Watine – Géométries Sous-Cutanées

Trying to clear up some contradictory information. This listing mentions a special French edition which includes four of Watine's releases (as chosen by purchaser). The release page on Bandcamp for the 'standard' edition states, 'comes with 4 CD's from WATINE's early releases'. In other words French and Standard appear identical. Can anyone shed light on this?

The ELECTROACOUSTIC Radar :
“Geometries Sous-Coutanées”, by Watine
I’m concluding this digest with one of the most particular records that I’ve enjoyed in the last few weeks.

Too often, when we think about electro-acoustic music, we have in mind serene and ambient-like compositions made for relaxing or contemplation. An album like Geometries Sous-Coutanées by French artist Catherine Watine clearly demonstrates the desire to go in a completely different direction. Forget to enjoy easy-listening melodies or dreamy and melancholic soundscapes: here the music has been composed through the identification of a group of sonic “fragments” which are manipulated, elaborated, and combined together in order to arouse an effective reshuffling of your own feelings and sensations.

If I can use a metaphor, it’s like when you start rummaging through an old box that you took out from the attic. There is an initial phase of confusion when you start picking up and putting on the floor all the different objects that were in the box. But soon after you start getting back all the forgotten memories that were associated with the things that are once again in front of you. I had a similar experience with this LP, with the difference that the objects here are fragments of piano melodies, sketches of electronic rhythms, other instruments like flutes and oboes that appear from time to time, lots of tape recordings, verses, choruses, spoken rhymes, and drones that fill the silence with sounds that are sometimes serene, sometimes haunting.

Seemingly existing out of time and space, Catherine Watine’s “GÉOMÉTRIES SOUS-CUTANÉES” defies categorization. A deep exploration of the sonic subconscious that threatens to consume all in its path, she navigates this territory that rests right on the periphery of perception. Highly experimental yet possessing tremendous passion, her work nicely fits in a multitude of traditions, from progressive rock to Steve Reich’s phasing works. By refusing to be pigeonholed she crafts a unique universe. Instrumentally the pieces flow through all over the place, incorporating a great degree of found sound alongside more recognizable forms of classical music and rock.
“Over Freeways” begins the album with a grand stream of various snippets and miscellaneous found sound. From this origin comes the large psychedelic spirit of “Sheer Power”. Things are pared back considerably on the slightly mournful “Undying Pizzicato”. Jazzy rhythms take the lead on the harrowing experience of “Verrophone” where the piano playing gains a rather fragile poignancy. Giddy, broken electronics merge with classical elements on the duality of “Erratic Soul” a beguiling little piece that also serves as the heart of the entire album. By far the highlight it neatly touches upon all that came before it, adding a heightened sense of tension. Hesitant beats linger on the periphery with “Hearth Walking”. Sprawling and ambitious the entirety of the album ends with the powerful buildup of “Jetlag”.