane if not a whole new special star is born with Kat – or Katrine Ottosen, who sounds like both a purring and playful specimen of the race on Fall Down. She really does take us all the way inside on her musical expedition, where she visits both Lise Westzynthius, Billie Holiday and Ja Confetti. But I have to quote the old poetry book ”Little cat, Little cat, Little cat on the road? Who owns you? I’m my bloody own!”. She is her own. Especially you should listen to ’Flower In The Night’ and ’Sweet You’. And even if my 11 year-old is close to feeling nausea over Kat’s version of Toxic, I would be more than willing to catch her vomit! Sure we will be hearing a lot more about her. - ALT for Damerne (magazine), November 2008:

It winds soaringly around, it really does. The voice. Around the words it sings, around the instruments accompanying it and not least around the listener receiving it. Katrine Ottosen’s musical alias CALLmeKAT’s vocal steals the attention from 'Fall Down's first crackling breath to the last.

It's not because it's loud. On the contrary Ottosen hardly raises her voice throughout the album’s 13 songs. In stead, it appears fragile, hush and extremely expressive in it's girly and at times jazzy way. This is why it accompanies the laptops soothing crackling, the cellos fine strings and the keyboards, glockenspiel and real-sounds so well.

The melodies and the sound image that accompanies Ottosens vocals, are home made electronica-pop songs: Laid back, curly and very simple. It is Ottosens vocals, that sings life and warmth into the tunes. Most of the time the tracks mellow away in a comfortable resting rate, but sometimes individual tracks stick out like 'Not Awake', 'My Sea' and 'Flower in the Night' and step up the tempo. It gives the songs a little more flounder and suits them well.

'Fall Down' is Ottosen’s first full length album and a good first move. Once in a while your mind is lead to CocoRosie’s world because of the playful approach to electronica and the crooked girly vocal, just like Ottosen’s 'Flower in the Night' reminds you of Skye Edwards from Morcheeba. But these are first and foremost musical benchmarks and do not draw from the appearance of a finely redeemed first album.


- SOUNDVENUE (music magazine), November 2008. Album review.

It winds soaringly around, it really does. The voice. Around the words it sings, around the instruments accompanying it and not least around the listener receiving it. Katrine Ottosen’s musical alias CALLmeKAT’s vocal steals the attention from 'Fall Down's first crackling breath to the last.

It's not because it's loud. On the contrary Ottosen hardly raises her voice throughout the album’s 13 songs. In stead, it appears fragile, hush and extremely expressive in it's girly and at times jazzy way. This is why it accompanies the laptops soothing crackling, the cellos fine strings and the keyboards, glockenspiel and real-sounds so well.

The melodies and the sound image that accompanies Ottosens vocals, are home made electronica-pop songs: Laid back, curly and very simple. It is Ottosens vocals, that sings life and warmth into the tunes. Most of the time the tracks mellow away in a comfortable resting rate, but sometimes individual tracks stick out like 'Not Awake', 'My Sea' and 'Flower in the Night' and step up the tempo. It gives the songs a little more flounder and suits them well.

'Fall Down' is Ottosen’s first full length album and a good first move. Once in a while your mind is lead to CocoRosie’s world because of the playful approach to electronica and the crooked girly vocal, just like Ottosen’s 'Flower in the Night' reminds you of Skye Edwards from Morcheeba. But these are first and foremost musical benchmarks and do not draw from the appearance of a finely redeemed first album.


- SOUNDVENUE (music magazine), November 2008. Album review.

see link - NPR.org

see link - NPR.org

see link - Interview Magazine

see link - Interview Magazine

see link - Billboard publicity wire

see link - Billboard publicity wire

see link - Spinner.com

see link - Paper Mag

see link - Paper Mag

New star on the Danish laptop-scene debuting with intimate and graceful ep. ****

Call Me Kat is laptop-singer/songwriter Katrine Ottosen's OneWomanBand. She is one of the many women at home and abroad that do the singing, arranging, recording and producing everything themselves, in this case with assistance from mixing Icelandic Valgeir Sigurðsson. And the result is highly successful.
Actually this is a 27 minute long debut-ep, but it works great as longplay because of the depth of the melodies and diversity in the material.
Five tracks resembles Silje Nes and early Múm with Kat’s girly vocals of detail-rich collages of sampled sounds and instruments, while three are breezy instrumental a la Colleen. (...)
The result is intimate in a graceful, melancholic way that is very much Kats own. Discreet yet endearing thanks to the opening track Bug In A Web, which acts as a perfect icebreaker. Add to that Tarik Mikous elegant purple tinted booklet with bare trees and snow covered landscape and you have a delicate, atmospheric whole.

- GAFFA (music magazine), august 2008. EP review.

New star on the Danish laptop-scene debuting with intimate and graceful ep. ****

Call Me Kat is laptop-singer/songwriter Katrine Ottosen's OneWomanBand. She is one of the many women at home and abroad that do the singing, arranging, recording and producing everything themselves, in this case with assistance from mixing Icelandic Valgeir Sigurðsson. And the result is highly successful.
Actually this is a 27 minute long debut-ep, but it works great as longplay because of the depth of the melodies and diversity in the material.
Five tracks resembles Silje Nes and early Múm with Kat’s girly vocals of detail-rich collages of sampled sounds and instruments, while three are breezy instrumental a la Colleen. (...)
The result is intimate in a graceful, melancholic way that is very much Kats own. Discreet yet endearing thanks to the opening track Bug In A Web, which acts as a perfect icebreaker. Add to that Tarik Mikous elegant purple tinted booklet with bare trees and snow covered landscape and you have a delicate, atmospheric whole.

- GAFFA (music magazine), august 2008. EP review.

Music: CALLmeKAT
Earlier this year Katrine Ottosen under the alias CALLmeKAT released a mini album, which was spectacular in its own quiet way. Her gentle keyboards, soft rhythms and sampled real sounds mixed together in a drowsy as well as a dreamy expression, perfectly matching the multiinstrumentalist’s sensual vocals.

And on her full length debut, understandably she did not consider it necessary to add any radical new material to the personal and transient-musical design. Yes, even The Cures »The Lovecats« and Britney Spears’ »Toxic« sound like her own compositions, when they run through her amorous and crackling filters. But where as the sound image is completely under control, the album lacks the melodic schwung that could excel the album. None the less, it is sensual and mood-setting, and »Fall Down« is among the best danish debuts of the year.
- Berlingske Tidende (national broad sheet), November 2008. Album review.

Music: CALLmeKAT
Earlier this year Katrine Ottosen under the alias CALLmeKAT released a mini album, which was spectacular in its own quiet way. Her gentle keyboards, soft rhythms and sampled real sounds mixed together in a drowsy as well as a dreamy expression, perfectly matching the multiinstrumentalist’s sensual vocals.

And on her full length debut, understandably she did not consider it necessary to add any radical new material to the personal and transient-musical design. Yes, even The Cures »The Lovecats« and Britney Spears’ »Toxic« sound like her own compositions, when they run through her amorous and crackling filters. But where as the sound image is completely under control, the album lacks the melodic schwung that could excel the album. None the less, it is sensual and mood-setting, and »Fall Down« is among the best danish debuts of the year.
- Berlingske Tidende (national broad sheet), November 2008. Album review.

CALLmeKAT
This evening Call Me Kat's appearance is simple. A black dress and a white head band is the visual accompaniment to the music, that is cut to the bone compared with especially her latest release, the fine 'Fall Down' from last year. 'Somewhere' starts off with deep, rasping keyboard sounds, that creates a platform for Katrine Ottosen's alluring voice, which really doesn't unfold itself for real until the next song, the brilliant 'Bug In A Web'.

Ottosen's voice is rich, warm and pleasant while simultaneously possessing a rare sort of jazzy coolness that one just wants to dive into. The minimalist style of keyboard playing adds a daring edge to the total sound scape, that it's very hard not to be infatuated by.

The Kat on the stage simultaneously appears fragile and in total control. The intuitiveness of the songs burns through in the sparse arrangements, and it's a true treat to listen to. The only downside of the delight is the at times loud audience, that to a an unreasonable extend disturbs the attention directed towards the charming performer on the stage.

Call Me Kat has the ability to twist the pop elements of the music to her own advantage all the while making the songs span a very wide range, using very few ingredients. It is beautiful, airy and persistent at the same time, and Ottosen delivers her songs with true dedication. It is absolutely convincing and when considering the means even more impressive is it, that she manages to avoid any monotony in the music. It is simply outstanding.

Although the turnout this evening was nice, Call Me Kat definitely deserves a bigger audience. Tonight she's really proven her worth.

(source: http://gaffa.dk/anmeldelse/31384%3Cbr/%3E )
- Gaffa (online version of the music magazine), Febuary 2009.

If people like CALLmeKAT and others continue to take what has been and work their own individual magic into it, that, in my opinion, is how we'll continue to move forward. Not in forgetting or parroting the past but in reinvigorating and redeeming it. - Columbia Daily Tribune