Fever Ray At Coachella 2010!
April 21, 2010 Posted by Eva at 2:29 pm
Dressed like techno druids in all black and pale white face paint with a stage set up of blinking vintage lamps, Fever Ray’s set at Coachella 2010 was typically visceral and totally unique. Lasers overhead caught the smoke in the air, transforming the stage into a swirling neon ocean. The music hewed pretty close to the low subliminal brood of Fever Ray’s self-titled debut, but with a few playful twists like extra synth loops and tom-tom drums.
With 70-minutes of macabre lighting, terrifying costumes and sweet-smelling incense smoke this wasn’t just another tranced-out DJ set: it was a horror film-inspired installation piece that celebrated an extremely productive twelve months for Karin which included the Fever Ray releases of ‘Fever Ray’ and ‘Live in Lulea’, as well as The Knife in collaboration with Mt Sims and Planningtorock’s electronic opera ‘Tomorrow, in a Year’.
Pre-Order new The Knife album and recieve instant digital download…
February 11, 2010 Posted by Eva at 5:42 pm
Fans of The Knife rejoice: when you order a physical copy of their brand new album Tomorrow, in a Year (in collaboration with Mt Sims and Planningtorock), JB Hifi will also throw in the entire digital album via instant download! That means that even though it’s not out physically until March 5, you’ll be able to listen to all of the tracks from this 2CD set straight away!
To pre-order the album from JB Hifi, click here. And for more info on the release, click here.
Tomorrow, in a Year
February 11, 2010 Posted by Eva at 5:34 pm
The Knife, in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, are to release their new album “Tomorrow, In A Year”, the studio version of their opera based on the works of Charles Darwin.
Commissioned by Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to write the music for their opera based on Charles Darwin and his book ‘On the Origin of the Species’, The Knife decided to make this a collaborative process, working with
artists Mt. Sims and Planningtorock for the first time, to capture the huge width of the Darwin and evolution theme.
They extensively researched Darwin related literature and articles, with Olof attending a field recording workshop in the Amazon to find inspiration and to record sounds.
‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ is a unique musical project. Richard Dawkins’s gene trees have formed the basis of some of the
musical composition, artificial sounds have been mixed with field recordings, with the music inspired by everything from the different stages of a bird learning its melody, to a song based on Darwin’s loving letters about his daughter Anne. These are compositions that challenge the conventional conception of opera music.
Pushing the experimental process further still, composer, choreographer, costume designer and set designer worked separately, only coming together 3 and a half months before the first performance of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ in Copenhagen on the 2nd September 2009. Described as “shifting the position of operartic art in a single leap”, future performances of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ are confirmed to take place in Athens (8-9 Jan), Stockholm (29 Jan-1 Feb), and Munster (5 June), with further dates to be announced.
Olof Dreijer says: “At first it was very difficult as we really didn’t know anything about opera. We’d never been to one. I didn’t even know what the word libretto meant. But after some studying, and just getting used to opera’s essence of pretentious and dramatic gestures, I found that there is a lot to learn and play with. In fact, our ignorance gave us a positive respectless approach to making opera. It took me about a year to become emotionally moved by an opera singer and now I really do. I really like the basic theatrical values of opera and the easy way it brings forward a narrative. We’ve approached this before in The Knife but never in such a clear way.”
Album ‘Tomorrow, in a Year’ is out 5th February digitally and 5th March physically on etcetc. Pre-order the physical album here and receive it via instant digital download.
Tracklist:
CD 1
01. Intro
02. Epochs
03. Geology
04. Upheaved
05. Minerals
06. Ebb Tide Explorer
07. Variation of Birds
08. Letter to Henslow
09. Schoal Swarm Orchestra
CD 2
01. Annie’s Box
02. Tumult
03. Colouring of Pigeons
04. Seeds
05. Tomorrow in a Year
06. The Height of Summer
Bonus track
07. Annie’s Box (alt. vocal)
New from The Knife: “Tomorrow, In A Year”
January 11, 2010 Posted by Eva at 4:15 pm
The Knife, in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, are to release their new album “Tomorrow, In A Year”, the studio version of their opera based on the works of Charles Darwin.
Commissioned by Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to write the music for their opera based on Charles Darwin and his book ‘On the Origin of the Species’, The Knife decided to make this a collaborative process, working with artists Mt. Sims and Planningtorock for the first time, to capture the huge width of the Darwin and evolution theme.
They extensively researched Darwin related literature and articles, with Olof attending a field recording workshop in the Amazon to find inspiration and to record sounds. ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ is a unique musical project. Richard Dawkins’s gene trees have formed the basis of some of the musical composition, artificial sounds have been mixed with field recordings, with the music inspired by everything from the different stages of a bird learning its melody, to a song based on Darwin’s loving letters about his daughter Anne. These are compositions that challenge the conventional conception of opera music.
Pushing the experimental process further still, composer, choreographer, costume designer and set designer worked separately, only coming together 3 and a half months before the first performance of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ in Copenhagen on the 2nd September 2009. Described as “shifting the position of operartic art in a single leap”, future performances of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ are confirmed to take place in Athens (8-9 Jan), Stockholm (29 Jan-1 Feb), and Munster (5 June), with further dates to be announced.
Olof Dreijer says: “At first it was very difficult as we really didn’t know anything about opera. We’d never been to one. I didn’t even know what the word libretto meant. But after some studying, and just getting used to opera’s essence of pretentious and dramatic gestures, I found that there is a lot to learn and play with. In fact, our ignorance gave us a positive respectless approach to making opera. It took me about a year to become emotionally moved by an opera singer and now I really do. I really like the basic theatrical values of opera and the easy way it brings forward a narrative. We’ve approached this before in The Knife but never in such a clear way.”
Album ‘Tomorrow, in a Year’ will be released on 5th March 2010 on etcetc Music.
Stream single ‘Colouring Of Pigeons’ now from www.theknife.net.
Fever Ray: coming to America…
May 11, 2009 Posted by Eva at 12:27 pm
“Andersson holds her audience utterly spellbound” – Drowned In Sound
“…pulls you inexorably into the darkness of her world” - The Guardian
After a string of acclaimed live shows around Europe, Fever Ray is heading over to the US and Canada in September/October. Venues will include NYC’s iconic Webster Hall, where Andersson’s other project, The Knife, played two sold out dates for their US debut.
Karin will be supported by a 4 piece band, with visuals masterminded by Swedish multimedia artist Andreas Nilsson who designed The Knife’s live show and directed the creepy video for If I Had a Heart.
USA and Canada Tour Dates:
Sept 28 – Webster Hall, NYC, NY
Sept 29 – Webster Hall, NYC, NY
Oct 1 – Metropolis, Montreal
Oct 2 – Kool Haus, Toronto
Oct 3 – Metro, Chicago
Oct 5 – Grand Ballroom, San Francisco
Oct 7 – Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles
The Knife do Darwin…
April 22, 2009 Posted by Eva at 11:39 am
Fever Ray’s Karin Dreijer Andersson has added yet another string to her already impressive bow.
Along with Danish performance collective, Hotel Pro Forma, Karin’s band The Knife have helped to create Tomorrow, in a Year – A Darwin Opera. No, it’s not a tribute to Australia’s youngest city. It’s an experimental performance piece featuring elements of electronica pop, classical opera and performance, commemorating the 150 year anniversary of Charles Darwin’s influential The Origin of Species. Premiering in Copenhagen in September, the production has no dates scheduled outside of Denmark as yet.
And as if that isn’t enough Euro-envy for our Fever Ray fans, may we direct you towards a few gushing live reviews from Fever Ray’s European dates.
Fever Ray on TV and on Tour
January 30, 2009 Posted by admin at 2:34 pm
Part Bill Henson, part Jim Jaramusch, the video for Fever Ray’s If I Had A Heart is one spooky clip indeed! Catch it making its Australian Television debut tonight on Rage!
In other Fever Ray news, Karin announced details this week for her first set of live shows. The stint will see Karin and a four piece band play dates in Norway, Denmark and her home, Sweden.
Fever Ray European tour dates are as follows:
Thursday, March 19th Norway, Oslo, Parkteatern
Friday, March 20th Sweden, Malmö, Babel
Saturday, March 21st Sweden, Gothenburg, Storan
Sunday, March 22nd Denmark, Copenhagen, Vega
Thursday, March 26th Sweden, Stockholm, Kägelbanan
Friday, March 27th Sweden, Umeå, Umeå Open
Saturday, March 28th Sweden, Luleå, Kulturens hus
And more dates will be unveiled shortly, Watch this space for more information, and keep your fingers crossed she hops on a plane to Australia soon!
Fever Ray
January 12, 2009 Posted by admin at 12:00 am
Fever Ray, aka Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of The Knife, is set to release her debut self-titled album on March 21st 2009 on etcetc.
Fever Ray is the title, of both project and album, an evocation of the music’s sound, intense and anxious, yet luminous. It’s the culmination of work that began in 2007 when Karin and Olof, the brother-sister duo who are The Knife, decided to take time out following a handful of incredible live shows. Their first two albums did well in their Swedish homeland; their third, Silent Shout, went to Number One, won six Swedish Grammys, underlined their reputation as an act capable of the truly extraordinary and was pronounced the best record of 2006 by Pitchfork.
After having her second child and eight months of the most productive daydreaming later, Karin had a batch of new songs and the raw materials for the production of Fever Ray. Unsure how to get them over the finishing line, she took half to Christoffer Berg (who mixed The Knife’s work), half to Stockholm production duo Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid for a final brush and tickle.
The result is Fever Ray, an album that, while recognisably the work of the same artist, is dramatically different from The Knife. It’s still constructed on electronic foundations and embellished with traditional instrumentation (guitar here, congas there).
Despite some upbeat moments (Triangle Walks, I’m Not Done), Fever Ray is starker, moodier, in places quite sombre – less an invasion, more a slow process of colonisation. Not that you’ll find anything so literal in the lyrics.
One thing’s for sure – in a country with a wealth of leftfield pop artists, Karin Dreijer Andersson sounds like no one but herself. Constantly inventive, restlessly emotive, Fever Ray swaggers, broods, intrigues and dazzles without ever making concessions to the soap opera demands of modern media.
“I think the music should be able to stand for itself without interfering, like what the artist looks like. That’s something you find out during the process, it’s a steady ongoing process about how you survive. When you work with music, you have the possibility to create magic.”
Opportunity taken, Fever Ray works its magic. Here’s your chance to fall under its spell.
Fever Ray’s debut single If I Had A Heart is available now on iTunes. The debut self-titled album is released on March 21st 2009 on etcetc, through Universal Music Australia.
Tracklisting:
1. If I Had A Heart
2. When I Grow Up
3. Dry & Dusty
4. Seven
5. Triangle Walks
6. Concrete Walls
7. Now’s The Only Time I Know
8. I’m Not Done
9. Keep The Streets Empty For Me
10. Coconut
‘If I Had A Heart’ video premiere
January 7, 2009 Posted by admin at 10:40 am
Here it is! The first moving-picture piece of the Fever Ray puzzle, recently premiered worldwide on Pitchfork. Superbly shot by Andreas Nilsson (responsible for the equally haunting video for The Knife’s Silent Shout), the clip perfectly sets the tone for the new solo project by one half of The Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson.
If I Had A Heart is the first single (out now on iTunes), from the debut self-titled album from Fever Ray released 21st March on etcetc.
If I Had A Heart from Fever Ray on Vimeo.
Fever Ray ‘If I Had A Heart’ single release
December 12, 2008 Posted by admin at 3:35 pm
What would you do if one decade into your career you suddenly saw one of your songs turned into a worldwide hit, won six Grammys in your native Sweden, and your latest release was declared album of the year by one of the world’s most influential music websites? If you’re Karin Dreijer Andersson, formerly singer with ‘90s pop hopes Honey Is Cool and now one half of The Knife, the answer is to take a couple of years off and return as a solo artist under a new name: Fever Ray.
In Karin’s own words, “I had so many songs to record that I just had to make an album. I thought I was going to have a longer break but I guess it will never happen. I can’t stop working. My aim was to finish the album and now that it’s done I’m a bit restless (good that The Knife has an opera to write then.) During the last years I discovered that I like to sing too, so I hope that my newly found live band will make it to the stages next year. We are rehearsing and building something beautiful and brilliant.”
If I Had A Heart is the first single from Fever Ray: a stirring mantra, a boundless loop, a deep sleep spreading over fields and endless oceans. A dark evocation of hope and a demand for “more, give me more”. Music and lyrics by Fever Ray, and the track was produced by Fever Ray & Christoffer Berg. The video for If I Had A Heart was directed by Andreas Nilsson.