Sunday 31 October 2010
Dazed Digital- Fever Ray interview
Published 1 month ago
Photographs by Jörgen Ringstrand
Costumes by Andreas Nilsson
I have highlighted in red the important information that will help me further my project.
Karin Dreijer Andersson gives us some insight into her inspirations along with a selection of her current favourite tunes
- Text by Flora Yin-Wong
Often hidden by bizarre costumes and mysterious masks, Swedish duo The Knife made a reputation for themselves for breaking the boundaries between music and various art forms. After writing the score for the opera production, 'Tomorrow, In a Year', based on the works of Charles Darwin, the Dreijer siblings have since embarked on solo projects via Olof's Oni Ayhun and Karin's Fever Ray.
Dreijer Andersson's haunting vocals have featured in collaborations with Royksopp, to her eerie singles like 'Seven', and 'Triangle Walks' attracting remixers from all over such as Tiga and CSS, to Martyn and Crookers. After the release of Fever Ray's eponymous debut album, she has since performed spellbinding live covers of songs by legends like Nick Cave, Vashti Bunyan and Peter Gabriel whilst touring, and is now set to release a cover of the latter's 'Mercy Street'.
Dreijer Andersson's haunting vocals have featured in collaborations with Royksopp, to her eerie singles like 'Seven', and 'Triangle Walks' attracting remixers from all over such as Tiga and CSS, to Martyn and Crookers. After the release of Fever Ray's eponymous debut album, she has since performed spellbinding live covers of songs by legends like Nick Cave, Vashti Bunyan and Peter Gabriel whilst touring, and is now set to release a cover of the latter's 'Mercy Street'.
Dreijer Andersson’s chilling signature vocals transform the piece: "It's an interpretation. We made it more intense and faster to fit our eccentric percussionists and energetic live musicians. It is a monotone track but we worked with the dynamics trying to make it sparkle". Before Fever Ray embarks on a stunning audio-visual show in Europe, with long term collaborator Andreas Nilsson as art director this September, she works up an exclusive mixtape for Dazed Digital.
Dazed Digital: Do you feel that 'Fever Ray' is your main concern/focus now? Will The Knife return?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know, I'm happy having to do both, but it's good if it's something we don't have to agree upon together... I think it's good to have something solo going on...
DD: The working process is easier alone?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think it's very different, it's easier when you don't have to agree with somebody else about what you're going to do but then you have to make all the decisions yourself and I think that can be really difficult. I don't know what's easier. I have to write everything myself in the end - but it's good to have other ears listening to what you're doing.
DD: Which way do you feel your music is going? Like Olof's Oni Ayhun project is taking the turn or more electronic music but has Fever Ray liberated you from all that - think I may have read you were getting bored of all the techno stuff?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... maybe... I think that differs a lot but it's been fun playing live, with quite a lot of organic things and working with Olaf on the opera album we were using only analogue equipment, so I don't know - at the moment, I think of my future work as more minimal, a minimal Fever Ray.
DD: So how did 'Tomorrow, In A Year', the project inspired by Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species, come about? Does Darwin's work particularly relate or bear significance for you?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: We were commissioned by the theatre group to write it, so it was their idea from the beginning about Darwin, and at first all we knew about him were the things we had read in school. I think it was nice to do something else, like reading. We did that for a year really, just reading the Origin of Species and other works about Darwin, so it was really nice for a change. Also applying someone's theories on music, working with text in that way was really inspiring. It's something we've talked about continuing to do.
DD: How important do you think theatrics or the stage show is compared to the recorded music? How does it translate on stage and how do you devise the shows?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think the live thing is more of an experiment of how to experience music. Where I am trying different endings and ideas that could happen, it's more like a playground for music, trying out ideas and seeing what happens if we dress up like this, then seeing what happens to the music. The writing and the studio work is the hard part.
DD: Do you think that the hiding part of your identity helps people to focus on the music or does it inadvertently divert people to a different talking point about 'image' anyway?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: That's always the tricky part I think, because when you try out all these costumes and masks, I think you gain so much more when doing it, when taking away the focus from some private person. It's playing with the character, a performer, like deconstructing the idea of a popstar or how a singer appears or should be on stage.
DD: Do you think where you've grown up has influenced your music? Like the darker moods in your music?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... I think I have always liked melancholic music more than any other, but not necessarily Swedish music... we listened to a lot of African pop music when I was a kid at home, and also Eastern European music which can be really melancholic, so I don't know really about that or how the climate affects your music. Sometimes I think that if it's light or not where you are recording that affects music, but I'm not sure...
DD: As the themes in your music are quite supernatural, do you feel you relate to a sort of 'spirituality'?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: No, I don't think it's like supernatural, I think music and the ability to reach people and that you can like experience your emotions - that's the power of music. You don't have to talk about anything spiritual, humanity and nature itself has such power you don't have to explain with any religious aspects of it, I'm an atheist!
DD: You've just done a Peter Gabriel cover, do you mostly listen to older music like this?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I'm a very old woman you know! I grew up with that track when I was a kid, it meant a lot to me then, I thought it was really beautiful. I think I was really moved how it created that kind of atmosphere, and I just wanted to try it and play it now with a live set up and percussionist and see how it works, how it sounded.
Dazed Digital: Do you feel that 'Fever Ray' is your main concern/focus now? Will The Knife return?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know, I'm happy having to do both, but it's good if it's something we don't have to agree upon together... I think it's good to have something solo going on...
DD: The working process is easier alone?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think it's very different, it's easier when you don't have to agree with somebody else about what you're going to do but then you have to make all the decisions yourself and I think that can be really difficult. I don't know what's easier. I have to write everything myself in the end - but it's good to have other ears listening to what you're doing.
DD: Which way do you feel your music is going? Like Olof's Oni Ayhun project is taking the turn or more electronic music but has Fever Ray liberated you from all that - think I may have read you were getting bored of all the techno stuff?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... maybe... I think that differs a lot but it's been fun playing live, with quite a lot of organic things and working with Olaf on the opera album we were using only analogue equipment, so I don't know - at the moment, I think of my future work as more minimal, a minimal Fever Ray.
DD: So how did 'Tomorrow, In A Year', the project inspired by Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species, come about? Does Darwin's work particularly relate or bear significance for you?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: We were commissioned by the theatre group to write it, so it was their idea from the beginning about Darwin, and at first all we knew about him were the things we had read in school. I think it was nice to do something else, like reading. We did that for a year really, just reading the Origin of Species and other works about Darwin, so it was really nice for a change. Also applying someone's theories on music, working with text in that way was really inspiring. It's something we've talked about continuing to do.
DD: How important do you think theatrics or the stage show is compared to the recorded music? How does it translate on stage and how do you devise the shows?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think the live thing is more of an experiment of how to experience music. Where I am trying different endings and ideas that could happen, it's more like a playground for music, trying out ideas and seeing what happens if we dress up like this, then seeing what happens to the music. The writing and the studio work is the hard part.
DD: Do you think that the hiding part of your identity helps people to focus on the music or does it inadvertently divert people to a different talking point about 'image' anyway?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: That's always the tricky part I think, because when you try out all these costumes and masks, I think you gain so much more when doing it, when taking away the focus from some private person. It's playing with the character, a performer, like deconstructing the idea of a popstar or how a singer appears or should be on stage.
DD: Do you think where you've grown up has influenced your music? Like the darker moods in your music?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... I think I have always liked melancholic music more than any other, but not necessarily Swedish music... we listened to a lot of African pop music when I was a kid at home, and also Eastern European music which can be really melancholic, so I don't know really about that or how the climate affects your music. Sometimes I think that if it's light or not where you are recording that affects music, but I'm not sure...
DD: As the themes in your music are quite supernatural, do you feel you relate to a sort of 'spirituality'?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: No, I don't think it's like supernatural, I think music and the ability to reach people and that you can like experience your emotions - that's the power of music. You don't have to talk about anything spiritual, humanity and nature itself has such power you don't have to explain with any religious aspects of it, I'm an atheist!
DD: You've just done a Peter Gabriel cover, do you mostly listen to older music like this?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I'm a very old woman you know! I grew up with that track when I was a kid, it meant a lot to me then, I thought it was really beautiful. I think I was really moved how it created that kind of atmosphere, and I just wanted to try it and play it now with a live set up and percussionist and see how it works, how it sounded.
TRACKLIST
1. Khulumani - Nkata Mawewe
2. The Tale - Meredith Monk
3. Guiyome - Konono No. 1
4. Jungle Riot - Ove-Naxx
5. Ngunyuta Dance - BBC
6. Natsu Ga Kita - Afrirampo
7. Do You Be? - Meredith Monk
8. Believer - M.I.A.
9. Kuar - Olof Dreijer remix - Emmanuel Jal
10. Dread - Nate Young
Mercy Street is out now on covetable limited edition 7" and on download through Rabid Records. The 7” single will include album track ‘Dry and Dusty’. Fever Ray is playing Brixton Academy tomorrow, Wednesday 8th of September.
2. The Tale - Meredith Monk
3. Guiyome - Konono No. 1
4. Jungle Riot - Ove-Naxx
5. Ngunyuta Dance - BBC
6. Natsu Ga Kita - Afrirampo
7. Do You Be? - Meredith Monk
8. Believer - M.I.A.
9. Kuar - Olof Dreijer remix - Emmanuel Jal
10. Dread - Nate Young
Mercy Street is out now on covetable limited edition 7" and on download through Rabid Records. The 7” single will include album track ‘Dry and Dusty’. Fever Ray is playing Brixton Academy tomorrow, Wednesday 8th of September.
Photographs by Jörgen Ringstrand
Costumes by Andreas Nilsson
I have highlighted in red the important information that will help me further my project.
The end of Fever Ray... for now
Hi,
I want to thank everybody who has come to our performances during the last 18 months. It has been a fantastic adventure for me and an interesting time experimenting with the show illusion. I also want to thank the people who have made it possible, my band and my crew who have been extremely thorough, hard working, amazingly committed and most important; fun to hang out with. Also my management for bringing us out to see the world. I try not to mention any names but I have to say Andreas Nilsson, thank you for sharing your ideas, patience, humour and your enthusiasm. I could never imagine all this could happen when I started this project a few years ago.
Now it may sound like I’m dying or quitting but I’m not. I just don’t want to tour anymore at the moment. I have built a new studio and have work to do. Olof and I have started playing together again and I will also write music for a theatre play, “The Hour Of The Wolf” by Ingmar Bergman, which will premiere next year at Dramaten (The Royal Dramatic Theatre) in Stockholm. And spend some time in the hammock too.
So long for now!
Karin
a big thankyou from Karin to all her fans and co-workers for their support over the last tour.
this is the end of Fever Ray for a while... could Karin send out something to thank her fans and allow them to hold on to the memories and re-experience fever ray while she's gone?
i think it is really important for bands and companies to do this for their fans as it shows them how thankful they are and makes them feel like they are contributing and helping them.
especially if they receive something of a good quality that they would hold onto for years to come, like a souvenir, something special and unique that only a small majority of people will have.
Thursday 28 October 2010
How can the music industry engage with fans?
ARTICLE FROM WIRED.CO.UK
By Duncan Geere |05 February 2010 |Categories: Culture, Technology
The music industry seems to be in trouble. The major labels have been in free-fall for a decade. Consumers are increasingly spending their time and money on videogames. The charts are a never-ending list of X-Factor finalists. Despite a stream of young acts bubbling under the surface, fewer bands seem to be 'making it' than ever.
Many pin the blame on the web -- where a slow start from the industry has put the power into the hands of technology companies and filesharers. But the music industry has begun to fight back. A growing trend is seeing music becoming more interactive, using games, websites and mobile apps to allow people to play with music, rather than just listening to it.
The idea behind all of this interactivity is to increase what marketers call "engagement". With the vast quantities of entertainment content being pushed at people every waking hour of the day, how do you make something stick? By allowing the listener space to explore the music themselves by giving them simple remix tools, or playing a game that interacts with the music.
The positive effect of this approach has already been seen. Aging rock acts have seen an entirely new generation of fans appearing at their concerts and buying their music simply because it's included in games like Rock BandGuitar Hero. The sales of Aerosmith's "Same Old Song and Dance" jumped 500 percent the week after it was released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero. and
Even lesser-known acts can benefit from this effect. Powermetallers Dragonforce also saw sales of their song "Through the Fire and Flames" - thought to be one of the hardest tracks in the game - jump 500 percent after Guitar Hero III's release. At Christmas 2007, when many had just been bought iTunes gift cards and a copy of Guitar Hero, the sales jump reached nearly 2000 percent above pre-release figures.
Another attempt at benefiting from a gaming/music tie-in is being pioneered by a company called Reality Jockey with an iPhone application called RjDj. The app can change and adapt songs based on input from the handset's various sensors - if the phone is moving about a lot, the music could become more intense. If you're walking, the beat can match your pace. It can even take a microphone input to inject ambient noise into the songs.
This means that you never hear the song twice in the same way. Depending on how obvious or subtle the changes are in a particular piece, the song can be relatively unchanged by this external input, or it could be dramatically different. Little Boots has her own RjDj application that offers "secret" sections of her single Remedy if you listen to the track in the right environments. A perfect recipe to get fans to listen incredibly intently to the track.
Another app, Retro racing game Lilt Line, challenges you to avoid walls while tapping the screen of your phone in time with a dubstep beat provided by 16bit. It's an album of sorts -- there are 14 songs in 14 levels -- but unlike a traditional album, you can't listen to the later songs until you've passed the first ones.
But some don't like this technique, seeing it as a marketing gimmick polluting the simple, pure expression of musical talent and emotion. Other companies are trying to tap into this opposing sentiment, delivering stripped down experiences that present just the music and do it with the minimum of fuss.
The most famous of these accolytes of simplicity is Swedish music streaming service Spotify, which puts you mere seconds away from any of the 7 million tracks in its library -- then promptly gets out of the way and just lets you listen to it. You can create playlists, share tracks with friends, and listen on your phone, but the music listening experience always takes centre stage (if you pay not to have ads).
Another service, Soundcloud, offers a very simple way for musicians to share their tracks with both collaborators and the public. Upload a sound file, and you can then embed it onto a blog or website. It is interactive -- it invites listeners to comment on particular moments of the track -- but that interactivity never gets in the way of the act of listening, it merely augments it.
Andy Malt, editor of industry newsletter CMU Daily, told Wired UK: "Most people don't want to have to jump through hoops to listen to music that they've just paid for. I engage with music by listening to it and I don't feel that relationship needs to be "enhanced" in any way."
"However, I can see why putting one of your songs in a game is a smart move, even if you make it downloadable for free. In fact, more so if it's free. You've got a captive audience who might listen to that song over and over again, sometimes in one sitting".
There may be a way of artfully and gracefully making music more interactive. RjDj's experiments with enviromental modification are an interesting start. But we're yet to see a truly great piece of musical art that comes in the form of an iPhone game.
In fact, right now, most of the offerings from the major labels contain constant offers of lyrics, biographies, tour dates and merchandise that barely conceal a frantic, desperate attempt to upsell in any way possible. It degrades the music that it accompanies. It cheapens the experience.
And the other problem is that many of these approaches limit how and when you can listen. You can't transfer any of the music that you've bought in Guitar Hero or Rock Band to your MP3 player. You can't burn the music out of Lilt Line onto a mix CD to play in your car. It's stuck -- which devalues it further.
So while there may be a lot of potential and value in what games, mobile applications and the web can bring to music, let's have a little bit of restraint. Interactivity should augment music, not swamp it in a mess of marketing. Ultimately, the songs should speak for themselves.
Pink Floyd -The Wall Tour
using visuals, creating an experience to engage with music, makes people remember it !
Richie Hawtin -Live Visuals Iphone App
I also saw Richie Hawtin's live show at Bestival which was truely immense, here's a view videos below. Interactive phone app where you have control of the live music, have an input into it. Also high tech visuals used to parallel the music.
Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) also had created an app for the iphone where you were able to interact with the visuals and sounds within the live show!
Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) also had created an app for the iphone where you were able to interact with the visuals and sounds within the live show!
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Smirnoff ice- Nightlife exchange project
this new project by smirnoff connects with my idea of being involved in /creating and experience.
i like how people have the chance to input their ideas, in turn it creates a night that people will love and will be fully engaged with
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