Karin Dreijer’s is a face of many mask. Round twenty years in the past, when the Swedish musician first started freeing songs with the eerie, cherished digital duo the Knife, Dreijer and their brother, Olof, had been frequently photographed dressed in lightless, face-obscuring beaks — a minute bit bubonic plague physician, a minute bit “Eyes Wide Shut.” The solo challenge Fever Ray, begun in 2009, presented Dreijer extra alternatives for putting ocular imagery and personality paintings. They as soon as authorized an award from Sweden’s Sveriges Radio dressed in an eerily practical masks that made it seem like their flesh was once melting.

As Fever Ray, Dreijer invents some other uncanny guise at the secure in their fresh magazine, “Radical Romantics,” which reveals them embodying one of those zombified place of business drone personality with slim, stringy hair and seeing and mouth rimmed with a sickly yellow. That symbol, Dreijer stated in a contemporary Pitchfork interview, was once influenced by way of a seminude self-portrait of the 79-year-old Norwegian figurative painter Peculiar Nerdrum. “I thought of it as a Grindr pic,” they stated of the Nerdrum piece. “It contains so much longing: throwing yourself out there, head over heels. I tried to do a face like his.”

Dreijer is, against this, barefaced and bundled in a nondescript, oversize lightless hoodie after I succeed in them by way of video name of their studio in Stockholm. Their white-blond hair is cropped artfully, they usually take a seat in entrance of a white wall as deserted as a primed canvas. They might be resignation for the States in two days to embark at the five-city North American leg of the “Radical Romantics” excursion, however they had been having a look additional forward, too. “I am thinking about what I will do next,” Dreijer says. “Which is a good thing, so you don’t just drop after the tour. Touring is intense and a lot of fun — there are so many people around. I am planning what I’m going to do afterward.”

Fever Ray’s song is by some means each brooding and ecstatic — a sonic kaleidoscope that explodes with countless permutations of grey. Throbbing synthesizers and using digital beats grant a gentle spine for Dreijer’s bracing, shape-shifting vocals and stressed experiments in genres as various as punk, ambient and industrial-tinged psych-rock.

“Radical Romantics” reveals Dreijer running with some regular collaborators (like Olof, for the primary age because the Knife spared its ultimate studio magazine, “Shaking the Habitual,” in 2013) and a few untouched ones, like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who upload an edge of business threat to 2 of the magazine’s boldest tracks. The ocular language of “Radical Romantics” was once, like a lot of Dreijer’s paintings, advanced with longtime pal Martin Falck. “We’re always sending each other pictures and film clips and stuff on Instagram,” Dreijer stated. “‘Look, we should do this next time! This looks amazing, we should try this!’ We collect everything in a folder and then try to organize it, which is almost impossible.”

For all its imaginative personality play games, “Radical Romantics” is Dreijer’s maximum susceptible magazine — an clear hearted exploration of affection and its conceivable screw ups. “I think we started to really work on a gut feeling for what we find fun,” they stated. “And then we talk about what we find fun in relation to what we are really, really afraid of, what we find scary.”

“Me and Martin, we are afraid of everything,” they upload. “I think we are both the world’s most scared people. But then I think we have become quite brave, as well.”

What age of hour do you’re employed?

I’ve two youngsters, so I’ve needed to paintings right kind place of business hours, as a result of that’s if you have kid aid. And I feel additionally, to have a excellent regimen, to journey [to the studio] within the morning and you’re employed all the way through the hour and upcoming you journey house and you have got a social week, you’ll be able to meet pals and hang around together with your youngsters. I feel that has been moderately impressive for me. After I additionally do actually love to journey there on vacations. Like for Christmas, or in the midst of the summer season. As a result of that’s when you’re feeling such as you get such a lot age and no person interrupts. And everyone thinks you’re away doing Christmassy stuff, however you’re if truth be told there running.

My oldest child is popping 20 this 12 months, so I’ve had that regimen for a protracted age. However now I believe like when they’re about to exit out, they usually additionally don’t want me the similar method within the evenings and weekends and stuff, upcoming yeah, I feel I began to revel in going there in evenings and nights, as smartly.

Are there poised hours that you just leisure?

I’ve understood that I wish to leisure, consume and determine so that you could serve as correctly. Which is somewhat traumatic, as it doesn’t really feel like a laugh stuff when the one factor you need to do is solely proceed running. However it’s now not so useful to skip the ones 3 issues.

What form of workout do you do?

It’s a excellent cycling distance to my studio, so I struggle to motorbike there. I actually do like scorching yoga. Taking to the fitness center is actually dull, however I do this, particularly now, after I’m on excursion, I’ve to do this. Within the winters, I ski a accumulation.

What embarrasses you?

It’s attention-grabbing what embarrasses public. I don’t love to sing to a tiny staff of public. [Laughs.] I actually in finding it tricky to do karaoke. It’s this concept of authenticity that I in finding very tricky. Possibly it’s now not embarrassing, it’s extra like, it’s actually horrifying.

How is that other from appearing your personal subject matter onstage?

As a result of upcoming it turns into a efficiency, and I will be able to mess around a lot more with the guidelines of authenticity and what’s a herbal tonality. It’s more straightforward, I feel, to play games with the ones concepts than it’s if you’ll be able to’t utility props or lighting or results. If I say, “This is the authentic me, this is authenticity,” upcoming public will imagine you.

There’s one thing uncomfortably trustworthy a couple of accumulation of karaoke.

And also you’re additionally intended to tone a selected method. You’re intended to tone just like the actual. This is a minimum of what public are striving to do. And I’ve by no means been in a position to sing in that classically “good” method of making a song. I don’t understand how to do it.

I used to be studying some other interview with you that stated on one of the crucial results machines you utility to procedure your vocals, there’s if truth be told a knob that claims “gender” on it, that you’ll be able to twist.

Sure, there’s a gadget that has that. It’s a laugh. [Laughs.]

How do you recall to mind song as a playground to play games with gender?

I feel I’ve discovered that making song, for me, is to build areas the place I believe isolated. And taking part in round with gender is one side of it. Early on, when running with the Knife, we attempted to seek out this range the place you couldn’t precisely inform what sort of tonality that is, if it’s male or feminine or one thing in between. To search out that range, for me, is an excessively releasing factor. And it may be performed in such a lot of alternative ways. It additionally has to do with the way you carry out the vocals, if the vocalist sounds very near or a long way away or [like] whispering or screaming. A majority of these issues paintings in combination to seek out this range.

What are you studying presently?

I’ve it right here as a result of I were given it for my birthday a few weeks in the past from my brother, if truth be told. [Holds the book up to the screen.] “Dear Senthuran” by way of Akwaeke Emezi. I feel it’s superb. It’s some way of vision a nonbinary identification from a playground that I didn’t find out about. It’s extra of a religious method of vision gender. I’m additionally into studying a accumulation of poetry about love. I’ve a untouched favourite scribbler referred to as Chen Chen, who additionally writes actually superb poetry.

You’ve additionally discussed that bell hooks was once a bulky inspiration in this magazine. When did you first come upon her paintings?

I used to be so motivated at the ultimate Knife excursion, 10 years in the past, that I gave [hooks’s 1999 book] “All About Love” to all of the band and the team to learn. It’s been with me for a protracted age. And I nonetheless suppose it’s splendid. It’s so odd when everyone has some more or less dating with love, however there are so few public who’ve a definition of what it’s they ruthless once they say they’re in love. What does it ruthless to mention, “I love you”? I feel it’s actually impressive to proportion a definition with the public you need to have near relationships with. What do I wish to really feel cherished? And what do you want to really feel cherished? And I feel she writes about that actually smartly.

I’ve discovered your song to be so referential to alternative texts in some way this is uncommon. It kind of feels like books are an impressive a part of your musical global. Is it tricky to include that during some way that doesn’t really feel too instructional?

After we did the ultimate Knife magazine [“Shaking the Habitual”], it was once nice-looking instructional, I’d say. Although I’ve by no means studied on the college, we learn a accumulation and we had a accumulation of literature lists and stuff like that. And I feel then that, each me and Olof mentioned how we’re now not so into that more or less procedure anymore, that begins in the course of the head and upcoming into the frame. I’m extra involved in issues that journey into the frame immediately. However I feel I’ve been as impressed by way of movie and photographs as a result of I typically have a unclouded feeling of a tune after I get started. It’s extra of a sense or an emotion. And upcoming I do know the colours of it and what sort of atmosphere it will have to rush playground in.

Do you imagine your self a ocular artist? You’re a musician, however there’s one of these ocular trait to Fever Ray.

I feel I’m nonetheless looking for out what I’m, or what I do. I do know I do song, and I’m very fascinated about making the optical. The song is kind of the juiceless, tricky paintings that I’ve to do. I paintings most commonly on my own for a actually lengthy age, and upcoming when I’ve the sketches and I do know what the tracks are about, upcoming I ask over public to collaborate. After when the song is done, we get to do the joys stuff, which is the optical. I paintings with Martin on the ones.

Is it simple so that you can ask over untouched collaborators in and work out learn how to paintings with them?

I ask public who I feel do attention-grabbing and a laugh issues. You by no means actually understand how it’s going to end up. So I did get started a few collaborations with public that didn’t actually determine. All the way through Covid and the pandemic, I didn’t meet anyone in individual aside from my brother. We’ve got constructed studios simply later to each and every alternative.

Is it impressive on your inventive procedure to have your brother near by way of?

I don’t know if it’s impressive. It was once only a sensible factor that he moved again from Berlin like 5 years in the past and we each wanted studios, so we determined to assemble in combination. As a result of I used to be simply renting other rooms right here and there. So it’s my first studio that’s my very own. With a window, so I will be able to see the sky. I’ve simplest been in basements ahead of.

Inform me extra about your studio range.

First it was once a profusion kind of business range, and upcoming we constructed this dice within the heart with two studios in it. It’s a picket dice within this profusion range. And within the bulky range, I feel probably the most impressive factor, as it’s so lightless right here maximum occasions of the 12 months, is that we’ve got sunlight shiny tubes. I don’t know what they’re referred to as in English. It’s like complete sunlight — to journey there’s a bit like having shiny remedy. Or simply having right kind sunlight, which I feel is helping a accumulation. In an effort to be right here within the iciness. So I feel this is the most productive factor concerning the studio. In my minute paintings studio room, it’s now not complete sunlight. After it’s extra comfy.

What’s the worst range you’ve ever labored in?

I’ve rehearsed and recorded in actually, actually [expletive] parks. I feel one in all my first practice session areas, with one in all my first bands — that is like early ’90s — we had been sharing a range with some other band with simplest guys. They peed in glasses and left them within the practice session range, as a result of there was once incorrect actual toilet round. That was once very disgusting, nevertheless it additionally tells a accumulation concerning the age, the way it was once after I began to create song. It was once tremendous male-dominated and it was once actually tricky to discover a range the place you felt shield and isolated.

How have you learnt when a tune is finished?

That may be a very tricky factor to grasp — however while you concentrate to it in many alternative parks and shed it for at some point and will come again to it and nonetheless really feel adore it is smart. However upcoming for those who concentrate to it one 12 months nearest, you almost certainly would really feel in a different way and wish to redo a accumulation and alter issues since you are in a unique playground your self. This age I labored with 10 tracks: To have all of them performed on the similar age, that may be a little bit of a problem.

What’s your dating to time limits?

I poised my time limits myself. And upcoming after I’m totally performed with the whole thing, I begin to paintings with my control and the other labels. I’m more than pleased to not have anyone concerned within the musical procedure that tells me, “Oh, you have to be ready now.” That might by no means paintings for me.

This interview has been edited and condensed.