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There once was….the incomparable voice of Maja Ratkje. Fairytales sometimes come true, certainly in the case of this Norwegian composer and voice acrobat – the infernal twists and turns she manages to contort her voice in are breathtaking. With the help of modern electronica and the most agile vocal cords of the western world Ratkje manages to create her own magical domain. In that sense, she is consciously following in the footsteps of such female vocal pioneers as Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galas and Laurie Anderson, constantly searching for cross-fertilisation between voice improvisation, musical drama and technological innovation.
A fairy tale world comes to life in sublime fashion on Maja Ratkje’s latest collaboration Adventua Anatomica, a musical work for theatre she created with choreographer/danser Odd Johan Fritzøe and stage designer in November 2005. This is a world of bittersweet fairytales, of wolves and innocent maidens losing their way in a dark wood, a world of fear and despair and joyful ecstasy. In any case, emotions such as these coexist closely in Ratkje’s world. On AA she deploys her entire vocal arsenal: whispering softly, cooing, emitting deep throat sounds usually culminating in an overwhelming vocal deluge. Her vocal outpourings are amplified through electronica, creating a blazing dialogue between her own voices. Øyvind Brandtsegg created a live sampling instrument called ImproSculpt especially for the purpose and Ratkje knows like no other how to make it serve her needs.