The Knife’s career hasn’t exactly followed a conventional path. Olof and Karin Dreijer, the Swedish brother and sister act, have kept on the front foot with their leftfield electronica but lingered in the shadows to explore their own unique aesthetic. If you caught them live, you were one of the lucky few. One standout project this current reissue campaign highlights is Tomorrow, In A Year, their collaborative opera based on Charles Darwin’s Origin Of The Species. Commissioned by the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma, and working with Mt Sims and Planningtorock, the newly formed collective partly switched the focus from biology and geology to the misuse of Darwin’s ideas to foster fascism across Europe. True to form, conformity and comfort weren’t high on the agenda. The same can be applied to the tracks with a Lynchian disquiet running through proceedings as field recordings add eerie atmospheric touches. Alternatively, for unadulterated beauty, head to Colouring Of Pigeons or Annie’s Box where the voices morph with the electronic drones to form a sublime union.
This came at a particularly productive spell for Karin, as she released her essential self titled solo album and some may detect certain parallels, albeit briefly.
For fans of contemporary opera regarding theories of evolution – come on, who isn’t? – this is a visionary work you must own.
