Erlend Apneseth Trio with Maja S.K. Ratkje - Collage

by Mark Rowland

published: 4 / 5 / 2024

Erlend Apneseth Trio with Maja S.K. Ratkje - Collage

Label: Hubro Music
Format: CD

Experimental and adventurous sonic jazz and folk from Norwegian act Erlend Apneseth Trio who have worked on this album with improvising vocalist Maja Ratkje.

Review

Based on recordings made at a 2022 festival, which were perfected without artificial intelligence as it must be pointed out these days, 'Collage' became an adventure in its own right. Yet the post-production by Jørgen Træen set everything right. Those bewildered Norwegians are calling from the mountainous forests but does the music count as tribal mayhem masquerading under jazz or should I sooner describe 'Collage' as deranged folk turned into compositional music? 'Collage' ends up as both. Voice artiste Maja Ratkje's contributions make this album a unique project. 'Ein annen hmmel' (Another Sky) sets a fabulous example of her participation; feline, female screeching that reminded me - cliché alert! - of wild Indian yells and chants in a cheap black and white Western movie. A voice and instrument improviser like Maja Ratkje makes a perfect accomplice as Erlend Apneseth Trio breaks new grounds and explores frontier soundscapes. You'll hear what sounds like shiphorns, bushfires and tempests. The musicianship is striking and an apt example of decades of fruitful governmental education in music. Ratkje's vocals form a vocabulary of her own.