Christine Owman

I ended up choosing Christine Owman over Women (sorry Women!), and her set at the Arrata Opera Centre was both bizarre and wonderful. The crowd was sitting cross-legged on the floor and was very appreciative, while Owman was headbanging her way through offbeat music that you could probably call singer-songwriter, but should probably work in some qualifiers like "had a musical saw and a ukelele and surreal backing video and is probably a little bit crazy." If you weren't there, you should buy her record anyway and tell people you saw her, because it was really pretty good.

by Peter Hemminger - Fast Forward Weekly

The first of them, Christine Owman, was the one I’d come to see. Intrigued by the videos I’d seen combining electronics and theatrics with decades old film footage, there was no way I was going to miss the live spectacle. Nor was there any way that Ms. Owman, loop station and musical saw in tow, was going to disappoint, filling her set with all the dramatics of an ugly breakup coupled with the sweetness of the reconciliation. - The Indie Handbook

Sweden’s Christine Owman was next, performing a one woman DIY set that would give Xavier Rudd something to smile about. With obscure movie projections from the 20s & 30s in the background, Christine whipped out the saw, the cello and the ukulele while she sung through effect pedals, as an interpretive dancer made it something truly theatrical. Vocally, in spite of a truly unique musical experience, she embodied the sprit of many female performers who have come before her: Melissa Auf de Maur, Cat Power, PJ Harvey, Bjork and many more. It’s rare to use the word unique these days when describing an artist – but Owman definitely holds true to its very definition, creating some pretty damn entertaining music in the process. - The Aure View

Christine Owman is as leftfield as you can get: “There’s so much you have to do when you’re alive. I hate the conventional part of me who struggles with keeping up with what the ideal woman is supposed to look and be like, what latest innovation that’ll make me happy or what a happy life is supposed to be like. I struggle with convention every day. It feeds me with unnecessary cravings and makes me compare myself with unrealistic visions. Living today, at least in my generation, equals to the eternal search and race towards getting acknowledgement from others - getting seen. There once was a saying ‘I think, therefore I am.’ Today’s version of that is ‘You see me, therefore I am.’ I don’t need to stand out of the crowd. I just don’t want to be a part of it.”

With Tom Wait’s rhythms, PJ Harvey’s sensual attitude, Elliott Smith’s reserved vocals, the mystique of Twin Peaks combined with Bjork’s fresh originality, this lady blew me away. It was a mesmerising, sincere performance from this Scandinavian artist now residing in Liverpool. Complete with a video backdrop relevant to each song, various instruments, and 2 mics to provide different vocal sounds, Owman had the small audience captivated. The interesting thing was that she hasn’t the greatest of voices, but, the combination of her deep sincerity and ability to communicate her feelings openly, combining instruments and multi-media, was inspiring. It was the most moving performance of Sound City 2010 and lovely example of ‘performance art.’

By Ed - Shakenstir

Singer/Songwriter Christine Owman is known for throwing back to the 20’s on stage with the use of obscure movie projections, saw-playing and chilling cello and ukulele solos. This half-Danish and half-Swedish experimental artist got her start as a sound scientist mixing noises, instrumentals and special effects to create the imperfectly beautiful foundation she uses today.

With that foundation, Owman is about to release her latest album Throwing Knives; a dreamy blend of folk and distorted sound effects often compared to artists like Bjork, Kate Bush and Portishead. The album is untouchable and completely free. Listeners will hear Owman reaching for the sky.

Throwing Knives opens with a playful song called “Spelling Words”. This track begins with a quirky bouncing cello solo and tiptoeing sneaky ukulele verse. Owman enters the song in a duet with Andi Almqvist as the two sing, “If truth has objective points of views then what history / a person stores / is true when it comes to perceiving a word like it’s spelled?” This piece has an inventive vibe as if pulled right out of the head of a crazed eccentric artist. The cello steadily guides listeners through the piece, which explores the theme of truth and objectivity as philosophies and ideas are spilling into the ears of the listener.

“Dance” opens with a creepy distorted vibe. Owman sneaks her way in with quite, whispering vocals as she sings in a chant-like tone, “She’s the best damn woman that you ever saw / and she teases you to death / when her eyes are on you you’ll do anything / to make her eeeee for you the same”. This song is laced with dark sound effects and tribal-like drum beats with occasional eerie backup vocals and distorted sound effects. Listeners will feel paranoid and hypnotized as Owman whispers into their ears.

The album ends with a song called “Goodnight”. Imagine Owman in her bed quietly singing herself to sleep in a subtle distorted voice as she plays a xylophone. This track sounds like a creepy lullaby as Owman sings “I smell you on the first floor / through the keyhole in your door / but the calmness sees me through / stops my goodnight kiss to you”. - Womens Radio

"Spelling Words," the first song on this third full-length from the Swedish singer/songwriter, begins in a tipsy saw of cello, a regular plink and plunk of banjo, the soft-focus drift of folky female vocals. Traditional sounds turn slightly askew, sheer sonic pleasure turns into something slightly darker and more eccentric, as Owman questions the very nature of human connection, the fallibility of human communication, Swedish singer/songwriter Christine Owman. It's an odd song, seductively soft on the surface but full of sharp, jutting angles, familiar-sounding but, once examined, contrarian and vaguely unsettling. It's an excellent introduction for Throwing Knives, too, showcasing the wiry, unconventional intelligence of an unusual artist.

Throwing Knives spends a good bit of its ten tracks on relationships in various stages of disintegration, yet to call it a break-up album is a gross oversimplication. Singing in a soft, blurry voice that verges from folk to pop to electro, she resembles, in her quietude, the Twin Peaks muse Julee Cruise. Still listen to the empowerment in her lyrics, or the potent way she combines electronic and organic elements, and other comparisons emerge - Kristin Hersh, Juliana Hatfield, even Beth Gibbons. Owman sings from a position of strength, a sense that she will be okay regardless of romantic outcomes. She is never, even at her most melancholy and introspective, anyone's victim. "I won't take it just cos I love you," she sings on "The Conflict," and the line has a bit of a lift to it, a bit of the dance floor's pulse and heedlessness.

Owman has been playing the cello since early childhood and has since taught herself to handle a full complement of other instruments - banjo, musical saw, drums, bass, guitar and piano. Her oddest songs, lyrically, are often juxtaposed with down home arrangements. "Circles" is all drum-shuffling, banjo picking blues, Owman's voice trilling and fluttering around button-downed country rhythms; it also has an entire stanza about masturbation.

In the softer, more traditional songs, Owman brings in her modern viewpoint subtly, in the lyrics and in the way she works sweetness into confrontation and vice versa. Yet this is also a songwriter who is comfortable with technology, who performs general, in front of a screen showing movies she herself has created. So, it is not surprising that some of her strongest material is abrasive and current, churning industrial-strength dance beats under her delicate, billowy melodies. "Dance," Owman's most unadulterated statement of independence, undulates with sensuality, a buzz-saw rhythm under diaphanous lyrics, little gasps of breath punctuating the song's phrases. "She's a dancing baby, but she's not dancing for you," Owman murmurs. You get the picture of a very modern woman, intrigued by love but not consumed by it, self-sufficient, sexual, and not necessarily available.

Much of women's pop and rock seems to be primarily directed at men, packaging femininity in ways that confirm or overturn male-generated stereotypes. Throwing Knives comes at womanhood from the inside, painting a far more complicated, conflicted view that may or may not appeal to the opposite sex. That it's couched in beautiful, eerie melodies, sometimes delicate, sometimes ragged arrangements, and a dream-like vocal prettiness can only add to the conundrum. Christine Owman is certainly not going for the obvious.
by JENNIFER KELLY - Blurt Magazine

Rebels know how to stir the pot, but Swedish musician Christine Owman kicks the whole damn thing over. Asked about the state of the music industry, the Swedish singer/songwriter once said, “The music industry is what you call ‘music culture’ when you suck the individualism and integrity out and let businessmen try to make money out of it.” Those are tall words right there. Unlike the millions of other supposedly badass musicians on this Earth, Owman backs her growl with a rabies-giving bite. She founded her own record label, Revolving Records, on which she released her latest album, Throwing Knives, in 2010. Unfortunately for the rebellious bard, part of pissing off the status quo is that they don’t want anything to do with you. That’s why Throwing Knives is just now making its triumphant review debut with ESM. You won’t find this shit on Pitchfork so listen up.

Owman is a multi-instrumentalist songwriting prodigy in the strain of Tom Waits, St. Vincent, and Beck. Owman’s second LP evokes sounds reminiscent of its title: beautiful, emotional, precise, and deadly. Blending folk, industrial, and indie, Owman lends a mind open to musical meldings, the likes of which are seldom seen and even less often delightful. Playing cello, guitar, ukulele, violin, banjo, piano, bass, and saw, Owman brings a diverse repertoire of sound to Throwing Knives. “Circles” finds the maestro rocking her uke in a typical snappy strum pattern but playing a dark melody uncharacteristic for the island-living instrument. Owman layers vocals and unleashes a heart-wrenching violin in the background, further darkening the song’s soul. The dynamic contrast of influences makes “Circles” one of Throwing Knives’ most unique songs. If St. Vincent and Nine Inch Nails had a love child, it’d be Owman’s “Dance.” The lo-fi ditty belongs in a German horror film with its sludge synths and drums trickling out a sadistic groove like crimson blood dripping from a fresh wound.

Despite her Scandinavian identity, the blonde Owman flexes her mastery of the English language with lyrics often equally as ingenious as her musical compositions. “God help us when love becomes the shame of all,” she sings on the finger picked guitar accompanied “Sinners.” “Are my opinions of you a result of what express is yours/ Or is it an interpretation reflecting myself,” Owman asks with male vocal accompaniment on the very Tom Waits-sounding “Spelling Words.” To complete the artistic package that is Owman, her performances feature theatrical showmanship with the Euro rebel wearing antique dresses while scenes from old movies are projected behind her. Owman is giving music a much-needed kick in the ass; because of it, however, she’s hard to get a hold of, so keep your eyes and ears open. By Alex Lemonde-Gray - Eastern Surf - Vital Reverb

Swedish/Danish artist Christine Owman has this new album out called Throwing Knives (Revolving Records/River Jones Music) The music is a combination of fever-dream folk, anguished distortion and out and out noise. So you will hear: very rude guitar sounds, yes, but also ukulele, cello, violin, banjo, keyboards, saw, harmonium and lots of other old-tymy things. The effect is unsettling, usually, even quite chilling, sometimes because she seems so fiercely determined to do things her own way whether you might like it or not. Again, what could possibly be better than that? Musically, that is...? Inspired by the visual arts, film and documentaries, Owman makes movie projections of all her songs. See for yourself: - BlueFat

Con il suo ukulele Christine non ci racconta di assolate spiagge esotiche ma dei sogni più scuri dell'inverno svedese. Ci ipnotizza come i carillon d'altri tempi cullandoci al suono di archi dal rintocco tetro. Da sola manipola il suono delle sue ballate, moltiplica la voce, campiona, si appoggia su drone, fa del rumore un tappeto. È così che il suo folk assume forme nuove, si fa elettronica low-fi, blues dannato, trip hop, senza mai eccedere nel scomposizione della forma canzone e mantenendo, anche nei momenti più lancinanti, un volume e un tono che una stanza puo' contenere. Anche quando a suonare è l'essenziale (‘Sinners') Christine riesce a emozionare, e questo è talento puro.
-Osvaldo Piliego (da Rockerilla) - Cool Club

Musik med leklust och straight fejs
Skivrecensioner. Har ni klivit in i en kolkällare på sistone?
Då vet ni att alltsammans först ser bara beckmörkt och livlöst ut, men så snart ögonen vänjer sig vid miljön kan man se nyanser och konturer. Och kanske till och med höra en eller annan vilsen råtta i jakt på något matnyttigt.

Christine Owmans musik ter sig kanske kolsvart, men den är bara dämpad. Kliv ner du också, och du upptäcker snillrik, händelsediger musik gjord på rusig leklust om än med ett straight fejs. Ljuden är antingen dova eller plonkigt torra, men uppfinningsrikedomen matchar annars den samtida elektroniska diskantpopen. En loopad cello, PJ Harvey-beats, såg och ukulele är givna inslag, men när hon likt Elliott Smith dubblerar sångrösten får musiken en förmildrande ton av pop.

Bästa spår: The Conflict
- Sydsvenskan

Les médias francophones (et même anglais, je ne suis pas de mauvaise foi) font un foin pas possible en ce qui concerne de la nouvelle venue Anna Calvi et maintenant se focalisent sur le retour de PJ Harvey. Si j'admets beaucoup aimer les derniers albums de ces deux artistes (dont je parlerai ultérieurement après le déchaînement médiatique actuel) qui ont véritablement embrasé la scène rock féminine en ce début 2011, le web (blogs, webzines, etc.) est en train de passer totalement à côté de la découverte de Christine Owman. C'est cette dernière qui dispose assez de culot pour créer un album de rock alternatif sans avoir besoin de recourir aux envolées lyriques (souvent) pompeuses ou aux guitares électriques saturées qui semblent être des figures imposées à ce style musical. Christine Owman, au contraire, redéfinit le genre en lui imposant une dimension lo-fi atmosphérique à couper le souffle. Cette suédoise de naissance, qui a des origines danoises du côté maternel, a appris la musique dès le jeune âge de 5 ans, d'abord sous la forme du violoncelle avant d'étendre son répertoire de connaissances instrumentales à la guitare, au banjo, à la basse, au ukulélé et j'en passe.

Dès 2002, Christine Owman passe le cap de sortie de son premier ep Morning Thoughts (2002) avant d'enchaîner rapidement avec l'arrivée de son premier LP Open Doors (2003). Entre 2003 et 2010 qui signe son retour avec son second Lp Throwing Knives, la multi instrumentaliste, songwriter et compositrice s'est consacrée à la scène (elle a fait, entre autre, la première partie de Robert Plant lors de son passage en Suède), aux expérimentations sonores et s'est intéressée aux différents arts visuels afin d'enrichir et de peaufiner son univers musical. Après plus de six années de travail, Throwing Knives est apparu fin 2010 en scandinavie sur le propre label de la suédoise : Revolving Records avant de se voir offrir une réédition en 2011 par le biais du label indépendant River Jones Music basé en Arizona. Ce nouvel album s'impose d'emblée comme une petite bombe prête à exploser dans les oreilles de celui qui aura la chance de s'en emparer.

Spelling Word, en duo avec le trop méconnu Andi Almqvist, ouvre les hostilités basé sur des cordes cinglantes avec en arrière fond une ambiance crépusculaire, lancinante et dramatique qui parachève le tableau. La claque. A première approche, l'aspect doux et indolent du lo-fi de The Concflict ne doit pas cacher sa richesse musicale et son côté hypnotique qui en font une des chansons les plus surprenantes de l'opus. Cette merveille s'avère à la fois séduisante et inquiétante. Glauque et sexy, Ffdw aspire littéralement l'auditeur dans sa magnifique noirceur et dans la même veine le satiné et abrasif Circles captive et étonne. La musique en apesanteur et la sensualité ténébreuse du timbre de voix de Christine Owman sont à tomber. Cependant, ce n'est presque rien en comparaison du petit chef d'oeuvre qu'est le titre Dance. Les sonorités sont saturées, la musique agissant comme un rouleau compresseur. Tout simplement brûlant. Dépouillé et rêveur, The Agreement s'avère une sublime et enchanteresse parenthèse de féerie baroque avant que l'on se retrouve projeté dans les limbes aux contours jazzy de I Live, I Die. Entre paradis et enfer, ce brillant morceau n'est pas sans procurer quelques sueurs froides dignes de la musique de Fever Ray. L'album clôture sur un mode minimaliste comme pour mieux s'imprégner de l'intimité et de l'intensité diffuses par la musique de Christine Owman : la délicate montée en puissance sur Sinners, le décalé et sensible Apart ou encore le fantomatique Goodnight ne me contrediront pas.

Attention bombe en vue déjà prête à être larguée à qui voudra la réceptionner. Non, sans hésiter, Christine Owman a sorti l'un des meilleurs opus du premier trimestre 2011. A découvrir sans attendre car must absolu.
Note Finale : 18/20 - With Music In My Mind

Les médias francophones (et même anglais, je ne suis pas de mauvaise foi) font un foin pas possible en ce qui concerne de la nouvelle venue Anna Calvi et maintenant se focalisent sur le retour de PJ Harvey. Si j'admets beaucoup aimer les derniers albums de ces deux artistes (dont je parlerai ultérieurement après le déchaînement médiatique actuel) qui ont véritablement embrasé la scène rock féminine en ce début 2011, le web (blogs, webzines, etc.) est en train de passer totalement à côté de la découverte de Christine Owman. C'est cette dernière qui dispose assez de culot pour créer un album de rock alternatif sans avoir besoin de recourir aux envolées lyriques (souvent) pompeuses ou aux guitares électriques saturées qui semblent être des figures imposées à ce style musical. Christine Owman, au contraire, redéfinit le genre en lui imposant une dimension lo-fi atmosphérique à couper le souffle. Cette suédoise de naissance, qui a des origines danoises du côté maternel, a appris la musique dès le jeune âge de 5 ans, d'abord sous la forme du violoncelle avant d'étendre son répertoire de connaissances instrumentales à la guitare, au banjo, à la basse, au ukulélé et j'en passe.

Dès 2002, Christine Owman passe le cap de sortie de son premier ep Morning Thoughts (2002) avant d'enchaîner rapidement avec l'arrivée de son premier LP Open Doors (2003). Entre 2003 et 2010 qui signe son retour avec son second Lp Throwing Knives, la multi instrumentaliste, songwriter et compositrice s'est consacrée à la scène (elle a fait, entre autre, la première partie de Robert Plant lors de son passage en Suède), aux expérimentations sonores et s'est intéressée aux différents arts visuels afin d'enrichir et de peaufiner son univers musical. Après plus de six années de travail, Throwing Knives est apparu fin 2010 en scandinavie sur le propre label de la suédoise : Revolving Records avant de se voir offrir une réédition en 2011 par le biais du label indépendant River Jones Music basé en Arizona. Ce nouvel album s'impose d'emblée comme une petite bombe prête à exploser dans les oreilles de celui qui aura la chance de s'en emparer.

Spelling Word, en duo avec le trop méconnu Andi Almqvist, ouvre les hostilités basé sur des cordes cinglantes avec en arrière fond une ambiance crépusculaire, lancinante et dramatique qui parachève le tableau. La claque. A première approche, l'aspect doux et indolent du lo-fi de The Concflict ne doit pas cacher sa richesse musicale et son côté hypnotique qui en font une des chansons les plus surprenantes de l'opus. Cette merveille s'avère à la fois séduisante et inquiétante. Glauque et sexy, Ffdw aspire littéralement l'auditeur dans sa magnifique noirceur et dans la même veine le satiné et abrasif Circles captive et étonne. La musique en apesanteur et la sensualité ténébreuse du timbre de voix de Christine Owman sont à tomber. Cependant, ce n'est presque rien en comparaison du petit chef d'oeuvre qu'est le titre Dance. Les sonorités sont saturées, la musique agissant comme un rouleau compresseur. Tout simplement brûlant. Dépouillé et rêveur, The Agreement s'avère une sublime et enchanteresse parenthèse de féerie baroque avant que l'on se retrouve projeté dans les limbes aux contours jazzy de I Live, I Die. Entre paradis et enfer, ce brillant morceau n'est pas sans procurer quelques sueurs froides dignes de la musique de Fever Ray. L'album clôture sur un mode minimaliste comme pour mieux s'imprégner de l'intimité et de l'intensité diffuses par la musique de Christine Owman : la délicate montée en puissance sur Sinners, le décalé et sensible Apart ou encore le fantomatique Goodnight ne me contrediront pas.

Attention bombe en vue déjà prête à être larguée à qui voudra la réceptionner. Non, sans hésiter, Christine Owman a sorti l'un des meilleurs opus du premier trimestre 2011. A découvrir sans attendre car must absolu.
Note Finale : 18/20 - With Music In My Mind

Concertgoers were mesmerized Wednesday night when sultry, Swedish singer Christine Owman graced the stage at the Living Room on the Lower East Side. Clad in a blue silk blouse, black shorts and fishnet garters, the ravishing redhead performed tracks from her album Throwing Knives, which will be released in the U.S. in May 2011.

Audience members were intrigued by the way Owman played the ukulele throughout most of her set. In the upbeat yet dreamlike track, “Circles,” she cried out, “We’re both getting older by the second. It’s time for us to grow and make sense.”

The night’s whimsical spectacle included black and white movie images projected onto a large screen behind the singer. The mesmerizing scenes were from obscure films dating back to the 1920s and 30s.

The passionate songwriter expressed raw emotion through stream of consciousness lyrics. The poems depicted within some of these appeared to ponder personal relationships and observations about others. Haunting and hopeful, questions about destiny and love lingered.

She reached her glove-adorned arms out towards the crowd as if inviting each person to come closer. In “I Live I Die,” Bowman repeated almost in a trance. “I live for you. I live for you. I was first when I tried. Take a chance at a time.”

Her long red locks, tucked behind a vintage style flapper headband, became a blur when she head banged during some of the more bizarre portions of her songs. It seemed completely normal to watch her do this. A rainbow glow of orange mixed with bright blue flickered across the sky-stage.

Listeners were left feeling satisfied from this beautiful rock show circus. One table of spectators said they were anxious to discover more about this fearless singer from Sweden. After her set she greeted New Yorkers by the bar and handed out free CDs. Christine Owman played another gig the following night, March 3, at Cin-M-Art Space at 43 Murray Street. - Glide magazine

Concertgoers were mesmerized Wednesday night when sultry, Swedish singer Christine Owman graced the stage at the Living Room on the Lower East Side. Clad in a blue silk blouse, black shorts and fishnet garters, the ravishing redhead performed tracks from her album Throwing Knives, which will be released in the U.S. in May 2011.

Audience members were intrigued by the way Owman played the ukulele throughout most of her set. In the upbeat yet dreamlike track, “Circles,” she cried out, “We’re both getting older by the second. It’s time for us to grow and make sense.”

The night’s whimsical spectacle included black and white movie images projected onto a large screen behind the singer. The mesmerizing scenes were from obscure films dating back to the 1920s and 30s.

The passionate songwriter expressed raw emotion through stream of consciousness lyrics. The poems depicted within some of these appeared to ponder personal relationships and observations about others. Haunting and hopeful, questions about destiny and love lingered.

She reached her glove-adorned arms out towards the crowd as if inviting each person to come closer. In “I Live I Die,” Bowman repeated almost in a trance. “I live for you. I live for you. I was first when I tried. Take a chance at a time.”

Her long red locks, tucked behind a vintage style flapper headband, became a blur when she head banged during some of the more bizarre portions of her songs. It seemed completely normal to watch her do this. A rainbow glow of orange mixed with bright blue flickered across the sky-stage.

Listeners were left feeling satisfied from this beautiful rock show circus. One table of spectators said they were anxious to discover more about this fearless singer from Sweden. After her set she greeted New Yorkers by the bar and handed out free CDs. Christine Owman played another gig the following night, March 3, at Cin-M-Art Space at 43 Murray Street. - Glide magazine

Cribbing straight from our list of 2010's 100 best tracks: Known for her mesmerising live shows and ability to turn perfectly sunny-sounding instruments like the ukulele into sonic harbingers of gloom, Swedish artist Christine Owman is as much of a visual artist as she is a musician. Her debut album isn’t widely available outside of Scandinavia just yet, but with edgy, interesting songs aplenty at her disposal it surely won’t be long before her name becomes better known. - Wears The Trousers Magazine

Known for her mesmerising live shows and ability to turn perfectly sunny-sounding instruments like the ukulele into sonic harbingers of gloom, Swedish artist Christine Owman is as much of a visual artist as she is a musician. Her debut album isn’t widely available outside of Scandinavia just yet, but with edgy, interesting songs aplenty at her disposal it surely won’t be long before her name becomes better known. ‘Spelling Words’, featuring guest vocals from Andi Almqvist, rides in on a repetitive bowed-cello rhythm and an eerie, almost vaudevillian feel, giving Owman’s hugely compelling songwriting a lighter touch. - Wears The Trousers Magazine

Known for her mesmerising live shows and ability to turn perfectly sunny-sounding instruments like the ukulele into sonic harbingers of gloom, Swedish artist Christine Owman is as much of a visual artist as she is a musician. Her debut album isn’t widely available outside of Scandinavia just yet, but with edgy, interesting songs aplenty at her disposal it surely won’t be long before her name becomes better known. ‘Spelling Words’, featuring guest vocals from Andi Almqvist, rides in on a repetitive bowed-cello rhythm and an eerie, almost vaudevillian feel, giving Owman’s hugely compelling songwriting a lighter touch. - Wears The Trousers Magazine

Christine Owman – 9/10
The Swedish solo artist was the most unique performer over the four days. Anyone that can make a saw sound good is doing something right. Christine is clearly passionate about all the elements that make-up her performance including her image. Her laptop controls the pre-recorded instrumentals which she adds live her vocals, some ukulele, and also throws in a spot of headbanging for good measure. Meanwhile in the background short films that she has created are being projected which adds another dimension to her act. The only negative about the whole thing was only a handful of people actually witnessed her.

Words by Stephen Greenwood - Virtual Festivals

Arriva dalla lontana e fredda Svezia la voce avvolgente e roca di Christine Owman, polistrumentista, cantautrice, performer e vincitrice, in Italia, del Sonicbits (MEI 2009). In questo EP promozionale la cantautrice propone tre dei suoi brani migliori e ci accompagna con le sue canzoni tra i ritmi di Tom Waits, la sensualità di PJ Harvey, i suoni mistici di Twin Peaks e l’originalità di Björk e Kate Bush. Grandissima sperimentatrice, ha registrato questi brani con pochi mezzi: giocando con il suono, il rumore, gli strumenti e gli effetti a pedale, e creando così sonorità ruvide e “sporche” fino ad estendere i confini tradizionali della musica. Nei suoi brani Christine sa essere dolce e sensuale come in “Spelling Words”, con Andi Almqvist, malinconica con la voce sussurata di “The Conflict” e “Sinners”. Imperdibile dal vivo, tra luci e i video (sia proiezioni di film che filmati realizzati da lei), e mentre suona il suo inseparabile ukulele.

Words by Adriana Matone - What's Up

This night at Hressó was a Trúbatrix night. All female artists, troubadours. I must admit, I’m not walking through the door all over excited about the prospect.

Being another solo artist, Christine Owman is a lot more edgy than the previous acts. She actually sound a lot more musical, her music sounds a lot more mature than the rest of the bunch. Though being alone on the stage, she doesn’t seem to feel uncomfortable; she seems to feel comfortably at home. She also has interesting visual effects rolling in the background while playing her music, being interesting, kind of hot music. Would buy her album. She also plays Ukulele, which is always a plus for a lone musical warrior.

Words by Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir
- The Reykjavik Grapevine

Hard working, multi talented songstress Christine Owman is making waves across the globe with her unique shows that include playing, amongst other instruments, the cello, a ukulele and a saw to a backdrop of flickering 1930's black & white film projections. Swedish born Christine is currently appearing in Canada before returning Europe to play dates in Germany as well as lining up further dates across Europe.

'The Conflict' begins with some eerie, echoed chords with Christine's gentle, crystal clear vocals drifting effortlessly above. The chorus soon appears with some haunting Kate Bush style harmonies, again all down to her. After the second chorus there's a diversion into an acoustic interlude enhanced with some more excellent moody harmonies. Later we are treated to some more acoustic instrumental with some hypnotic effects which eventually fades to the end. The track is totally soporific; it just works on every level; truly astounding.

The other track on the CD is a collaboration with Andi Almqvist and is a complete change of mood with both Christine and Andi harmonising over a chunky rhythm of acoustic noise (in the best sense); a sort of minimalist 1950's burlesque sing-a-long; a hint at the diverse talents of this unique artist.
- Room Thirteen by Rob Dodgson

This night at Hressó was a Trúbatrix night. All female artists, troubadours. I must admit, I’m not walking through the door all over excited about the prospect.

Being another solo artist, Christine Owman is a lot more edgy than the previous acts. She actually sound a lot more musical, her music sounds a lot more mature than the rest of the bunch. Though being alone on the stage, she doesn’t seem to feel uncomfortable; she seems to feel comfortably at home. She also has interesting visual effects rolling in the background while playing her music, being interesting, kind of hot music. Would buy her album. She also plays Ukulele, which is always a plus for a lone musical warrior.

Words by Fríða Brá Pálsdóttir
- The Reykjavik Grapevine