Category Archives: Blog

Hymne für Lockenhaus

2020; dur: 1’30”; Vln, Vla, Vlc, Pno, Perc; Score at Wise Music Classical Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Chamber music | Tagged cello, percussion, piano, viola, violin | Leave a comment

Motvind i ansiktet, spunk i ryggen (NO)

Salt Peanuts: Det siste tolvte punktet på dagsorden for denne sjette Motvind-festivalen er en konsert med improvisasjonskvartetten SPUNK. Lene Grenager på cello, Kristin Andersen på trompet og blokkfløyter, Hild Sofie Tafjord på valthorn og elektronikk og Maja S. K. Ratkje … Continue reading →

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To The Surface / Til overflaten

2021; Permanent 6 channel sound installation Continue reading →

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Maja S. K. Ratkje hever stemmen (NO)

Main feature in Jazznytt #257 Vinter 2021 Order at https://jazznytt.jazzinorge.no/

Posted in Blog, Interviews in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish | Leave a comment

Avant Joik: Live in Bergen reviews (in English and Chilean)

Loop: Avant Joik is the collaborative project of Norwegian Maja S. K. Ratkje on vocals and live electronics, Swedish Katarina Barruk on vocals and joik, and Finn Matti Aikio on live visuals. At first I thought that joik was an … Continue reading →

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Full Moon reviews CTM (CZ)

Jan Starý, www.fullmoonzine.cz, 2019 Na obrovském projekčním plátně se jen lehce čeří voda. Přichází Maja Ratkje, dýchá, syčí, prská do mikrofonu a skládá z těch drobných zvuků členité, ale decentní a barvou vlastně obyčejné plochy. Připojuje se Katarina Barruk s … Continue reading →

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Interview in Loop (in English and Chilean)

by Guillermo Escudero. Published at www.loop.cl May 2021 Maja S. K. Ratkje with her wide expressive range through her voice, this one becomes the main instrument and electronics are an extension of it and it is not only to accompany, … Continue reading →

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Simplicissimus

2021; dur: 2 x 60′; Theatre by Tormod Lindgren and Knut Nærum with music by Ratkje/POING Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Chamber music with voice/Vocal music, Staged work | Comments Off

Avant Joik: Live in Bergen

Bergen Kunsthall: «Live in Bergen» captures Avant Joik’s two amazing concerts during the opening weekend of Joar Nan- go’s Festival Exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall in 2020. The album is based on the recordings from two con- certs held at Landmark, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Full length album features, Mixed media/Vinyl/Other shapes, Recorded improvisation | Tagged Avant Joik | Leave a comment

Vannstand

Motvind records: ’Vannstand’ (Sea Level) is a tribute to the slowly pulsating tidal shifts along the length of the Norwegian coastline. In Vannstand children are given the opportunity to reflect and respond musically to their relationship with the coast, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Full length album features, Mixed media/Vinyl/Other shapes, Recorded compositions | Comments Off

20 Norwegian Piano Miniatures

Twenty piano miniatures by some of the most trendsetting composers in Norway around the year 2000 — it has been a joy to be able to be part of it! This project was initiated by Viktor Mjøen of the music … Continue reading →

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Works for String Orchestra, other reviews in Norwegian

photo by Marte Haltli Ukens anbefaling (Spellemann spesial): Maja S.K. Ratkje – Works for String Orchestra av Ola Nordahl 13.02.21, Musikkskriverier Det pågår noe så sjeldent som en liten estetisk debatt (eller krangel om du vil) i det norske samtidsmusikkmiljøet … Continue reading →

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Interview in TQ Zine

by Rory Carr, TQ38/39/40, a TUSK Virtual special triple issue, published Jan 2021 “It’s hard to keep up the mood and inspiration in these times, but it helps to keep myself busy with taking on unfinished tasks and being flexible … Continue reading →

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Corona lockdown concert for TUSK Festival 2020 reviewed in TQ Zine

by Rory Carr, TQ38/39/40, a TUSK Virtual special triple issue, published Jan 2021 “There’s a clichéd joke about watching live electronic music shows which says you might as well be watching someone read their emails. The physical gestures required to … Continue reading →

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Can music be “true”?

Text written for Nordic Music Days 2019. Festival theme is “truth”. How true is art? Should art be true? The answer lies already in the semantics! The word ‘art’, present in ‘artificial’, even so in Norwegian translation, ‘kunst’ in ‘kunstig’. Thank … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, by Maja in English | Leave a comment

Svar til Emil Bernhardts kritikk i Morgenbladet (NO)

Svar til Emil Bernhardts kritikk i Morgenbladet (link for abonnenter). Mitt sammendrag: Komponisten driver også med improvisasjon. Derfor viser verkene hennes stor idérikdom. Når de komponerte verkene hennes ikke fungerer, er det fordi den utemmede improviseringa tar overhånd. Når de … Continue reading →

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Works for String Orchestra reviewed by Dagens Nyheter (SE)

5/5 (…) I händerna på denna stråkorkester blir det en allvarsam lek där det destruktiva – verket är inspirerat av såväl myten om Atlantis, översvämningarna i Venedig och den rådande klimatkrisen – är en förutsätting för det konstruktiva. En mirakulös … Continue reading →

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Being for the Benefit of Kafé Hærverk!

Record link (on Bandcamp only) This compilation contains 8 hours of genuine never before released music from 64 contributers. Supporting Kafé Hærverk maintain a scene for experimental music in Oslo, it’s also a unique opportunity to dive into a small … Continue reading →

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Buddy til S. K. Ratkje! (NO)

photo: Norsk Jazzforum Intervju i NTT Det føles riktig at det ble utdelt to Buddy-priser i år – regelboka gikk jo på peisen for lenge siden – og jubelen i mange hjørner av musikken var stor da Maja S.K. Ratkje … Continue reading →

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Echo Chamber 3.0 reviewed by The Wire and The Free Jazz Collective

Julian Cowley, The Wire: Echochamber is all about what it means to have a voice, metaphorically as well as physically,” explains Maja Ratkje at the outset. Composing this intricate work she interviewed members of Trondheim Voices, and made exact transcriptions … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog, Echo Chamber 3.0/Ekkokammer 3.0 | Leave a comment