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Recent Posts
Upcoming shows
- 14/05/22 - 31/12/50 Maja S. K. Ratkje in Arendal at Bomuldsfabriken
- 21/05/22 - 28/08/22 Maja S. K. Ratkje in Tønsberg at Haugar kunstmuseum
- 21/08/22 Svartskog Spelemannslag in Hvam at Gamle Hvam
- 26/08/22 Ensemble of the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO); Ensemble of the Lucerne Theatre in Lucerne at Altes Krematorium
- 26/08/22 Maja S. K. Ratkje and Stian Westerhus in Potsdam at Fabrik Potsdam
Category Archives: on Maja in English
Kineticism and Inclusiveness In The Music Of Maja Ratkje
That Hid: Movement: a musical term yet seldom does one truly get a sense of movement, as in aliveness, that one witnesses in our natural, or “real” world in art — that beautiful sense of chaotic activity of the kinetic … Continue reading
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The many sides of Maja Ratkje
Chicago Reader:
One of the things that’s made me such a huge fan of experimental Norwegian vocalist and composer Maja S.K. Ratkje is that she doesn’t subscribe to any kind of hierarchy concerning the various styles and approaches she deals with. Continue reading
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On River Mouth Echoes
Release text by Hild Borchgrevink. In Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje’s musical atmosphere the weather can change in a split second. The dynamics of the music range between extreme objectivity and control, and equally extreme spontaneity. Clear, sharp contrasts frequently form … Continue reading
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On Henri Bergson and Improvisation
-In my opinion, music is so far from language, it is actually incorrect to say that music is a language of it’s own. It is entirely different by nature. Language is however connected to the way we look at scores, and the academia on music is often so connected to the way music is represented in language/score that sound is often forgotten. Continue reading
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Adventura Anatomica
MIC:
Maja Ratkje once again favourably reviewed by Pitchfork media. More than a benign creator she is one who lets things come to uncoveredness, and as such she contributes something eerie indeed, a spyglass to a parallel world. Continue reading
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Northern Lights
Washington Post Express:
Ratkje’s vibrant vocal fluctuations can make Bjork sound like an “American Idol” candidate. “I like to use the limits of what is possible with the voice,” Ratkje said, which includes whistles, growls, clicks and whisper-to-a-scream exhalations.
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Norwegian sound artist Maja Ratkje threw it into overdrive in 2005
Chicago Reader: Norwegian sound artist Maja Ratkje threw it into overdrive in 2005. Fe-mail, her noise duo with Hild Sofie Tafjord, released its best and broadest album, Voluptuous Vultures (PsychForm), on which Ratkje’s otherworldly vocal improvisations and Tafjord’s blubbery French … Continue reading
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Maja Ratkje and the end of music
MIC:
“However, at the fringes of the paradigm there are artists hard at work with changing our conception of music at its deepest level. Norwegian composer and performer Maja Ratkje is one such artist to be reckoned with. One of the most exiting and unsettling forces in contemporary music today, she consistently exposes the conventionalism of music as it is commonly conceived and never seizes to disturb anyone who will listen.” Continue reading
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Article in New York Times
New York Times:
Perhaps the most exciting act on the bill is Fe-mail … Continue reading
Leaving Grieg behind
Toronto Star:
Edvard Grieg, eat your bonbons filled with snow! Continue reading
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Big noise from Norway
Nordic Sounds:
The contemporary music world and the noise world are both a kind of subculture, but it is still rare for them to meet as they do in Ratkje. Her preoccupation with “sound” – sound for its own sake, rather than aesthetic principles in a more academic sense – makes her own listening and creating unusually all-embracing. Continue reading
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Prestigious award to Maja Ratkje
MIC: Vital and energetic composer/performer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje receives an Award of Distinction in the digital musics category at this year’s Prix Ars Electronica. 11.06.2003 | By: Tomas Lauvland Pettersen Maja Ratkje’s 2002 Rune Grammofon album Voice has earned … Continue reading
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Bergen Seduces Festival-Goers
The Wall Street Journal Europe:
Ms. Ratkje has a thriving solo career, but she is … Continue reading
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Continuous forward motion – Maja Ratkje maintains momentum
MIC: “Voice” is the title given to Maja Ratkje’s new solo-record – a release that’s set to establish her as one of Norway’s foremost crossover artists. Contemporary, avantgarde, electronica, noise and free improvisational vocal antics are just some of the … Continue reading