I was at some dance party one halloween and one girl had particularly 'interesting' makeup and i was like hehe... what are you supposed to be? And she said she was "Fever Ray" and asked if i had ever heard of her? Also that this Fever Ray artist was in another band called "The Knife." I was like ok cool and when i got home i checked it out and it sort of sparked a decades long infatuation with their music because it's just so incredibly good.
She is quite talented and is surrounded by talented people and has put together some really incredible works of art through Fever Ray as well as her collaborative project The Knife with their brother Olof. Somewhere along the lines the artist decided they didn't want to be referred to as a her rather a they and i wish to respect that out of ... respect but it does make writing things about ...them... feel a bit awkward and gramatically questionable. Regardless their music, either The Knife or Fever Ray is a quite astounding. Sonically diverse atmospheres, diverse rhythm, singing stlyles, use of effects etc. Her "Fever Ray" debut self-titled album didn't seem to have a bad track on it. And this was after already having put out hits with the knife such as "Heartbeats" a classic song which Jos茅 Gonz谩lez ended up covering and went pretty big with himself. A lot of people think his version is the original but it's kinda like the whole thing with Johnny Cash covering Hurt by NIN and that song taking on a life of it's own and people being surprised to hear it was actually not an original. But I think in the case of Hurt with NIN it sort of became Johnnys song because he covered it so well and was so fitting. But i digress.
Fever Ray recently put out her third studio album. I haven't looked at the credits for her new album but i wouldn't be surprised to see that Cristoph Berg is still behind the production credits because it feels like a lot of the sounds from her first album are carried over - and this is a good thing because like i said before these are masterfully produced artworks that ... takes a master to produce and it really comes through in the listening. Radical Romantics, the third album is quite awesome. A few of the tracks i am not a huge fan of. Interestingly one of the tracks, Even it out was produced by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor of Nine inch nails. But that track, seems quite bland. I almost just get the vibe Trent just wanted the track over with and called it a day. I'm sure that is not the case but it's definitely far from my favourite track on the album. Another thing is Fever Rays use of quite hanting, bizarre, cryptic lyrics that kinda haunt me in certain ways. Some of the topics and themes in the lyrics leave me a bit puzzled and wondering what is this that i am listening to. And that is not a great thing admittedly but i just like to over analyze things to the nth degree. If i wanted to go into all the creepy weird things about Karin(Fever Ray) that would be a whole post in itself. Perhaps I will but in the meantime I'll stick to the music. Certain songs of course are meant to be a bit unsettling, like the first single released from her Radical Romantics.
In the video Karin plays some interesting androgynous manager type character in a sort of creepy, 1990's office setting, perhaps retiring. And the lyrics are definitely unsettling and even a bit ominous, but sad and forlorn too.
First I'd like to say that I'm sorry.
I've done all the tricks that i can.
...
Some things just ain't easy to repair
The person who came here was broken
Can you fix it, can you care?
I feel as well Karins voice, while she has always been a talended vocalist, her voice has aged and it's just like a fine wine or cheese, it just keeps getting better with age... Kandy is an incredible peice. The video has Karin taking up the creepiness to the extreeme maximum with her brother Olof just playing along this 'new sounding instrument' like it's nothing while she caresses the microphone creepily, it's not an image that will leave your head quickly nor will the song which is quite catchy if i may say so myself. Like i said her voice here just feels like it has come a long long way. I remember i wasn't paying attention to Fever Ray for a couple years. And she released a bunch of remixes (Including among others one by Bjork) and seeing the names of the people doing the remixes it was like... Wow she has really made her mark on the music world.
we've been talking, now i am singing.
what if i die with a song inside?
i've been alone forever
...
please come home now
tonight we'll go home with someone else
i trust you
no answers
...
simply wood and fire
After the swim she layed down
And whispered
All Girls Want Kandy
Can you bring me back?
I keep getting sidetracked by thoughts of Karin Accepting her swedish Grammy back for her First self Titled Album. Quite Bizarre:
Ah those Crazy Artists.
This post wouldn't be complete without talking about how amazing the Knife really is. Pretty much every album they put out was fire. Some people say "Shaking the Habitual" was a flop but it turns out they were wrong and shaking the habitual is a cult classic. Karin was always a bit political and it can be felt in this video here for the track full of fire, a ten minute long banger that really lays on the unease sonically the further the track progresses. I have this album on vinyl and when given the right listen this track is surreal but you have to be in the mood because this track is hardly 'easy listening.'
Something a little bit more 'family friendly' is the live show they did for shaking the habitual. I guess early on their show wasn't this amazing but they got a lot of feedback from audiences and refined their act and came up with this masterpiece. It is quite the performance and the live versions of a lot of these songs are so freaking goood. Like so good, and the performances by Karin, her brother, Shannon Funchess and the cast of dancers will leave you speechless. If you want a good introduction to the knife this would be an okay place to start. This show revisits some of their oldies along with Shaking the Habitual but the dancing and performance art just suck you right in. The people that got to see this live show are extremely lucky.
Some of the transitions between the songs are stellar. Especially worth checking out is 1:00:45 (Pass this on) going to 1:06:00 (Stay out here) as well, Shannon Funchess (From Light Asylum) throughout the performance but especially during Stay Out Here is chilling. Shannon was actually on the Studio recorded version of Stay out here which is an absolute beast of a track so seeing her pull off an absolute heavyweight of a performance here is awesome. Like she says "This is a protest song. Stay out here!"
Raging Lung:
Hear my love sigh
I've got a story that money just can't buy
Western standards
Poverty's profitable
Ready to lose:
Dysfunctional culture
Spin me away
Preserving a blood line
Fear of suffering, fear of loss
Sucked in your birthrights
The blood
The mine
The yours
Combined
Blood control
A hazy line
Rearranging
Of desires
We've been running around pushing our shopping carts.
January 2012.
Even in the suburbs of Rome.
...
I'm telling you stories.
Trust me.
...
Border's lies the idea of what's mine
A strange desire
Drawing lines with a ruler, bring the fuel to the fire
Back to Fever Ray, this is a cool jam put together by ARTE; "exclusive Passengers session beamed in from an abandoned factory in northern France." While i think this is amazing, somehow I don't quite feel the same level of magic from these renditions as with the Shaking the Habitual live versions. But to discount this work of art because it's not 'as good' as some other work of art is a bit absurd. Even with a live rendition Even it Out just sounds boring to me, sorry Tremt/Atticus! But some of the other renditions like "I'm not Done" here are just awesome as always. Carbon Dioxide, Shiver, and other tracks is huuuuuuge too.
I'm not done:
Some do magic, and some do harm.
Who is the alpha and what is made of cloth?
how do you say you're sorry
and there is nothing to be afraid of
This is a glance inside Cristoph Berg mindblowing studio. I was like how does Fever Ray do it and after seeing this i was like okay that is how. They will continue to leave her mark on the music and art world for decades to come i am sure.
Fever Rays second album is another one that got some 'bad reviews' somehow many people thought it sucked but the fans stayed true and actually listented because the plunge album had absolutely a lot of substance. It wasn't a carbon copy clone of her first album and that is possibly what people were wanting. But she still kept true to her innovative style and released a lot of good tracks like Wanna Sip, Mustn't Hurry... i am not sure why people didn't click with this. But then again a lot of people loved the album, and this is where a lot of the insane remixes i was talking about before came from.
This isn't really a music video but this song gets to be pretty awesome... The video loop is pretty interesting as always with her 馃馃槄
Come play a game with us
We have no-one to trust
Imagine lost at sea
Imagine you see me
...
I'm yours to rock and raise
Our right to be at ease
The final puzzle piece
This little thing called love
The missing thing called love
A little thing called love
