Die norwegische Klangkünstlerin Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje bringt ein Album mit acht Auszügen ihrer Installation “Vannstand” heraus. Die Arbeit befasst sich mit den Gezeiten an der norwegischen Küste im Medium einer Vielzahl von Klänge, die auf klassische und elektronische Instrumente ebenso wie auf Stimme und gesampleten Sounds basieren. Ratkje selbst entwarf v.a. das Konzept und brachte die fertige Installation durch verschiedene Bearbeitungsschritte zum Abschluss. Ein Großteil der Soundmotive stammen von Kindern, die ihre Assoziationen und ihren persönlichen Bezug zum Meer, zum Wasser generell und der Küste musikalisch reflektierten. “Vannstand” erscheint als LP bei Motvind Records.
“Vannstand, commisioned by nyMusikk, started in 2015 and was in the years that followed set up as sound installations in different versions in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Harstad and Bodø. This album is a mix of 8 excerpts from those installations. Ratkje has been an outspoken voice on environmental issues for years. Vannstand is a continuation of this commitment where she unites new music and the inheritors of our planet. She uses local sea level measurements to create scores, which in turn are interpreted musically by children. She has done a tremendous job editing their contributions into a multidimensional piece that balances tension, clearity, beauty and playfulness.
One would imagine a piece regarding such enormous concepts as tidal waves (generated by the Moon’s gravitational pulls) and changes in sea levels (affected by weather systems and climate changes) being a rather loud and harsh affair. Maybe this insinuation is connected to the impressive body of work she has done with noise music. Vannstand is in any case filled with subtle and precise fragments of grand dramas and sweet melodies. Over eight movements, the music is growing with close interplay and sudden shifts. The sound mix, based on the 8 channel sound installations, is exquisite, obviously done by the composer. The life-giving sea has been the basis for growth and development, and now human influence is changing the seemingly eternal cycle along the Norwegian coast.” (Motvind)
Foto © Ellen Lande Gossner
Maja S. K. Ratkje – Vannstand i Bergen from Ny Musikk Bergen on Vimeo.