We've come to the conclusion recently that if you want to make a brilliant pop song it should somehow involve the word 'robot' in the title. Seriously, take a moment and have a think - is there one song involving shiny little mechanical men that doesn't make you want to throw down your drink and pull shapes?
"I am sure there must be a bad song about robots," ponders Torbjørn Brundtland when we confront him with our theory. "In 1982 when the average man on the street realised they could afford a vocoder there must have been hundreds of terrible songs called 'Robotmuzik' or something like that - but you know I just can't think of one." Tall, long haired and with a strange look in his eye, Torbjørn is half of unlikely pop duo Royksopp. Together for the last 10 years, they've recently released their latest and arguably best album 'Junior' after a four year hiatus spent "getting addicted to opium and showering together in the snow".
It will come as no surprise then that their next single, heart-stoppingly entitled 'The Girl and the Robot' is their best yet. Pushing a spooky sounding cosmic choir together with agitating strings and an urgent throbbing bassline, it's a tale of a obsessive and tragic girl which needed a killer vocal. "We'd had a crush on her voice since we were teenagers and it's been exciting to watch her grow and make some really interesting career choices." Of course he's talking about Robyn - Sweden's fiercest pop musician and all round bittersweet pop siren. "Still I'm dying with every step I take" made us wail in 'With Every Heartbeat' and do not even get us started on her faltering scarf moment in 'Be Mine' or you'll be here for hours listening to tales of woe about our one true love.
"I just love songs that make people dance but make them feel really sad while doing so," squeaks Robyn excitedly when pressed on the traumatic issues. "Ultravox's 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes' sums it up perfectly!" Royksopp saw her love of all things melancholy and "hoped there was a slim chance she would come and work with two shabby guys from Norway". Spending time at their studio in Bergen, Torbjørn can't praise Robyn enough labelling her a 'role model' and a 'down to earth lovely person.' Together they captured the thoughts of depressive singletons or crazy obsessives everywhere with cheerful lyrics like 'Fell asleep again in front of MTV', 'Rain starts falling & I just sit here by the phone' and the full on panic of brilliant opening line 'I go mental every time you go to work'. Weep.
Although 'The Girl and the Robot' is certainly 'Junior's most spectacular moment, 'Tricky Tricky' featuring Fever Ray / The Knife's beaked lady Karin comes close. Appearing on stage with the band at their recent UK date at London's Royal Festival Hall wearing an elaborate feathery headdress Grace Jones would kill for, her dark, gothic vocals are a world away from Robyn's bursting emotions but just as staggering. Heavy album closer 'It's What I Want' could pass quite happily as a Pet Shop Boys song while the euphoric 'This Must Be It' further strengthens the 'Sopp's regular collaborator Anneli Drecker as a voice not to be ignored. Long gone are the days when a Royksopp album could be thought of solely as the accompaniment to a middle class dinner party. While the retrospective sounding 'Happy Up Here' might trick you, Torbjørn emphasises that "Junior isn't a full on dancefloor album but it's certainly an invitation to party," cheekily adding, "don't listen to it every day though or you might go insane."
Written for Attitude #180 but postponed till a later date which means this exact copy won't ever really appear as it was written for the single release.
