“Ratkje brings a feral disregard for conventional form, combined with an extravagant imagination, linking it all to a fascination with the human voice and its communicative possibilities. Her works are dramatic, engaging and wildly diverse.” Financial Times 2015
“Anyone who has seen or heard Ratkje perform live will know what a superb musician she is, and one who can genuinely be said to be extending the expressive range of the voice through technical and technological means…. Her work is celebratory and inclusive, an energising rallying call to those who are curious enough to peek out from behind the curtain of mainstream mediocrity.” The Wire 2006
“Even within a piece she shows more originality than many composers in a lifetime.” Brainwashed 2008
“Faszinierend! So eine Mischung aus archaischer Naturhaftigkeit und äußerster Kunstfertigkeit und Raffinement. So kenn ich das gar nicht. Wirklich toll.” Elfriede Jelinek 2011
“Despite being only 34, Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje is one of the world’s leading modern composers and musicians and has been for well over a decade.” themilkfactory 2008
“Ratkje is one of the most astonishing singers on the planet.” Chicago Reader 2005
“In addition to being one of the most exciting vocalists and noise musicians working within the contemporary avant-garde scene, Maja Ratkje should also be regarded as one of Europe’s foremost young composers.” Boomkat 2008
“Skandinaviens i dag kanske viktigaste tonsättare” (“Perhaps the most important composer in Scandinavia today”) Dagens Nyheter 2012
“An outstanding, complete musical personality, as a performer, as a singer, as a composer.” Matthias Pintscher to BBC 2012
“Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje is a Norwegian based musician who utilizes voice, electronics – and her compositions – extremely well in any scenario” Downtown Music Gallery, New York 2011
“Maja Ratkje har i en arrække stået som en af de mest spændende norske komponister og musikere.” (“Maja Ratkje has over years stood out as one of Norways most exciting composers and musicians.”) Politiken 2008
“Hun er én af de mest interessante nulevende kunstnere i Norge.” (“She is one of the most interesting living artists in Norway.”) Danmarks Radio 2008
“The singularity of her output as a composer and singer, together with the elegant severity of her unforgettable voice, individuate Maja Ratkje’s work as profoundly effecting the history of new music and art alike.” Farimani, NY, 2008
