Lampo is thrilled to bring Maja Ratkje and Hild Sofie Tafjord to Chicago for their U.S. debut. As Fe-mail, the Norwegian duo present one night of acoustic improvisation and one evening of crazed electronic noise. French horn, voice, pan flute and harmonica mix with computers, samplers and analog equipment.

Maja S. K. Ratkje (b.1973, Trondheim, Norway) is a musician, composer and vocalist. She was the first Norwegian composer to receive the Arne Nordheim Prize in 2001. In 2003, she received a Distinction Award at the prestigious Prix Ars Electronica for the album Voice, together with co-producers Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre.

Hild Sofie Tafjord (b.1974, Langevåg, Norway) has re-written the sonic possibilities of the French horn and established herself as one of Norway’s most arresting musicians. Pushing the limits of her instrument, whether acoustically or electronically, she has made her mark as a composer, performer and improviser.

In addition to their work in Fe-mail, Ratkje and Tafjord are both members of the electroacoustic quartet SPUNK (Ratkje, Tafjord, Kristin Andersen and Lene Grenager) and the performance trio Agrare (Fe-mail with dancer Lotta Melin).

Fe-mail debuted in 2000 in Tokyo. Since then, they have played in Brussels (Recyclart), Düdingen (Bad Bonn Kilbi), Stockholm (Fylkingen), Västerås, Nickelsdorf (Konfrontationen), Helsinki (Avanto Festival), Köln (MusikTriennale), Münster, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Haugesund (Safe as Milk Festival), Oslo (Blå) and Hønefoss. In 2003, Fe-mail performed in the Scandinavian Pavilion at the 50th International Biennale di Venezia.

Support provided by the American-Scandinavian Foundation