About this item

Composed, produced and arranged by Evangelia VS, the artist behind Abyss X, ‘Freedom Doll’ is the culmination of a year of emotional unloading through songwriting, offering an introspective journey into the ocean of her mind. Produced andorded between an artist residency near the Mayan jungle in Mexico and her Berlin home, the album chronicles transformations the performer tackled mentally during the writing process, tracing the rollercoaster of falling in love during the pandemic, as well as the pleasures and tribulations of womanhood.
‘Freedom Doll’ encapsulates the romantic escapade between her voice and the guitar. The amalgamation of seduction, sexual tension, vulnerability and assertiveness pulses throughout the entirety of the album, spiraling out of the cracks spawned from her vocal chords. From the twirling dance between her lush harmonies and the progressions of the acoustic guitar in tracks such as ‘Ascend’ and ‘From Hot to Cold’, to the explosive confrontation between the metallic and operatic qualities of her voice, the searing sound of the electric guitar in industrial rock / psychedelic anthems such as ‘Torture Grove’ and ‘Banyana’ and the cathartic momentum found in the gospel inclined chants in ‘A CHEW’ - ‘Freedom Doll’ untethers the dramatics and theatricality that defines Abyss X’s vocal performance and music production, while maintaining the sensual vibrations of her creative essence.

‘Freedom Doll’ is the encapsulation of the Minoan woman, the elusive harlequin tiptoeing her way through the circus of terror that is living and loving her way through womanhood. With this visual reference, Abyss X pays tribute to her ancestors and their groundbreaking ancient artistry. The back cover of the vinyl features a reiteration of depictions of bulls leaping found in Minoan frescoes; an inherently male cultural act that in the ancient Minoan times presumably gave expression to a tension that underlies man's somewhat tenuous mastery of nature. ‘Freedom Doll’’s artwork challenges this preconceived notion through an eco-feminist approach, bringing the Minoan woman slash Gaia in the seat of the bull leaper, taming the unhinged and predominantly male earth - threatening human force. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Another week another alluring and mystic synth-pop masterpiece from the outlying AD93 label. Abyss X has a yearning, pop sensibility which in my ears at least, has a little bit of Christine & The Queens about it. Not all the way through though - sometimes she dives down the industrial synth wormhole with completely contrasting results.

TRACK LISTING

A1 - Ascend
A2 - A Chew
A3 - Torture Grove
A4 - Oceans Of Heat
A5 - Vacuum (feat. Juliana Huxtable)
B1 - From Hot To Cold
B2 - This Strange Asylum
B3 - Banyana
B4 - Feeling A Type Away
B5 - Never Apart (feat. Juliana Huxtable)