Additional Information
In 1999, Olof Dreijer and his sister Karin founded The Knife, a Swedish duo that released four albums, internationally acclaimed for their creative blend of synthpop and experimental sounds. Alongside this venture, the brother and sister embarked on solo careers; Karin also became Fever Ray and was a major figure in digital creativity in the 2010s. For his part, Olof Dreijer has pursued a solo career, the latest chapter of which has just given him new momentum on the international scene. Released last May, the album Loud Bloom has been widely acclaimed, particularly for its Afro-Latin and Afro-Brazilian influences. A few days before his performance at the SAT as part of the Making Time festival, PAN M 360 caught up with Olof Dreijer; here is this conversation, which was cordial to say the least.
PAN M 360: We mainly know your works with The Knife, famous duet with your sister Karin, since its early beginnings. But did you presented your solo projects in Canada, maybe, but I didn’t see it myself here.
Olof Dreijer : I only played once in Montreal so far, for a DJ set.
PAN M 360: When did it happen?
Olof Dreijer: About one and a half year ago in a club, during the winter.
PAN M 360: And The Knife ?
Olof Dreijer: Only one time, I would say. We also went to Toronto.
PAN M 360: Where are you based now?
Olof Dreijer: I’m in Barcelona since one year. It’s quite new.
PAN M 360: And is your sister Karin still in Scandinavia ?
Olof Dreijer: Yeah, in Stockholm.
PAN M 360: The new solo album, Loud Bloom, is really cool. So you’re going to present this fresh and new material, isn’t it ?
Olof Dreijer: Yes, so the new live show is mostly around Loud Bloom, but also my remixes and some old material. So it’s a bit of a mix. And it’s, I do, I do, I make like, slightly different live versions, so it feels a bit more exciting. And I play some percussion on top. And we have a very nice light show. We have made a light show with a projector that is facing the audience. So we’re able to create very beautiful shapes in the smoke out in the space. So I’m excited.
PAN M 360: Who designed the visuals ?
Olof Dreijer: It’s a Greek light designer based in Berlin, called Pericles Lazarou. And here in the US and Canada, I’m using a local LD who runs that design called Cam Dasher. And it’s, it uses a very, a bit like a high end projector that is able to do this. And so it’s very nice to give the audience a bit of help in going into another kind of space.
PAN M 360: And tell us about your evolution as a percussion player while you’ve always been an electronic producer and composer.
Olof Dreijer: Yeah, I’ve always been into percussion.,It’s funny because I remember when I was in high school, I asked my mother who worked as a librarian to bring home VHS tapes at the time in the 90s of Latin percussion tutorials. And so I studied playing timbales and for example, which is the typical percussion in salsa. I didn’t even have timbales, but I used my electronic samples and played it on my fingers.
And, and I’ve always kind of played it in a way so that it sounds good inside of the electronic world. But I never really spent time learning it properly until now. So now, I also have Brazil in my life: my partner (dancer and creative artist Suelem de Oliveira da Silva) is from Brazil, then of course I am more interested than ever in Brazilian rhythms. Her father is a samba star who writes songs for the Carnival. And he gave me a tambourine, this small samba drum. He gave me this instrument a couple of years ago, I was like, I have to learn it properly ! So I’ve done a course in that now online with people in Rio. And it’s a fun way just to continue learning new things. Now I play it but I’m still not super good, but it’s fun to just learn this and also embody it, because I feel it’s interesting to look at the electronic percussion and electronic programming a bit differently with the playing of these instruments in mind.
PAN M 360: So what were you seeking in the last album? And what are you seeking in this album? And how is it translated on stage?
Olof Dreijer: I’m always interested in trying to find what I haven’t heard so much. At the same time as presenting that in a way that feels not too alien for the listener. So I’m not so interested in creating soundscapes that are completely new, but new enough to, to feel that, okay, this feels different, and maybe weird to some people, but there is still something helping me as an audience to get in there.
And for example, because I approach, for example, Brazilian percussion and grooves. I have a lot of respect for the tradition, you can hear that somehow, but the sounds are always different. So that, for example, I recorded with a conga player, a Brazilian conga player in Barcelona.,But I put flanger on it so that it resonates differently in the key of the music, and then it feels like an electronic instrument,
So it’s a way I usually want to integrate the organic sounds in the electronic world so that it feels like one, one world rather than, I don’t like to present the organic stuff in their kind of authentic way. So rather present one kind of sci-fi, futuristic vibe, with a foot in tradition somehow.
PAN M 360: Okay, so there’s always a link with your past in a way also to a link with your, for your audience, because your audience has to recognize some aspect of your work before going ahead.
Olof Dreijer: Of course, I have my voice, my melodies, and the way I approach making synthesizer sounds, and this, I guess, will always be there. And it’s my way of doing things and this creates an emotional kind of grounding. I always want the melodies to tell a story and have a feeling of narrative. And, and so it’s this mix of creating dance music with more emotion and more, more groove in an organic, but futuristic way.
PAN M 360: What is your gear where you’re going to do a live set at this Making Time festival born in Philadelphia and also presented at SAT in Montreal. Were you in the Philadelphia bill new edition, from September 18th to September 20th ?
Olof Dreijer: I was there last year, but it didn’t work out with the schedule this year. So I premiered the live show in Philadelphia last week, Sept 25th. And it was really nice because there were a lot of people who discovered my music at the festival last year who came to the show last week. And I had a great time at Making Time last year, too.
PAN M 360: What is your gear on stage in this tour ?
Olof Dreijer: My gear setup is kind of quite a common laptop electronic live show. But I also play percussion that I have a lot of effects on, so they integrate in the electronic world. And then I have this light show, but not nothing else. I do everything with the computer. I do a lot of live time stretching and all kinds of crazy effects. And also playing with sticks and hands on percussion.
PAN M 360: Will you have some guests on stage in MTL?
Olof Dreijer: No. Basically, I have always done a lot of collaborations and people on stage with me. But now I just thought it would be fun to just try to do something completely on my own because it gives me a certain freedom to go any place I want. And also for the future, I want to build my professional life in a way I can be very free. So it feels actually very good to do it like this now.
PAN M 360: Excellent. So, welcome back to Montreal !
Olof Dreijer: Thank you so much !
