The Knife was an electronic duo from Gothenburg, Sweden formed in 1999. The… Read Full Bio ↴The Knife was an electronic duo from Gothenburg, Sweden formed in 1999. The band consisted of siblings Karin Dreijer (formerly of Honey is Cool, now Fever Ray) and Olof Dreijer (Oni Ayhun) - who also run their own record company, Rabid Records. Their lyrics were often political and left-leaning, involving strong critique of capitalism, colonialism and discrimination, and expressing support for causes including but not limited to queer rights, feminism and gender politics. They rarely made public appearances and in promotional photos often wore bird's beak masks reminiscent of the masks worn by medieval plague doctors.

The Knife won a Swedish Grammy award for best pop group of the year 2003, but they boycotted the ceremony by sending two representatives of another artist group dressed as gorillas with the number 50 written on their costumes, apparently as a protest against male dominance within the music industry. Their album Deep Cuts was also nominated for a Swedish Grammy as the best record of the year 2003, although that award went to The Cardigans. It was also in 2003 that the The Knife was featured as Artist of the Week at HitQuarters, which helped them gain greater attention in the worldwide music community.

The group became prominent in late 2005 when José González covered "Heartbeats" on his 2003 album, Veneer. The song was used by Sony in a commercial for Bravia television sets, and released as a single in early 2006. The group commented on this in a Dagens Nyheter article, claiming that Sony paid a large sum of money to use the song. In view of the group's left-wing views and non-commercial philosophy, they excused this transaction on the basis that the money was needed to establish their record company.

The Knife's song "We Share Our Mothers' Health" from their album Silent Shout was featured by the iTunes store as a free song of the week in late 2006. This song was also featured in the ABC series Ugly Betty, as well as an episode of CSI: NY.

In February 2005, the Knife performed their first ever live show at London's ICA, appearing with Rex the Dog and playing in front of a video created for the event by artist/film maker Andreas Nilsson. With this one live performance The Knife embarked on a major tour in 2006, and after selling out shows worldwide, a DVD of the tour was announced. The DVD was released in Sweden on November 8, 2006, and is titled Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience.

Silent Shout was named the best album of 2006 by Pitchfork Media.
At the Swedish Grammy awards in January 2007, The Knife won in all six categories they were nominated in: Composer of the Year, Music DVD of the Year, Producer of the Year, Pop Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Again, they did not attend the award ceremony.

In 2009 the duo wrote the opera Tomorrow, In a Year, celebrating 150 years since Darwin's Origin of Species was published.

In April 2013 they released the album Shaking The Habitual.

In 2014 Karin Dreijer revealed in a interview that the Knife were calling it quits for good. "When we finish the tour now in November we will close down, it’s our last tour," they said. "We don’t have any obligations to continue, it should only and always be for fun."

From Off to On
The Knife Lyrics

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We can not wait much longer
We want happiness back
We want control of our bodies
Everything we've lacked
I think I even liked it
If the feeling was mine
A little something about my body
Is it the warmth inside

When we come home, we want it quiet and calm
We want you to sing us a song
When we come home, we pull the curtains down
Making sure that the TV is on

If you move a little closer
I'll tell you what's my aim
It's every evening on a big screen
Hosted by celebrities
I had a dream about deleting and killer whales
Is it the feeling of your body
Or is it the feeling of mine

When we come home, we want it quiet and calm
We want you to be around
When we come home, we pull the curtains down
Making sure that the TV is on

From off to on
From off to on

Overall Meaning

The Knife’s song “From Off to On” appears to explore the desire for happiness and control over one’s life, and the different ways in which these can be achieved. The opening lines of “We cannot wait much longer/We want happiness back/We want control of our bodies/Everything we've lacked” identify a yearning for these missing components, and perhaps even a frustration or desperation to obtain them. The following line, “I think I even liked it/If the feeling was mine” suggests that the singer may have found pleasure or comfort in the lack of control they experienced, or at least owned it for themselves.

The second verse of the song begins with the image of a peaceful home, where the occupants seek calm and comfort after a long day. However, the line “Making sure that the TV is on” indicates that this is not purely a restful environment, but rather one that actively seeks out external stimuli. The final segment of the song, “If you move a little closer/I’ll tell you what’s my aim/It’s every evening on a big screen/Hosted by celebrities” suggests a desire for fantasy or escape, as opposed to real, tangible happiness. The description of a dream about “deleting and killer whales” furthers this notion, as it hints at a desire to eliminate undesirable elements from one’s life, as well as the allure of powerful and dangerous creatures.

In summary, “From Off to On” appears to delve into complex ideas surrounding happiness, control, and the ways in which individuals may seek or avoid these concepts in everyday life.

Line by Line Meaning

We can not wait much longer
We are impatient and can no longer hold back.

We want happiness back
We want joy, pleasure and contentment that we once had.

We want control of our bodies
We desire to have power over our physical being.

Everything we've lacked
We have been deprived of numerous things.

I think I even liked it
Despite the deprivation, we enjoyed it.

If the feeling was mine
But, was the sense of enjoyment truly mine?

A little something about my body
Let me share something about my physique.

Is it the warmth inside
Is this indescribable, comforting sensation coming from within me?

When we come home, we want it quiet and calm
After a long day, we wish to have peace and tranquility.

We want you to sing us a song
We would love it if you can serenade us.

When we come home, we pull the curtains down
Upon arrival, we shutter out the world outside.