Record reviews

“Undisputedly the best record of 2002 that I didn’t hear until 2003, Maja Ratkje’s Voice is a relentlessly creative treatise on the possibilities of vocal expression and manipulation. Using only her voice and subtle electronic touches, Ratkje’s debut solo album delivers a range of sounds beyond the grasp of most multi-member ensembles, and in the […]

(…)Voice är bland det mest fascinerande jag har hört på länge. Hela skivan byggs upp av Ratkjes röst. Hon pratar, sjunger, skriker, jojkar, kvackar, väser, fnittrar, viskar. Använder rösten på miljoner olika sätt.(…) Ibland bryts sången ner i digitala atomer och förvandlas till noise och suggesive långa stunder. Hysteriskt galet ena stunden. Drömskt, lugnande lite

“Voice bliver aldrig andet end en slags ekspressionistisk stemmeteater, hvor al galskaben er sat i citationstegn. Prisen som det mest irriterende nummer tager ”Insomnia”.”

Ultramaryna: “Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje jest 30-letnią Norweżką, która uwielbia japoński noise, feminizm i Fizię Pończoszankę. Jej nowa płyta, zatytułowana bezpretensjonalnie , to dźwiękowy ekstremizm oparty wyłącznie na przetworzonych komputerowo popisachwokalnych. Głos jest tu medium całkowicie uwolnionym – niezależnym od zasad kompozycji, przyzwyczajeń słuchaczy i gatunkowych schematów. Ani to jazz ani nowa kameralistyka, raczej jakiś

Certo… le carte in tavola per presentarsi da nuova enfant prodige del canto sperimentale, la giovane norvegese Maja Ratkje le ha collezionate quasi tutte. Neanche varcato il trentesimo anno d’età la musicista ha raccolto con se un passato di studi in composizione orchestrale al pari con diversi riconoscimenti accademici, rispettivamente per la migliore opera elettroacustica

A fonte sonora exclusiva de todo este disco é a própria voz de Maja Ratkje, membro do grupo feminino anarquista norueguês Spunk. Captada nos mais variados locais (o mausuléu de Emmanuel Vugeland, um telhado, duas caves, um elevador, diversos estúdios e uma casa rolante) e pelos mais distintos meios (gravador de fita, disco rígido, dictafone,

The Wire, Janury 2003 Issue 227: “(…)None of that, however, can serve as preparation for the furious babbling and squalling insanity that at times rages tornado-like through this album. All the training, discipline and precision that you might expect from her CV are here enlisted in the service, or possession, of forces that leave behind

“Very few records give such space to vocal performance, and very few artists would be able to carry such a piece of work with ease. More challenging than her work with Spunk, Voice is a unique experience, at once charming and disturbing, and Ratkje can only be admired for undertaking such a project. Let alone achieving beyond all expectations.” “This must be heard to be believed.” “Recommended, but definitely not for the faint at heart.”

“Death Metal ist nichts dagegen, Diamanda Galas ist nichts dagegen, niemand ist etwas DAGEGEN ***** ” Karl Bruckmaier, Bayerischer Rundfunk “Rasend schönes Geschrei. (…)Doch ist das befreite Gekreisch und Geschrei, das sie jetzt auf ihrem Solodebüt “Voice” präsentiert, in kaum überbietbarem Maß diszipliniert; in den Feldern des “freien” Pop und der improvisierten Musik hat man