Rhythmic Lullabies: Fredrik

D.C.-BASED KORA RECORDS has been quietly making a name for itself by releasing smart indie-pop from our region. But on the eve of its fourth anniversary, the label has released its best record — and it's by some Swedes.

"Na Na Ni" is the debut album by Fredrik, a six-piece ensemble from Malmo, Sweden. The band headlines Kora's birthday jamboree on Nov. 5 at DC9, and it will be the fourth time that two of the group's members have played the District in 2008. Band primaries Fredrik and Lindefelt also helm the indie-tronica group The LK, which played House of Sweden, the Kennedy Center and the Black Cat in March.

"We really feel at home here," Lindefelt said.

Fredrik (the man) started Fredrick (the project) because, he said, "I guess there was an urge to let out my less civilized sides."

That doesn't mean "Na Na Ni" is an anti-social record; he literally means it's "not from civilization."

"The Fredrik stuff is a lot more foresty and all about discovery and imagination," said Lindefelt. "Fredrik is a lot more rural in its themes; more slow-growing trees, heather and animals that don't have a name."

The songs frequently feature a percussive stringed-instrument sound, making the music come across like classic English folk as played by an avant-gardist who's dedicated to modern pop.

"That [sound] started out with a chord on the guitar I couldn't really put my fingers around," Fredrik said. "It just sort of went 'chuk.' So we carried on."

While the duo recorded "Na Na Ni," the twosome expanded into a proper band because, Fredrik said, "We heard some chaotic potential in the music that we wanted to explore with more people."

That chaotic potential might become evident live, but the CD is like a rhythmic lullaby being played under the stars in rural Sweden — or in downtown D.C.

» DC9, , 1940 9th St. NW; with Meredith Bragg and Pree, Wed., Nov. 5, 8:30 p.m., $8, 202-483-5000. (U St-Cardozo)

» Watch Fredrik and Lindefelt perform "1986"" and "11 Years" live from the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C., and broadcast on TV4 in Sweden.

Photos courtesy The Kora Records