Photography Courtesy of Mute Records

The moon is up somewhere over Stockholm and the sun’s been hiding behind cloud cover since September or October. Karen Dreijer Andersson, one sisterly half of electronic master planners The Knife, is settling in for the evening after another dark January day of studio seeking. She’s on the lookout for a new spot to work in. The space, she says, must have windows. “I think I’m old enough for them now,” she jokes quietly via telephone. “Light would be good.”
     In March, Andersson released her first physical recordings under the newly minted Fever Ray moniker. Juiced from a similar sonic vein as The Knife’s 2006 Silent Shout, it’s a self-titled solo debut that boasts much of the same inky tones and nightshade textures as that landmark album. Born during the cold months of late 2007 and early 2008, it’s as much an audible byproduct of sunless Swedish winters as any form of haunted creative wandering.