Maja Ratkje - Voice (2002)

Experimental singer Maja Ratkje released her first solo album a few months after the second CD by her main group, Spunk, racked up a fair number of positive reviews from the avant-garde press. Expectations were high and Voice surely meets them. The album is co-produced by Ratkje and Jazzkammer's John Hegre and Lasse Marhaug, although the term "co-produced" remains a bit vague and the collaboration could run a little deeper. The 11 pieces use only Ratkje's voice as a sound source, but they cover a wide spectrum of textures and dynamics, from echo-drenched a cappella singing (at the beginning of "Vacuum") to torturing noise assaults ("Insomnia"), going through a number of sample- and processed file-based constructions in between. Ratkje is messing with listeners' minds as she toys around with sharp contrasts of quiet/loud, soft/harsh, and seductive/painful. She knows she has a beautiful, flexible voice that can both charm like Björk and puzzle like Phil Minton -- and she purposefully deceives the listener. After the initial shock wears off, one can only admit that it was a good idea. Recommended, but definitely not for the faint at heart.