Deconstructing: Fever Ray

Identity and myth building plays a large part in Karin Dreijer Andersson’s work as an artist, whether she is alongside her brother Olof as one half of The Knife, or operating under the guise of her solo project Fever Ray. Karin’s manipulation of her voice when performing as Fever Ray, the costumes, the elaborate headgear, make-up, masks and disorientating onstage lighting, is this all an attempt to put something between herself and the listener, whether it is at one of her shows or on record?

“I think music is a medium for trying out ideas so I don’t think of [how I fit] within it, I think of it more as a place where you can do anything. I’d rather investigate things that I don’t know so much about.”

After suggesting that her performance at the Forum in London last year would be the last chance to see Fever Ray live, the decision to resurrect the wonderful live spectacle came as a pleasant surprise to many. But what sparked the decision and the new look?

“We were having so much fun, it seemed too early to shut it down. Before tonight [in Glasgow] we had only done two shows this year, so we're doing a few more. I work very closely with Andreas Nilsson, the artist who has been working with me on the live shows and videos, and we decided to take it further. We didn’t want to get stuck in a rut, we just wanted to continue experimenting with how the show can be experienced in different settings and what the live show is really all about.”

What compelled her to temporarily abandon The Knife to go it alone as Fever Ray, and how do the two compare?

“Both Olof and myself wanted to work on our own for a while, we’ve worked together for so long now. It’s a big difference, with The Knife I write very closely with my brother but with Fever Ray I am working by myself most of the time, sometimes working with three different producers but always writing on my own. For me there was no different agenda, both are free but they are two different ways of working."

Which brings us neatly to the inevitable question regarding future plans. Karin remains tight-lipped about whether the final date on this mini tour will actually be her last as Fever Ray, clearly learning from her mistake of speaking too soon previously.

“Once I get home I’m going into the studio and writing music for a play called The Wolf Hour. I’m going to be working on a new Knife project too, which consists of improvisations for the time being.”