Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge, better known as the Norwegian chill-out electronica heroes Röyksopp, are incredibly busy bees these days. Just last year they released Junior, their third album (and, in my humble opinion, their finest and most complex); embarked on a fine worldwide tour promoting said album with featured collaborator Karin Dreijer Andersson, the lead vocalist of Swedish experimental electronica duo The Knife; popped up on Swedish chanteuse Robyn's fantastic new album Body Talk Pt. 1 (on the terrific song "None of Dem"); and now have a new album, Senior, coming out on the 13th of September. As Röyksopp themselves explain on their website:"The two albums (’Junior’ and ‘Senior’) have a kinship, in that they represent Röyksopp’s two very different artistic expressions. ‘Junior’ – with emphasis on vocals, accessible melodies and harmonies, has the energy, the inquisitive temper and confident 'hey-ho, let’s go!'-attitude of youth, whereas ‘Senior’ is the introverted, dwelling and sometimes graceful counterpart – brimfull with dark secrets and distorted memories, insisting 'I’m old, I’ve got experince…'. Senior’ is furthermore an album about age, horses and being subdued – with devils breathing down your neck."
I myself find this to be excellent news! Röyksopp is on constant rotation in my household, and their albums -- The Understanding, Melody A.M., and the aforementioned Junior -- I find to be exhilaratingly gorgeous soundscapes, each with their own personality and inner rhythm. I can easily imagine Brundtland and Berge ("B+B"), with all their warmth and humor, likening them to their children. I've got to say, I'm really quite looking forward to Senior!
However, if one would like to download, for free, some new music from Röyksopp, then do I have some good news for that downloadable-music-for-free person. From now until the new album comes out, Röyksopp are giving a free song away every month. Yep, you read that correctly. A free song every month. And going all the way back to February. Here's the list of songs and their corresponding months:
February: Röyksopp -"Vision One" (Instrumental)
March: Gustavo Santaolalla - "De Usuahiah a la Quiaca" (Verson RYXP)
April: Steve Reich - "Electric Counterpoint III"
May: Röyksopp - "It's What I Want" (Instrumental)
June: Röyksopp - "Happy Up Here" (Instrumental)
... and, this month's musical piece,
July: Röyksopp - "Hus Nr. 9".
So there you have it! And when Senior is in fact released, then by all means expect a juicy review, right here on these very pages. Cheers, my friends. But until then, I'd like to leave you with the mind-blowingly off-the-charts cool video of my favorite track off of 2001's Melody A.M. It's called "Remind Me," and it quite frankly is one of the most pretty and delicate pieces of electronic warmth to exude from my speakers in quite some time. It certainly is time to reclaim it from the aggrieved-cavemen-obsessed insurance people from GEICO, that's for sure.
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