Maja Ratkje

身兼前衛(wèi)演唱家、即興演奏家、實驗電子樂手及作曲家于一身的Maja Ratkje（全名，Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje），于挪威廠牌Rune Grammofon出版、德國ECM發(fā)行的專輯“Voice”獲2003年奧地利Prix Ars Electronica大獎。多年來其創(chuàng)作的作品被奧斯陸室內樂團、挪威電臺交響樂團，先鋒女子四重奏SPUNK，爵士三重奏POING等多組挪威著名樂團演繹。除了SPUNK，Maja同時擔任著多個創(chuàng)作計劃的主要成員：SPUNK的分支、電聲女子二重奏Fe-Mail，與風琴手Frode Haltli的二重奏，以及在Jazzkammer協(xié)助下的人聲/電聲獨奏計劃等等。
1973年出生于挪威中部城市特隆赫姆，祖父是交響樂團的小提琴手，Maja從4、5歲時已開始接受小提琴，鋼琴和唱歌等訓練。1995年，入讀奧斯陸挪威音樂學院，師從Olav Anton Thommessen、Lasse Thoresen等挪威新一代作曲家及教授，1999年加入IRCAM科技音樂空間的夏季學院，受德國先鋒作曲家Karlheinz Stockhausen感染，開始進入當代音樂的創(chuàng)作，并由此啟發(fā)日后將采樣與電聲加入其創(chuàng)作與演奏當中。在音樂學院，Maja與Hild Sofie Tafjord等其余三名女同學組成了SPUNK，致力原聲樂器的即興演奏。在此之前，Maja自言總是找不到傳統(tǒng)作曲技巧和即興音樂之間的邊界，甚至總有被限制寫作的感覺。SPUNK，便儼然成了Maja逃離傳統(tǒng)作曲思維的避難所，身處其中，她更懂得何謂“瞬間的創(chuàng)作”。
現(xiàn)時的Maja既出入于莊嚴肅靜的古典音樂殿堂，演奏受著日本文化影響而創(chuàng)作的新古典獲獎曲目《Waves IIb》、《Gagakuvariations》等，也用她的二重奏Fe-Mail實踐噪音和實驗電聲之間的接軌。而在大眾的眼中，先鋒即興四重奏SPUNK才是Maja最值得自豪的據點，因為這展示的不獨是她個人的創(chuàng)作力，而是團隊的。在SPUNK里，她的創(chuàng)作力有了一個更固定的位置，而從SPUNK她也延伸出更多不同的領域，有別于傳統(tǒng)作曲與即興創(chuàng)作之間更廣闊的空間。“無論作任何的音樂嘗試，背后都有我個人的審美觀所在”，Maja如是說。
2003年秋天，奧斯陸Ultima音樂節(jié)上演奏的作品《No title performance and sparkling water》便是一例。在那屆音樂節(jié)上，SPUNK同時扮演著演奏家、演員、歌手、影象藝術家等多個角色，帶來的是一部多媒體的音樂戲劇作品。至于她首張獨奏專輯“Voice”又是另外一個例子，“當我在制作‘Voice’期間，我收集了不少即興的聲音作為素材，在這基礎上進行作曲，編曲，和加入自己的人聲作為音源。我把這張專輯里的每一首作品都當作是一部單一的樂章，它們反映的是我的聲音在不同的情況下的反應。”
Maja把聲音根據她喜歡的風格和形式混合重組，結合傳統(tǒng)作曲、即興噪音，和即時的想法最終做出計劃里的音樂。在“Voice”里出現(xiàn)的聲音遠遠超過我們所能聽到的，連被撥弄的錄音器材發(fā)出的滴答聲也被收錄當中，成為聲音的一部份，它就好比一本聲音日記。Maja坦言從來不介意被固定行程，挑戰(zhàn)只在于如何開辟一條新的道路。
作為挪威當代最重要的作曲家、音樂家之一，Maja多年來一直活躍在包括音樂創(chuàng)作、藝術活動策劃、講座、研討會等眾多領域。其所獲得的獎項包括兩度榮獲挪威Edvard大獎，即年度最佳作品獎；2001年Arne Nordheim大獎（Arne Nordheim是近三十年里挪威最偉大的作曲家之一），她是首位挪威音樂家獲得此殊榮；2001年她為薩克斯風和電聲創(chuàng)作的作品《Sinus Seduction (moods two)》在以意大利未來主義者Luigi Russolo命名的大賽中獲第二名；......。
多年來，Maja與眾多國際級實驗樂手均有合作，風格橫跨當代古典、自由爵士、實驗電音、噪音、劇場舞蹈、詩歌、電影配樂，他們包括：奧斯陸Industrial Ensemble、Evan Parker、Paal Nilssen-Love、Merzbow、Zbigniew Karkowski、松原幸子等，及為冰島導演Hjalmar Ragnarsson的電影擔任配樂并獻聲。而她與Jazzkammer成員Lasse Marhaug帶來的三張精彩的概念性專輯“Music for faking”“Music for loving”“Music for shopping”亦相當值得留意。
現(xiàn)時Maja創(chuàng)作和演奏的作品可見于ECM、Rune Grammofon、Albedo、Aurora、Important等唱片公司的出版。而Maja亦一直周游列國式地在多個國家作巡回演出。
Composer of orchestral works, composer of electro-acoustic works, opera performer, free improviser, and experimental electronica artist: Maja Ratkje was able to claim all these titles before her 30th birthday. The Norwegian singer has been active on many fronts since the mid-'90s, winning composition prizes in her home country before starting to build an international reputation, first as part of the all-female free improv quartet Spunk, then as a solo artist. Her first solo album, simply titled Voice, came out in late 2002. Her experimental singing has been compared to Jaap Blonk and Phil Minton, although her use of electronics and theremin in her performances set her apart. Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje (born December 29, 1973) studied composition at the Norwegian State Academy of Music in the early to mid-'90s. She also had lessons with Louis Andriessen, Sofia Gubaildulina, and Richard Barrett, among others. She began her professional career as a composer of modern vocal and orchestral works. Active in local young composers' circles, she dipped her toes in a graduate-level teaching career. She has won international prizes, including second prize at the 2001 Luigi Russolo electro-acoustic music competition for a piece for saxophone and electronics ("Sinus Seduction"), and the Arne Nordheim Prize (also in 2001). Her orchestral works have been performed and recorded by the Oslo Sinfonietta and Frode Haltli, among others. Meanwhile, Ratkje developed a parallel career in free improv. In 1995, she formed the quartet Spunk with a few schoolmates. The group's playful approach to improvisation attracted attention and in 1999 the label, Rune Grammofon, soon became one of Scandinavia's leading experimental imprints, releasing Spunk's first album Det Eneste Jeg Vet Er At Det Ikke Er En Støvsuger. It garnered favorable reviews from the specialized press and soon the group began to attract a small international fan base. Ratkje spent the summer of 1999 at the IRCAM electronic studios in Paris. Back home she began to integrate real-time sampling and electronics into her performances and to work with computer processing in the studio. At a workshop by Otomo Yoshihide, she met the noise duo Jazzkammer and they struck up a friendship. Ratkje contributed to a Jazzkammer remix project (Rolex) and started a duo project with Lasse Marhaug. In turn, the duo co-produced her first solo CD, Voice. The latter came out in 2002, a few months after Spunk's critically acclaimed second album Den Øverste Toppen På en Blåmalt Flaggstang. The group remains her primary performing project, but she also tours with Frode Haltli and has recorded with experimental vocalist Jaap Blonk. Fe-Mail is a noise spin-off project with Spunk's Hild Sofie Tafjord; their first album, Syklubb Fra Haelvete, came out in late 2002.