Having previously released music under the name Olli, Knife Girl is the latest musical creation from Helsinki musician Lili Aslo. Focused on performing songs with distinctive sonic character and organic feelings, her music boasts a sophisticated sound that blends retro inspiration into a modern aesthetic.
Whisper follows on from Knife Girl’s recent release, Oona, which is billed as an EP but at 10 songs and 35-minutes is more of a mini-LP. Regardless, Whisper is somewhat surprisingly a cover of 2019 track that itself takes inspiration from turn of the millennium trance. Where the original basks in its large drum rolls and pitched-up vocals, Aslo has totally shifted the song’s aesthetic to create something still recognisable, but uniquely its own thing.
Describing her version of Whisper, Knife Girl said:
“For the sound of this track, I took inspiration from various disco-funk records from the 1980s. Lyrically, it's a parody of the sexual and objectifying lyrics you would often find in those records.”
There is a strong punk-funk feeling about the resulting song, but underpinned with synths and clattering drums that create a loose, natural feeling in comparison to the original song’s stark, mechanical sound.