- Our second podcast with The Knife cofounder this week is a live interview recorded at Unsound 2018.
- At last year's Unsound festival in Kraków, the final item on the conference programme was a live RA Exchange with Olof Dreijer, the artist best known for his work with Karin Dreijer as The Knife and his techno records as Oni Ayhun (and most recently, this week's RA Podcast). Celebrated as his music may be, Dreijer himself is fairly mysterious, but a line in the festival's programme hinted at what was to come. "Social activism has always been at the heart of [Dreijer's] activities," it said. "Back in 2010, Olof was in fact the first person to write to Unsound about a lack of women in the lineup." (He asked RA the same thing about our Top DJ polls.)
For someone so modest and soft-spoken, Dreijer is a man of remarkably strong principles, especially when it comes to matters of gender and privilege. These topics not only informed the lyrics of The Knife, but also guided Dreijer's own path as an artist and an individual, which partly explains why he's kept such a low profile over the years. Speaking with RA's Will Lynch in a full auditorium, Dreijer allowed us a glimpse of his fascinating world view.
The RA Exchange is also available on Spotify.
TracklistOni Ayhun - OAR001-A
Oni Ayhun - OAR003-B