Fever Ray

Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson (born 7 April 1975) is the lead vocalist of electronic music duo The Knife, formed with her brother Olof Dreijer. Andersson was previously the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Honey Is Cool. Andersson released her debut solo album under the name Fever Ray in 2009. Her vocal style is notable for both shrill and deep, distorted tones combined with her distinctive accent and the use of pitch-shifting, while her image as a performer tends to include the wearing of masks and other theatrical elements.

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. Karin needed a break – she was about to have her second child – but couldn’t stop writing.

The Knife is currently on haitus, which has left many of us PLEADING for its return. But in all honestly, Fever Ray is a phenomenal piece of work and I'm happy for anything else from this Swedish native. Some people say that the vocals are too eerie and/or uninteresting, but I would STRONGLY beg to differ. I will admit its very anti-midstream, but if you can really key into the undertones and harmonics in the work, its really just a feel good album that you can sit back and relax with, instead of having to analyze the hell out of every song.

“Half of what the songs are about is the subconscious,” she says, “ideas of things happening. A lot of it is like daydreaming, dreaming when you’re awake, but tired; a lot of stories come from that world. I try to write when I‘m in that state - I’m very bad at remembering later, so I have to do it right away.”

Opportunity taken, Fever Ray works its magic. Here’s your chance to fall under its spell.