The Knife

The Knife
Company type	Music duo
Industry	Music
Founded	1999 in Gothenburg, Sweden
Founder	Karin Dreijer, Olof Dreijer
Defunct	2014
Headquarters	Gothenburg, Sweden
Products	Electronic music albums

The Knife was an electronic music duo from Gothenburg, Sweden, established in 1999 by siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer. They also managed their own label, Rabid Records. The duo attained global acclaim with their 2003 release, Deep Cuts.

Their inaugural tour took place in 2006, coinciding with the launch of the critically praised album Silent Shout. Throughout their career, they earned multiple Swedish Grammis awards but chose not to attend the ceremonies, often appearing in public wearing Venetian masks. In 2009, Karin debuted a solo project under the name Fever Ray, while Olof released several EPs as Oni Ayhun. The Knife officially ended their collaboration in November 2014 after the release of their 2013 album Shaking the Habitual and completing its supporting tour.

History

Originating in Gothenburg in 1999 during the decline of Karin’s previous band Honey Is Cool, The Knife rose to broader prominence when José González covered their track "Heartbeats" on his 2003 album Veneer. This cover gained additional exposure through its use in a Sony Bravia commercial and was issued as a single in 2006. Although the band maintained an anti-commercial position, they justified licensing the track to Sony as a means to financially support their record label.

Having never performed live prior, The Knife embarked on a worldwide tour in 2006 that sold out venues internationally. A DVD documenting this tour, titled Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience, was released in Sweden on 8 November 2006.

On 4 August 2009, the duo revealed a collaborative opera project with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock called Tomorrow, in a Year, inspired by Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. The studio album version was released on 1 March 2010.

In September 2010, Karin mentioned that the siblings had resumed working together, hinting at forthcoming new material. By April 2011, The Knife announced they were recording an album planned for release in 2012. This album, named Shaking the Habitual, was officially announced in December 2012 with a scheduled release date of 8 April 2013. A teaser trailer accompanied this announcement featuring the message: "Music can be so meaningless. We had to find lust. We asked our friends and lovers to help us." The album’s release was supported by European tour dates. The lead single "Full of Fire" was launched on 28 January 2013 alongside a short film directed by Marit Östberg.

After confirming their appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2013, The Knife planned a North American tour around that period. On 21 August 2014, they declared their disbandment following final performances scheduled between October and November that year. In their last interview, Karin expressed that continuing would be purely for enjoyment rather than obligation.

Their concluding live show, titled Post-Colonial Gender Politics Come First, Music Comes Second, occurred on 8 November 2014 at Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavík. This performance was recorded and subsequently released as both a concert film and a special edition vinyl package.

Relationship with the media

The Knife maintained a minimal presence in mainstream music circles and rarely interacted with the press. Prior to 2005, they refrained from live performances and public appearances, often opting for promotional images where they wore masks inspired by Venetian plague doctor designs seen during Carnival.

Although awarded the Swedish Grammis for Pop Group of the Year in 2003, they chose to boycott the event, instead dispatching members of the Guerrilla Girls to highlight gender inequality within the music industry. Their album Deep Cuts was nominated for best record but was ultimately surpassed by the Cardigans. At the 2007 Grammis, The Knife secured victories in all six nominated categories, including Composer of the Year and Album of the Year, yet again declined to attend personally, opting on one occasion to submit an altered video message rather than appear.

Silent Shout earned recognition as Pitchfork’s top album of 2006. The song "We Share Our Mothers' Health" was selected as iTunes Store’s Single of the Week towards the end of that year.

Influences

During a 2006 discussion with Pitchfork, The Knife revealed influences such as filmmaker David Lynch, director Aki Kaurismäki, Korean cinema, the television series Trailer Park Boys, and films like Donnie Darko and Doom. Karin mentioned Sonic Youth, Kate Bush, Le Tigre, and Siouxsie and the Banshees as key inspirations, whereas Olof cited genres including techno, grime, and Southern hip hop.

Solo projects

In 2008, Karin announced plans for a solo album under the moniker Fever Ray, which was digitally released ahead of its official March 2009 launch. The track "If I Had a Heart" gained prominence through its use in television series such as Breaking Bad, films like Horns, and as the theme for Vikings. Director Xavier Dolan incorporated Karin’s music into his cinematic works. By 2016, Karin indicated ongoing solo endeavors but expressed uncertainty about continuing with Fever Ray. The second album under this alias, Plunge, was released in 2017, followed by Radical Romantics in 2023.

Olof performs under the names DJ Coolof and Oni Ayhun.

Discography

The Knife (2001)
Deep Cuts (2003)
Silent Shout (2006)
Tomorrow, in a Year (collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock) (2010)
Shaking the Habitual (2013)

Tours

The Knife refrained from live performances until their debut on 8 February 2005 at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, where they presented a screening of Andreas Nilsson's film When I Found the Knife, followed by live renditions of notable tracks such as "Heartbeats".

Awards

Year	Award	Category
2003	Nöjesguiden's Stockholm Award	Music Category
	Swedish Hit Music Awards	Best Video for "Heartbeats"
	Swedish National Radio P3 Gold	Group of the Year
	Grammis	Pop Group of the Year
2004	Manifest Awards	Pop Rock
2004	Scandinavian Alternative Music Awards (SAMA)	Song of the Year for "Heartbeats"
2006	Pitchfork Media	Album of the Year
	Manifest Awards	Dance/House Techno of the Year
	Manifest Awards	Live Performers of the Year
2007	Swedish National Radio P3 Gold	Group of the Year
	Swedish National Radio P3 Gold	Dance of the Year
	Grammis	Artist of the Year
		Pop Album of the Year for Silent Shout
		Songwriters of the Year
		Pop Producers of the Year
		Music-DVD of the Year for Silent Shout: An Audiovisual Experience
		Pop Group of the Year
	SAMA	Song of the Year for "Marble House"
	SAMA	Album of the Year for Silent Shout
2013	Nordic Music Prize	Best Nordic Album of the Year for Shaking the Habitual

Television and film placements

The music of The Knife has been widely utilized across television and cinema, significantly boosting their brand exposure and audience reach. The song "We Share Our Mothers' Health" was featured on ABC's Ugly Betty as well as an episode of CSI: NY. HBO's series Entourage included "Heartbeats," which later appeared in the show Girls. In 2017, "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" was used to conclude an episode of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale.

Their track "Pass This On" appeared in several films, including Xavier Dolan’s 2010 drama Heartbeats, the 2011 Polish drama Elles directed by Małgorzata Szumowska, and Sebastián Silva’s 2013 thriller Magic Magic, where actor Michael Cera performs the song. Furthermore, "Still Light" was featured during the end credits of the 2012 documentary The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, while an instrumental rendition of "Silent Shout" was incorporated into the 2014 documentary Dior and I.

External links