I can’t quite express how excited I was to learn that one half of my favourite Swedish music duo The Knife has a solo project. Karin Dreijer Andersson has recently re-envisioned herself as Fever Ray and what can I say? I’m hooked.

For those not familiar; The Knife was that little band which crafted unique electronic soundscapes that defied most genre-fication. They grabbed mainstream attention when their single Heartbeats was covered by José González and subsequently used in a heavily circulated Sony Bravia commercial. I was personally drawn in by the more obscure sounds featured on Deep Cuts and Silent Shout… Oh, and of course the live album Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience, which I can’t recommend enough. I was also sort of entranced by their choice to generally shy away from the public limelight and primarily promoting their faces through use of clever make-up and masks.

Fast forward to today, and you have the haunting voice that highlighted The Knife’s recordings continuing on into a new music project. Fever Ray seems almost like a natural, albeit dark, progression that continues to carve out a much needed niche in the greater music scene. The self-titled album was released in December of ‘08 and a tour is already in progress. May I suggest visiting the tour schedule to get in on the live experience (psst… Chuck… Montreal… Oct. 1).

Fever Ray – Triangle Walks - { Self Titled, Released: Dec. 2008 }

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The Knife – We Share Our Mothers Health - { Silent Shout, Released: 2006 }

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