Niki & The Dove - Thu 16th Feb
eat-your-own-ears
Niki & the Dove is a band consisting of
two members, lead vocalist and song writer Malin Dahlström and
instrumentalist Gustaf Karlöf, neither of whom, you may have noticed, is
called Niki.
Formed in February 2010, Niki & The Dove have
spent the time since figuring out just how pop music works and then
discovering new ways to break it. Their first single DJ, Ease My Mind,
on leading UK independent Moshi Moshi, was one of the most striking
debuts of the year immediately grabbing the attention of everyone from
Artrocker through to The Sunday Times and the NME.
If DJ, Ease My
Mind, revealed a precociously fully formed sound then its self-released
follow up Mother Protect showed a band poised for great things. A
riotous collision of barely constrained electronic pop and Malin’s
distinctive glacial vocals, Mother Protect, confirmed Niki & The
Dove as a unique talent and gained them heavy support from the likes of
Annie Mac on Radio 1 and John Kennedy on XFM, despite being only
available through the band’s website.
Inspired by the books they
read, the conversations they have heard and the people they’ve met with a
story to tell, Niki & the Dove’s songs are like the best fairytales
full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath
the surface. It’s pop music but a world away from the production line
aesthetics of much modern chart music.
With a background in
writing for theatre and dance productions Niki & The Dove’s live
show is an integral part of the band, and Niki & The Dove like to
involve their wide circle of talented friends and collaborators to
ensure no two Niki & The Dove shows are the same. In November 2010
they made their debut UK performance, leaving a sold out North London
crowd in raptures and desperate for more.
As The Sunday Times
described them Niki & The Dove are a “band who you felt could knock
off a chart-pop stunner with ease if only they could be bothered.
Luckily for us, they clearly can't.”
