Fever Ray the sombre side project of Karin Dreijer from The Knife is blessed with music videos as emotive as the tracks they accompany. Though only two songs into its infancy Fever Ray possess the kind of visual identity that takes other bands years to cultivate.
Following on from the darker “If I Had A Heart”, “When I Grow Up” takes a Romance Was Born (or perhaps Bernhard Willhelm) model, perches her on a diving board and voyeuristically observes her incantations and interpretive dance. As a result something stirs, quite possibly Michael Phelps the “God Of The Pool” and then it’s all strobe lights, smoke machines and exploding water. I wish all clips were this cinematic.
Director Martin de Thurah explains the idea for the clip:
‘That initial idea was something about something coming out of water – something which was about to take form – a state turning into something new. And a double headed creature not deciding which where to turn. But the idea had to take a simpler form, to let the song grow by itself. I remembered a photo I took in Croatia two years ago, a swimming pool with its shining blue color in a grey foggy autumn landscape.’
When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.
