Category Archives: Concert reviews

5:4 reviews In Dialogue with Rudnik, live at HCMF

Maja Ratkje’s interpretation of various recordings by Polish composer Eugeniusz Rudnik—fittingly titled In Dialogue with Eugeniusz Rudnik—was decidedly non-linear. An audible descent took us into a dream-like place where sounds and ideas float, swirl, coalesce, swoop, soar and plummet. Bells, … Continue reading →

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Maja solo at The Crossing, Birmingham

Ratkje epitomisess the modern Norwegian musical mindset: there are no categories and no limits in her music, and yet there is also extraordinary focus and character. Yes, she is called a vocalist because the sounds she makes are generated by … Continue reading →

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Og det ble lyd! (NO)

Det er umulig ikke å la seg fascinere av Maja S. K. Ratkjes grenseløse utforskning og skaperkraft. For to dager sidet forvandlet årets festivalkomponist, Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Dokkhuset til et mørkt trykkammer av elektronisk og vokal sampling. Med en … Continue reading →

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Årets All Ears-finale svarte til forventningene (NO)

Jazznytt # 234 2015: Det er kanskje vanskelig å tru det, men i år feirar kvartetten SPUNK, med Kristin Andersen, Lene Grenager, Hild Sofie Tafjord og Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, heile 20 år. Det har vore, og er framleis, ei … Continue reading →

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FIMAV Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Downbeat Aug. 2014: (…) Two of the most memorable shows at this year’s FIMAV involved musicians who are finding artistically rich ways to combine electronic processing and spontaneous improvisation. In separate sets by veteran artist Parker and Norwegian vocalist-electronic artist … Continue reading →

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Fjøsfestival i litt for varmt vær (NO)

Hva skal vi synge om nå: Maja Ratkje og hennes Poing-musikere raspet publikum i sjelen med Brecht og Prøysen og sosialistiske klassikere på Fjøsfestivalens siste kveld lørdag. Foto: Anne-Lise Aakervik/Fjøsfestivalen   Adresseavisen 28.07.2014 (…) Maja Ratkje med vekker Lørdagskvelden på … Continue reading →

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Reviews (in Polish) from Mori/Ratkje duo in Gdansk.

Dziennik Bałtycki: (…)Po totalnie elektronicznym piątku przyszła sobota, której oba punkty programu były międzynarodowymi duetami wybitnych wykonawców łączących sztukę improwizacji z elektroniką. Jako pierwsze wystąpiły Norweżka Maja Ratkje i mieszkająca od wielu lat w USA Japonka Ikue Mori. Mori zdobyła … Continue reading →

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Présences Electronique 2014 – Maja S. K. Ratkje (FR)

Ether REAL: Pour la dixième année consécutive, nous voici de nouveau au festival Présences Électronique, rendez-vous régulier des amateurs d’expérimentations électroniques dans des conditions d’écoute particulières puisque orchestré par l’Ina/GRM, tous les concerts sont diffusés sur l’acousmonium. Comme d’habitude depuis … Continue reading →

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Review from Cleveland

Maja Ratkje looks harmless and demure, ambling slowly to the stage whistling a soft tune. Then the effects start. The whistle becomes a sound loop entwined with bells. Layers of white noise and wow and flutter erupt. Suddenly there’s what … Continue reading →

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Gig review: Sonica: Voice, Glasgow

Sonica – a weekend-long celebration of sonic art – opened last night with the UK premiere of Voice, “an audio-visual duet by Norwegian performance artist Maja SK Ratkje and light designer HC Gilje”. The Scotsman 2nd November 2013 (…) For … Continue reading →

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Festivals tredje dag gav smukt liv til gamle socialistiske sange (DK)

Tysk socialistisk musik og surreel klangkunst mødtes på Wundergrund. Politiken 30.10.2013 Tysk socialistisk musik og surreel klangkunst mødtes på -Foto: Wundergrund.   Der er ingenting så forførende som en agiterende kvinde, der kan synge vemodige socialistiske sange om international solidaritet … Continue reading →

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Maja Ratkje & Lasse Marhaug (…) | Nefertiti (SE)

Göteborgs-Posten 28.09.2013: (…)Undantaget är duon Maja Ratkje och Lasse Marhaug som har ett mer fysiskt förhållningssätt till det som låter. I kollisionerna mellan olika beståndsdelar bildas nya och oroande energier. Den vackraste passagen av den stökiga och lekfulla spelningen består … Continue reading →

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Reviews from Punkt Festival 2013 (in English and Norwegian)

Jazznytt: …kom på scenen og forestår det vakreste og øresprengende vi har hørt fra henne på lang tid. Og det sier ikke lite. Dette er instant komponering på sitt aller beste, på sitt aller mest magiske. by John Kelman, All … Continue reading →

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Jak sní stroje? Zápisky z festivalu Only Connect – Machine Dreams (CZ)

blog.respekt.cz 25. 6. 2013 00:38 – Ondřej Hojda, čtenost: 56x, karma: zatím neurčena Píšu sem o prostoru a do něj patří i hudba, zvlášť zní-li na některých místech. Červnem začíná v Norsku přehršel letních hudebních festivalů. Zmíním se teď jen … Continue reading →

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David Bowie slik du aldri har hørt ham (NO)

Det er mulig enkelte Bowie-fans føler seg lurt etter denne konserten. Selv er jeg en av dem som står igjen med et smil etter å ha hørt Bowie i en innpakning jeg sent vil glemme. Continue reading →

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Korall Koral feedback from Huddersfield and Dewsbury 2012

The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival has sent us some audience reactions. All very positive. Enjoy. • Beautiful, peaceful, melodic, graceful. The children and we were mesmerised. Thank you. • Beautiful. Just the right size. • Lovely, interesting and innovative. We … Continue reading →

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Abstrakte Pinselstrichte and Klangarchitekturen (DE)

Biel: Fulminanter Auftakt: der erste Abend am diesjährigen Festival “Ear We Are” bestach durch pointerte Farbkontraste.

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Crepuscular Hour reviewed by Vibrations

Vibrations 2012: photo by Lasse Marhaug Part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF), this was the UK Premier of Crepuscular Hour, a piece by Norwegian composer and musician Maja S K Ratkje that seeks to incorporate harsh noise within … Continue reading →

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Reviews from Krems, Kontraste 2012 (in English and Norwegian)

Visual artist HC Gilje and sound artist Maja Ratkje ended the festival. The setting was impressive: eighteen large (40 x 40 cm) monitors were stacked in a semicircle about eight feet high. Continue reading →

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Opera for babies

The Guardian Nov. 15 2012 Norwegian composer and performer Maja Ratkje has worked with classical groups and metal bands. But it is her opera for babies that has brought her international fame by Alfred Hickling At an arts centre in … Continue reading →

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