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 →

Posted in Blog, on Maja in English | Comments Off on Kineticism and Inclusiveness In The Music Of Maja Ratkje

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English, River Mouth Echoes | Comments Off on The many sides of Maja Ratkje

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on On River Mouth Echoes

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 →

Posted in by Maja in English, Interviews in English, on Maja in English | Comments Off on On Henri Bergson and Improvisation

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Adventura Anatomica

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.
Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews in English, on Maja in English | Tagged | Comments Off on Northern Lights

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Norwegian sound artist Maja Ratkje threw it into overdrive in 2005

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Maja Ratkje and the end of music

Article in New York Times

New York Times:
Perhaps the most exciting act on the bill is Fe-mail … Continue reading →

Posted in on Maja in English | Tagged | Comments Off on Article in New York Times

Leaving Grieg behind

Toronto Star:
Edvard Grieg, eat your bonbons filled with snow! Continue reading →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Leaving Grieg behind

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Big noise from Norway

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 →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Prestigious award to Maja Ratkje

Bergen Seduces Festival-Goers

The Wall Street Journal Europe:
Ms. Ratkje has a thriving solo career, but she is … Continue reading →

Posted in on Maja in English | Comments Off on Bergen Seduces Festival-Goers

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 →

Posted in Interviews in English, on Maja in English | Comments Off on Continuous forward motion – Maja Ratkje maintains momentum