“Close To The Knife”

Blue Foundation’s new album Close to the Knife marks a profound evolution in the band’s sound and storytelling—an immersive collection of raw, cinematic dream-pop. Written and produced over three years in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, by Tobias Wilner and Bo Rande, and recorded across New York, Shanghai, Copenhagen, and Dalian, the album explores themes of betrayal, self-destruction, and the fragile complexities of love.

Close to the Knife, in its entirety, consists of 11 songs. The title track evokes the ethereal mood of Twin Peaks, unfolding a bittersweet story of unattainable love through lush, hypnotic textures and haunting vocals. From the haunting chimes of The Fall, with Federico Ughi’s motorik drums that evoke Jaki Liebezeit of Can, to the expansive, yearning vocals on A Dreamer’s Dream, the album delves deep into emotional terrain.

Songs like Ecstasy in Space, The Fall, and A Dreamer’s Dream, recorded in Copenhagen during the summer of 2024, capture a raw yet dreamy atmosphere. Their musical style blends shoegaze, dream-pop, and psychedelia - enhanced by Tobias Wilner’s reverb-drenched guitars and Bo Rande’s ethereal soundscapes, creating a deeply immersive mood. Federico Ughi’s drums hit like a train breaking the silence at night - powerful, relentless, and driving the songs with intense urgency. These tracks embody the wild, organic energy of musicians playing live together in a room.

Throughout the album, Tobias Wilner searches for honesty in his vocals, recording long takes to preserve an intimate and personal feel. His characteristic soft, laid-back delivery anchors the record’s emotional core. New vocalist Nina Larsen adds fresh depth to tracks like Ecstasy in Space and Shadow of Silence, while Scarlet Rae brings a hypnotic shimmer to Highway Reverie. Blinded Light offers minimalist, synth-driven beauty, and Voyage to the Stars takes the listener on a journey through celestial introspection. In contrast, God Machine delivers raw power, and Shadow of Silence builds with haunting tension. The album closes with Copenhagen Mannequin, a reflective piece woven with glistening guitars.

“Copenhagen Mannequin was written while we were touring Europe a few years ago. With a few days off, I recorded Sonya Kitchell’s vocals in a small kitchen in Copenhagen. The ending was captured while we were waiting to catch a train. I had just played her the song and handed her the guitar. What you hear is her first take, recorded on a small device.” - Tobias Wilner

Most of the instruments on the album are performed by Bo Rande and Tobias Wilner. Additional contributions include Xie Yugang (Wang Wen), who adds noise, guitar, and texture to Harsh Love, Close to the Knife, and God Machine, and guitarist Jonas Munk (Manual), who provides shimmering guitar on Harsh Love. Drummer Federico Ughi (577 Records, New York United) brings dynamic, driving rhythms to The Fall, A Dreamer’s Dream, Voyage to the Stars, and God Machine. Vocals by Wilner, Nina Larsen, Scarlet Rae, Helena Gao, and Sonya Kitchell enrich the album’s layered, immersive sound.

Close To The Knife is mixed by Tobias Wilner in Copenhagen and mastered by Francesco Donadello in Berlin. The album stands as Blue Foundation’s most emotionally charged and sonically expansive release to date.

Tobias Wilner’s lyrics on Close to the Knife explore themes of betrayal, self-destruction, longing, and existential stasis - often leaving space for unspoken emotions to resonate beneath the surface. The writing is marked by poetic restraint, drawing on the influence of Raymond Carver, Kafka, and Søren Kierkegaard’s reflections on despair.

The Fall captures a moment of emotional shutdown where words fail, while A Dreamer’s Dream balances luminous imagery and hypnotic repetition with an undercurrent of yearning, evoking the fragile space between hope and melancholy that runs throughout the album. The title track Close to the Knife leans into dreamlike intimacy and ephemeral connection, blending declarations of love with a recurring sense of loss and distance that defines much of the record’s emotional landscape

“The first time I played an early version of Close To The Knife was in Paris, at La Flèche d'Or in 2012. Back then it was called Flowers. I had the verses, but the lyrics wouldn’t come. Even after recording guitars with Danish dreampop legend Jonas Munk, the song stayed in limbo - waiting - until 2024” - Tobias Wilner. Taken from "Echoes & Noise: The Story of Blue Foundation (Podcast )

“You are the light against the dark. A star, burning even in the rain. That fire, that energy, you pull me in, consuming everything. And maybe that’s what love really is: you are a dreamer’s dream, a song that never stops playing.

You just glow. I knew it the moment I saw you, like your soul is older than time, like you have carried a fire through lifetimes. Your eyes burn deep, bright, wild. Meeting you changed me. It didn’t matter when or how. Once our connection was made, it was like a thread pulled tight across time. A force I cannot explain, but I feel it in my bones.

Being drawn to you is like being caught in something bigger than myself, something burning, untamed, unstoppable. Love is not quiet. You tear through the silence like a train at night, like a storm that leaves everything changed.” - taken from Tobias Wilner’s notebook.

Ecstasy in Space - A Personal Reflection

I wanted the song to feel weightless- not joyful, but like drifting through something you can’t quite hold.
Minimal, almost skeletal. Just raw presence.

“Ecstasy in space.” It sounds like freedom. But is it?
To me, it’s loneliness pretending to be flight. Ecstasy laced with ache.

The lines repeat:
“Hold on tight.”
“Glide with grace.”
There’s comfort in the rhythm, but also desperation.
You repeat yourself because you’re afraid of the silence that follows.

Then:
“Wish you were mine.”
Once, it’s hope.
Twice, longing.
Three times - it’s grief.
Not loud, but the kind that lives quietly in your bones.

This isn’t about a lover.
It’s about the space someone leaves behind.

These lyrical themes resonate with the existential questions, where longing, freedom, and meaning remain elusive and unresolved. Tobias Wilner has mentioned the work of New York poet Ocean Vuong as one of the inspirations behind the album’s intimate and emotionally nuanced lyrics. Together, songs like The Fall, A Dreamer’s Dream, and Close to the Knife embody a blend of poetic subtlety and emotional intensity, weaving dreamlike intimacy with haunting reflections on loss, longing, and existential tension.

Close to the Knife

1. Close To The Knife

2. The Fall

3. Harsh Love feat. Helena Gao

4. A Dreamers Dream

5. Highway Reverie Feat. Scarlet Rae

6. Ecstasy In Space

7. Blinded Light

8. Voyage to the Stars feat. Helena Gao

9. God Machine

10. Shadow Of Silence

11. Copenhagen Mannequin feat. Sonya Kitchell