Maja S.K. Ratkje, Jon Wesseltoft, Camille Norment, Per Gisle Galåen — Celadon (Jul 24, 2015) |
Maja S.K. Ratkje, Jon Wesseltoft, Camille Norment, Per Gisle Galåen — Celadon (Jul 24, 2015)
♠★ “A a bold, striking, and deceptively ferocious artistic statement that is like absolutely nothing else that I have heard.” — Brainwashed
♠★ “I am not particularly familiar with any of the four artists involved in this unexpectedly audacious and unique album, but Celadon is definitely a kindred spirit to Important’s previous iconoclastic, raga–influenced drone epics by Catherine Christer Hennix. Charlemagne Palestine is yet another artist that unavoidably springs to mind, but favorably so: while this album is anything but derivative, Maja Ratkje and her collaborators share his willingness to take drone music into some very dissonant, uncategorizable, and cathartic territory. Put more bluntly: Celadon is probably not for the average drone fan, as Ratkje’s vocals gradually build to an almost demonic, window–rattling intensity, but it is nevertheless a bold, striking, and deceptively ferocious artistic statement that is like absolutely nothing else that I have heard.” — BrainwashedLocation: Oslo, Norway
Genres: Jazz, Music, Rock, Electronic
Styles: Contemporary
Recorded at: Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Oslo, Norway in May 2013
Album release: Jul 24, 2015
Record Label: Important Records / Cargo Records
Duration: 62:31
Tracks:
1/ Beneath The Bough 13:03
2/ The Green Flood 18:57
3/ Afterglow 30:31
℗ 2015 Important Records
Personnel:
■ Maja S.K. Ratkje — Voice and Bells
■ Jon Wesseltoft — Accordion Organ and Harmonium
■ Camille Norment — Glass Armonica
■ Per Gisle Galåen — Zither and Harmonium
♠★ A record of slowly evolving beauty that gradually unravels its meditative design. Recorded in Norwegian sculptor and painter Emanuel Vigeland’s (1875 — 1948) mausoleum in Oslo in 2013. A recording space that is famous for its acoustics and its long and full–sounding reverb. These three tracks utilize both the delicacy and the power of acoustic instruments and human voice in relation to the unique recording space. This is a record that is otherworldly and eerie but also with a great primal expressive force. Performed by four artists from different backgrounds coming together to create this singular set of music.
★♠ 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.
Website: http://ratkje.no/2015/06/celadon/
Label: http://www.importantrecords.com/ © ♠★ Emanuel Vigeland's Museum at Slemdal is one of Oslo's best kept secrets. The museum's main attraction is a dark, barrel-vaulted room, completely covered with fresco paintings. The 800 sq.m. fresco Vita depicts human life from conception till death, in dramatic and often explicitly erotic scenes. Large groups of bronze figures reiterate the dedication to the mystery of procreation. Entering the museum is a unique experience. The impression of the dimly lit frescoes with multitudes of naked figures is reinforced by the unusual and overwhelming acoustics of the room.
♠★ Emanuel Vigeland (1875 —1948) erected the building in 1926, intended as a future museum for his sculptures and paintings. He eventually decided that the museum should also serve as a mausoleum. All the windows were closed and his ashes were to rest in an urn above the entrance door. Influenced by Italian prototypes, he named his building Tomba Emmanuelle.
♠★ The museum was opened to the public on 8. December 1959. The museum is a private foundation and receives funding from Kulturetaten, Oslo Kommune.
♠★■______________________________________________________■♠★
Maja S.K. Ratkje, Jon Wesseltoft, Camille Norment, Per Gisle Galåen — Celadon (Jul 24, 2015) |
Maja S.K. Ratkje, Jon Wesseltoft, Camille Norment, Per Gisle Galåen — Celadon (Jul 24, 2015)
♠★ “A a bold, striking, and deceptively ferocious artistic statement that is like absolutely nothing else that I have heard.” — Brainwashed
♠★ “I am not particularly familiar with any of the four artists involved in this unexpectedly audacious and unique album, but Celadon is definitely a kindred spirit to Important’s previous iconoclastic, raga–influenced drone epics by Catherine Christer Hennix. Charlemagne Palestine is yet another artist that unavoidably springs to mind, but favorably so: while this album is anything but derivative, Maja Ratkje and her collaborators share his willingness to take drone music into some very dissonant, uncategorizable, and cathartic territory. Put more bluntly: Celadon is probably not for the average drone fan, as Ratkje’s vocals gradually build to an almost demonic, window–rattling intensity, but it is nevertheless a bold, striking, and deceptively ferocious artistic statement that is like absolutely nothing else that I have heard.” — BrainwashedLocation: Oslo, Norway
Genres: Jazz, Music, Rock, Electronic
Styles: Contemporary
Recorded at: Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Oslo, Norway in May 2013
Album release: Jul 24, 2015
Record Label: Important Records / Cargo Records
Duration: 62:31
Tracks:
1/ Beneath The Bough 13:03
2/ The Green Flood 18:57
3/ Afterglow 30:31
℗ 2015 Important Records
Personnel:
■ Maja S.K. Ratkje — Voice and Bells
■ Jon Wesseltoft — Accordion Organ and Harmonium
■ Camille Norment — Glass Armonica
■ Per Gisle Galåen — Zither and Harmonium
♠★ A record of slowly evolving beauty that gradually unravels its meditative design. Recorded in Norwegian sculptor and painter Emanuel Vigeland’s (1875 — 1948) mausoleum in Oslo in 2013. A recording space that is famous for its acoustics and its long and full–sounding reverb. These three tracks utilize both the delicacy and the power of acoustic instruments and human voice in relation to the unique recording space. This is a record that is otherworldly and eerie but also with a great primal expressive force. Performed by four artists from different backgrounds coming together to create this singular set of music.
★♠ 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.
Website: http://ratkje.no/2015/06/celadon/
Label: http://www.importantrecords.com/ © ♠★ Emanuel Vigeland's Museum at Slemdal is one of Oslo's best kept secrets. The museum's main attraction is a dark, barrel-vaulted room, completely covered with fresco paintings. The 800 sq.m. fresco Vita depicts human life from conception till death, in dramatic and often explicitly erotic scenes. Large groups of bronze figures reiterate the dedication to the mystery of procreation. Entering the museum is a unique experience. The impression of the dimly lit frescoes with multitudes of naked figures is reinforced by the unusual and overwhelming acoustics of the room.
♠★ Emanuel Vigeland (1875 —1948) erected the building in 1926, intended as a future museum for his sculptures and paintings. He eventually decided that the museum should also serve as a mausoleum. All the windows were closed and his ashes were to rest in an urn above the entrance door. Influenced by Italian prototypes, he named his building Tomba Emmanuelle.
♠★ The museum was opened to the public on 8. December 1959. The museum is a private foundation and receives funding from Kulturetaten, Oslo Kommune.
♠★■______________________________________________________■♠★