Breaking Bands: Robyn

03 May 2010

by Nathan Jolly

Robyn first came to prominence in the wider pop world way back in 1997 when two of her sugary teen dance pop singles reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. Aside from her homeland of Sweden where she had been a household name since the age of twelve, she remained relatively quiet on the international scene for more than a decade.

In 2008 she was nominated for a Grammy for her album Robyn, and shortly afterwards her dance anthem With Every Heartbeat hit the top of the UK singles chart. But, save for a few songs which scrapped the bottom end of the top 50 in 1997, Robyn had not yet made an impact in Australia. That is all set to change this year with the announcement that she will be releasing three albums, each titled Body Talk.

Pt. 1 pulls no punches in announcing that Robyn means business, with the explosive opening track Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do, which may be seen as both a move away from her teen-pop roots, and a preemptive strike against those who may feel that three albums in one year may be a tad too ambitious. “It’s like everyone wants you to be perfect and you’re dreaming of a world where you can do what you want,” she explains. “I guess it’s about the modern world and the stress I think most people in it feel sometimes. It’s a pretentious message so I tried to make it as simple as I could. I’m talking about how I felt when I came off my tour” At the other end of the spectrum is Fembot, which paints Robyn as a cartoony robot, albeit one who “has feelings too.”

Dancing On My Own is as lonely as the name suggests, with the singer explaining that this track and the inherent analogy sums up the duality present on the record. “It’s the contrast between dancing, which is such a happy form of expression, and feeling heartbroken. I think those songs get to people because heartbreak is such a lonely feeling but you can share that sadness so easily with the right song.”

But it’s not all dancebeats and depression. Robyn also collaborated with Diplo for the track Dancehall Queen, which, although it would be easy to take as a satire of those Euro-trash acts that were all the rage in the ‘90s, is actually quite serious in its intent. A loving homage rather than a pisstake.

“Sweden had these great pop groups who brought African heritage to Europe and combined their influences with techno. It turned out Diplo and I were both fans of this period of music, one which a lot of people think is quite cheesy. So when he said he wanted to make an Ace of Base song I burst out laughing, but I loved the idea.”

The varied nature of this album shows Robyn as an artist who is firmly in control. “You think that you will disappear if a record company doesn’t like you,” she explains. After compromising so much, I was really questioning everything, then I gave it one last shot, I worked with (producer) Klas Ahlund and we made Robyn. More than anything, I wanted to have fun! What’s the point if you’re not enjoying it?”

And if the new, varied textures and themes explored on this album sound good, wait ‘til you hear the delights awaiting us on part two. Here’s a teaser, she raps with Snoop Dogg about the next Pope being a black woman. “He wore his slippers the whole time we were recording,” she recalls.