eldbjørg

Eldbjørg Raknes - singer, songwriter, improviser, band leader,teacher
born February 9th 1970, raised on Raknes on the island Otrøy outside Molde, Norway
Eldbjørg has from the start been working to explore the possibilities and abilities of the voice, and a cappella has been a main part of her works for 15 years. In her SOLO project, Eldbjørg performs alone with her voice, live sampling and effects. The process before and on stage is mainly improvised, with and without words.
Stian Westerhus guitars/electr., Eirik Hegdal: saxes/clar and Tor Breivik sound design
:Improvised music out of all influences...filled with contrasts and energy - understandable and not understandable words are coming up and popping out too...
Eldbjørg has been visiting most of the clubs and festivals in Norway and many European festivals and venues (Ukraine, Lithuania,Hungary, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania,Germany, Belgium,Sweden, Finland, Denmark..) She has also been composing music and doing concerts for children all the way.
eldbjørg is also teaching at the Jazz department in Trondheim,NTNU, AND she is the owner of SJØBYGDA KUNSTNARHUS - a place for artist to work,meet and perform: www.artistresidence.no
And the journalists say:
"Eldbjørg Raknes is undoubtedly one of the most exciting improv musicians in the Kingdom."
FREE AND OUTSTANDING Right outside of contemporary music's window, where improv romps, there is space for exciting endeavors. There music is created that evade easy categorization and reluctantly makes itself attractive for the sake of being liked. It transmits often seriousness and provides a resistance that seems paradoxical in a popular perspective, but it offers an experience of gaiety that may appear in a gray taste-for-more. Shaggy riffs. Vocalist Eldbjørg Raknes brings with her guitarist Stian Westerhus and saxophonist Eirik Hegdal. They approach each other, but all act with clarity and extensive ability to listen. Together they cleanse the expression for obvious devices and allow noise and feathery prints to dress up the music.Raknes happily adds spikes to the words, while the talented Westerhus steals aesthetics from rock and pours out intelligent and shaggy riffs. Hegdal creates balance in the complex and refreshing interaction. Arild R. ANDERSEN , AFTENPOSTEN, 09.02.09 “...from the first to the last note the music is solid cast... as if all the melodies are cut from the same piece... A beautiful , a somewhat subdued CD with catchy music...” VG
"...the album whispers at the door and rattles the window frames until it sleeps into the listener's soul..." (Colin Buttimer, Jazzwise)
"VOCAL MASTERY..." (E. Hareuveni, all about JAZZ)
” Here Eldbjørg Raknes shows why she is a leading voice in vocal impro in Norway today...Slowly floating, shifting between warm nearness and cool distance…stamped by Raknes’ restless power…very melodic…full of soul” (Aftenposten)
“This is so unmistakable Raknes- the songs, the sound, the sounds, in these musical fabulations full of words and play in intelegable and not unintelegable language that speaks to us anyway…And what songs! Small and big stories in an intricate universe of sound. Get onboard!”(Dagsavisen)