Category Archives: Wach auf!

“an intuitively astute combination that gorgeously and engagingly blends righteous political music from across the globe.” Continue reading →

The Sound Projector: It took the band 12 years to get around to getting this collection into wax, but it’s a corker of an album. Yes, Ratkje truly shines as a songstress, but it’s a collaborative set all the way. Continue reading →

Muziek en politiek, die combinatie heeft zelden artistiek boeiende resultaten opgeleverd, zeker wanneer het eerste gebruikt werd om het tweede te verkopen of op te dringen. Op ‘Wach Auf!’ wagen de Noorse zangeres Maja Ratkje en haar landgenoten van het … Continue reading →

Set aside the countless versions of “Mack the Knife,” which too often devolve into camp, and Bertolt Brech’s collaborations with Hans Eisler and Kurt Weill can provide a fertile launching point for improvisers. When done right, the core theatricality and … Continue reading →

Was ist eigentlich noch übrig von der Roten Revolution? Nur noch Nostalgie – oder doch noch die eine oder andere Lösung, wie wir aus der postmodernen Kapitalismus-Falle wieder rauskommen? Schwerer politischer Stoff, den sich das Trio Poing da ausgesucht hat. … Continue reading →

POING and Ratkje don’t hesitate to play and reconstruct these iconic songs, injecting their own sense of humor and irony, and performing them with great passion, highly creative arrangements and excellent musicianship, making them their own without surrendering to nostalgia. Continue reading →

“Her er rå og kompromissløse tolkninger av Weill /Brecht og Cyndi Laupers «True Colors» side om side med herlig sinte brokker fra Minor Threats «Seeing Red» og en flott versjon av Rudolf Nilsens «Gategutt» der Lillebjørn Nilsens melodi parres med et riff av Thelonius Monk. Det er vakkert, stygt og ellevilt.” Continue reading →