Maja S. K. Ratkje hever stemmen (NO)
Main feature in Jazznytt #257 Vinter 2021 Order at https://jazznytt.jazzinorge.no/
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Blog
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 instrument, although Barruk uses it as such through the type of singing it is. The
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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 lidovými nápěvy, které v nekonečných repeticích fungují jako zaříkávání. Ve vystoupení Avant Joik se sráží
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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, but it changes and shapes it in real time. She is always active in the
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Simplicissimus
2021; dur: 2 x 60′; Theatre by Tormod Lindgren and Knut Nærum with music by Ratkje/POING
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, Bergen Kunsthall on 4 Sep- tember 2020 and presents for the first time the groundbreaking
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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 water and the sea. The composer, Maja S. K. Ratkje states: What could be more
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 publisher Blåmann Musikkforlag. The idea was that limiting the length and complexity of the pieces
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Works for String Orchestra, other reviews in Norwegian
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 for tiden. (…) I anmeldelsen lar Emil Bernhardt det tydelig komme fram at plata stryker ham mothårs, og han
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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 enough to jump onto new possibilities that may appear suddenly because of the situation changing
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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 make music with laptops and other digital devices are the same as those for office
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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 god that we artists are not responsible for facts the way they present scientific research!
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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 fungerer er det fordi det er et konsept der hvor improvisasjon får betydning på et
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Corona lockdown concert for TUSK Festival 2020
2020; dur: 33′; Voice and live electronics
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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 musik som tjuraktigt stångar sig igenom vår tids dystopier och pessimism. Bästa spår: hela albumet.”
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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 part of the diverse musical universe surrounding us. Contribution by Maja S. K. Ratkje: Noise
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Buddy til S. K. Ratkje! (NO)
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 også mottok statuetten denne uken. Majas mangslungne virke kan dere lese mye mer om i det nyeste nummeret
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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 to serve as spoken text. The all-female ensemble weave a choral continuum from an astonishing
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Echo Chamber 3.0/Ekkokammer 3.0
Echo Chamber 3.0 is a concert performance for the ear, by Maja S. K. Ratkje written for Trondheim Voices in 2020. The piece is a continuation of Ekkokammer 2.0 which is a staged performance, premiered in 2015. The album is a 2xCD with one version in English (Echo Chamber), and one in Norwegian (Ekkokammer). The
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Echo Chamber 3.0/Ekkokammer 3.0
2020; dur: 53′; Concert performance for the ear by Ratkje/Trondheim Voices
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