Trend Report IX February 09, 2010

MUSIC: The Dark Enchantment of Fever Ray
"When you work with music, you have the possibility to create magic," says Karin Dreier Andersson, better known as Fever Ray, but the haunting melodies on her new self-titled album express this thought better than words ever could. Her live act is one part ancient tribal ceremony, one part impressively choreographed show of laser and 3-D projections, and one part rave. You may recognize Fever Ray's ethereal, soul-piercing vocals from the relentlessly experimental electronic pop duo The Knife, formed in Stockholm with her brother Olof Dreijer in 1999. The group's third album, Silent Shout, launched them to international renown and acclaim, and they have just released the first track of their newest project Tomorrow, In A Year, which is a collaborative opera based on Charles Darwin with Hotel Pro Forma, Mt. Sims, and Planningtorock.     Maybe the most exciting thing, though, about Fever Ray's new project are the six videos released so far. Like her lyrics, they are highly abstract and symbolic; cool, dark and dreamlike manifestations of the sound itself.  "When I Grow Up," shown above, has her balanced over a swimming pool wrapped in bright rags, feathers, and string. In the eerie gray light she begins to dance spasmodically like a marionette, singing "I've never liked that sad look from someone who wants to be loved by you." If you find you're in one of those ruts where you've forgotten how music can be magic, just watch and listen.   ANIMAL OF THE WEEK: HeroRAT
Hold the mouse-trap - it could one day be a rat who saves your life. African Giant Pouched Rats are trained in Belgium and Tanzania to become HeroRATS who detect explosives in landmines and who sniff out human tuberculosis in lab samples. Africa has more landmines than anywhere else in the world. They hinder access to aid for refugees who desperately need it, stunting economic and social growth. The Rats are too light to set off the explosives, and alert their human coworkers of something detected by scratching the ground. In just 30 minutes, a single Rat can clear an area that a human deminer working alone would need two days for. But HeroRATs don't stop at landmine detection - they're medical assistants, too. TB is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other infectious disease, killing 2 million people in 2002. It takes a trained HeroRAT seven minutes to review 40 samples of human sputum - a lab technician needs two days. Pretty awesome work! The least we could do is make this olfactorily supreme creature our Animal of the Week, but you can take it one step further - for just 5€ you can adopt your own.   Making Light of Winter
We all know that humans need sunlight to be happy. So if you're in a climate where February is cold and bleak, consider shining some light on your winter slump. Light therapy lamps, or light boxes, are all the rage these days. They mimic the sun by giving off full-spectrum light, and if you're willing to shell out the cash you can buy one for your living room and bask all day like a lizard. Alternatively, try and find them at a gallery near you. In Berlin, they are currently being featured as part of an installation by artist Rebecca Loyche at MMX Open Art Venue accompanied by a collaborative soundscape by Icelandic artist Björk Viggósdóttir. Speaking of breathtaking light installations in Berlin: as part of the Transmediale Festival 2010 (Feb. 2-7) for Digital Arts and Culture, the Puerto Rican-American artist Yvette Mattern has designed an installation in which a rainbow of lasers spans the night sky from West to East.