Karin Elisabeth Dreijer is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duothe Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. Dreijer released their debut solo album under the alias Fever Ray in January 2009. Their second studio album, Plunge, under the same alias, was released in October 2017. Dreijer's vocal style is notable for both shrill and deep tones, and also the use of multitracked vocals, with different uses of pitch-shifting technology on each track, creating an intricate and mysterious effect. Visually, they employ the use of masks, face and body paint, intricate costumes, and other theatrical elements in photo shoots, videos and live performances, during which they often perform behind a gauze screen that partially obscures the audience's view.
Early life
Dreijer was born on 7 April 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. They started playing guitar at the age of ten, which led to the founding of the band Honey Is Cool. Before pursuing a career in music, Dreijer worked as a web designer. In 1998, they moved to Stockholm.
Karin and their brother Olof Dreijer formed the electronic music duo The Knife in Gothenburg in 1999. The Knife released their eponymous debut album in 2001. The duo gained a wider international recognition following the release of "Heartbeats", the lead single of their second studio album, Deep Cuts. The duo performed live for the first time in 2006, when they went on the Silent Shout Tour in support of their third album of the same name. In 2009, the duo were commissioned alongside Mt. Sims and Planningtorock by the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to compose an opera, titled Tomorrow, in a Year, which is based on Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. In 2013, the band released their fourth and final studio album, Shaking the Habitual. The duo disbanded in November 2014, after completing the Shaking the Habitual Tour.
Solo work
While The Knife were on hiatus, Dreijer released, under the alias Fever Ray, their self-titled solo debut album. It was released digitally on 12 January 2009 and physically on 18 March 2009 through Rabid Records. The album was preceded by its lead single "If I Had a Heart", which was used in numerous television series, including Person of Interest, Breaking Bad and Wentworth, as well as the opening theme song for the Canadian-Irish historical drama television series Vikings. In September 2009, Dreijer composed the soundtrack to Dirty Diaries, a collection of feminist pornographic short films. In a review of the collection, Swedish newspaperSmålandsposten described the soundtrack as appropriate for the film, though repetitive. Dreijer performed as Fever Ray at the 2010 Coachella Festival and received positive reviews. In September of the same year, they performed at Electric Picnic in Ireland and at Bestival in England. Contrary to a statement from the film's director, Dreijer did not make a cameo appearance in the 2011 film Red Riding Hood. However, the soundtrack features a new track performed by Dreijer as Fever Ray, "The Wolf", as well as "Keep the Streets Empty for Me" from their debut album. "The Wolf" was also featured in Ubisoft's Far Cry Primal announcement trailer, as well as during the game's final mission. Dreijer wrote the music for the theatrical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1968 horror filmHour of the Wolf, which premiered at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre on 12 March 2011. One of these tracks, "No Face", appeared in demo form on the 2012 compilation albumWe Are the Works in Progress, organised by Blonde Redhead to benefit victims of the 2011 Japanese tsunami. In February 2016, Dreijer announced they had written and produced music for a theater play called Vahák, which plays on themes of colonial and homophobic violence. That same month, Dreijer revealed in an interview with The Fader that they were working on solo music, though they were unsure whether it will be under the Fever Ray moniker. On 20 October 2017, Dreijer released the single "To the Moon and Back" and its accompanying music video. It served as the lead single to their second studio album, Plunge, which was released on 27 October without prior announcement. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics upon release and appeared on numerous year-end lists. In support of the album, Dreijer embarked on an international tour throughout 2018, with the first leg of which was held in Europe and began in February, followed by a North American leg held in May. More European dates were later added from June until November. In the 2018 Swedish Grammys, Dreijer and the producers they collaborated with on Plunge won the award for "Producer of the Year". Plunge was also nominated for Best European Independent Album at the IMPALA awards.
Collaborations
In 2005, Dreijer supplied vocals on the track "What Else Is There?" by Röyksopp on the album The Understanding. The song charted highly, raising Karin's profile at an early stage of their career. They also appeared in the video for that single, but not as the vocalist, who was portrayed by the Norwegian modelMarianne Schröder. In 2008, Dreijer provided vocals for the Deus song "Slow" from the band's Vantage Point album. Dreijer was featured on the tracks "This Must Be It" and "Tricky Tricky" again by Röyksopp, appearing on their 2009 album Junior. On 6 September 2019, a collaborative EP between Björk, Dreijer, and the Knife titled Country Creatures was released. It contains remixes of Björk's song "Feature Creatures" by Dreijer and by the Knife as well as a remix of Dreijer's "This Country" by Björk.
Personal life
Dreijer has two daughters. They largely keep their private life outside the headlines, but in 2017, they told The Guardian in an interview that they were previously married and had dropped Andersson from their name following a divorce. In the same interview, they described themself as "definitely a queer person, but very gender-fluid." Dreijer uses they/them pronouns.
