RГyksopp - Sparks

Röyksopp (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈrœ̂ʏksɔp]) are a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland who met as youths. They formed Röyksopp during the Bergen Wave. After experimenting with different genres of electronic music, the band solidified their place in the electronica scene with their 2001 debut album, Melody A.M., released on the Wall of Sound record label.

Röyksopp - Sparks

Röyksopp has consistently experimented with various genres pertaining to electronic music. Stylistically, the band makes use of various genres, including ambient, house music and synth-pop. The band is also known for its elaborate concert performances, which often feature eccentric outfits.

Since their 1998 debut, the duo has gained critical acclaim and popular success around the world. To date, Röyksopp has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, won seven Spellemannprisen awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums that have topped the charts in several countries, including four consecutive number-one albums in their native country.

Røyksopp literally means in English "smoke mushroom". It is the Norwegian word for the class of mushrooms known as puffball. The band's name replaces the second letter (ø) with ö, which is non-existent in the Norwegian alphabet but corresponds to the same sound in the Swedish alphabet.

Bergen, a city of 212,944 people in 1990,[7] had overtaken Tromsø's position as the most vital scene for underground electronic music in Norway, and Röyksopp worked with other Norwegian musicians like Frost, Those Norwegians, Drum Island, and Kings of Convenience's guitarist and singer Erlend Øye in what was called the Bergen Wave.[6] During this time, the duo befriended Geir Jenssen.[2] Under the tutelage of Jenssen, the duo started a band called Aedena Cycle with Gaute Barlindhaug and Kolbjørn Lyslo.[8] In 1994 Aedena Cycle recorded a vinyl EP called Traveler's Dreams.[8][9] The EP was released under the R&S Records sublabel Apollo.[9] Following the release of the EP, Jenssen almost convinced the band to sign a full record deal with Apollo Records.[2]

After recording as part of Aedena Cycle, Berge and Brundtland left the group to form their own band, Röyksopp.[1][6] The word röyksopp is a stylized version of the Norwegian word for the puffball mushroom, "røyksopp".[5] The band has stated that the word could also evoke the mushroom cloud resulting from an atomic blast.[1][5]

Röyksopp's debut single was released by local Bergen Wave-era independent label Tellé.[2][10] Röyksopp's first single "So Easy", which was later re-released on their first album, was the second record released by Tellé.[10] After being used in a UK T-Mobile advertisement, "So Easy" became popular in the UK market[11] and was later re-released, combined with their later single "Remind Me".[12]

During this period Röyksopp slowly gained popularity in the United States. "Remind Me", one of the two Röyksopp and Erlend Øye collaborations found on Melody A.M., was featured in a Geico car insurance commercial, the fourth of the "It's so easy a caveman could do it" ads.[11][22]

Röyksopp's second studio album, The Understanding, was released on 12 July 2005,[24] preceded by the single "Only This Moment" on 27 June 2005.[24] The single managed to peak at number 33 in the United Kingdom.[25] The video for "Only This Moment" is closely based on the events of the Paris 1968 riots, and elements of propaganda are found throughout the video clip.[6] The album's second single, "49 Percent", with the vocals of Chelonis R. Jones was released on 26 September 2005. A third single, "What Else Is There?", including vocals from Swedish singer Karin Dreijer of The Knife,[26] became the album's biggest single, peaking at number 32 in the United Kingdom,[27] and at number four in Norway.[28] "Beautiful Day Without You" was the album's fourth single, and a non-album track, "Curves", was also released.

Building upon the success of Melody A.M., The Understanding was very successful in Europe. The album peaked at number one in Norway,[15] and at number 13 in the UK.[16] During this time, Röyksopp's popularity continued to increase in the United States. The album charted on many Billboard charts, and peaked at number two on the Top Electronic Albums chart, number 22 on the Top Heatseekers chart, and number 32 on the Top Independent Albums.[29]

After the release of The Understanding, some of Röyksopp's singles were licensed for movie appearances. "What Else Is There?" was featured during a scene in the 2007 American film Meet Bill[30] and during the end credits of the 2006 British film Cashback,[31] and "Circuit Breaker" was used in the 2007 snowboard film Picture This.[32][33]

On 19 June 2006, Röyksopp released a nine-track live album called Röyksopp's Night Out.[24] Notably, the album contains a reinterpretation of the song "Go with the Flow", originally by Queens of the Stone Age.[34][35]

On 5 March 2007, Röyksopp compiled their favourite tracks by other artists for the Back to Mine series.[36] Called Back to Mine: Röyksopp, the album was released in the US on 5 March 2007, and in the UK on 27 April 2007.[36] The album also includes their own track "Meatball", released under the pseudonym "Emmanuel Splice".[36] Svein Berge also contributed as a board member for the celebration of the Grieg year, as Norway celebrated their famous composer Edvard Grieg.[37]

Röyksopp's third studio album, Junior, was released on 23 March 2009, featuring the single "Happy Up Here".[24] The song debuted on BBC Radio 1's Pete Tong show on 9 January 2009. It was officially released digitally on 16 March 2009.[24] The music video for "Happy Up Here", made by Reuben Sutherland, features elements from the arcade game Space Invaders.[39] Both the single and the video were met with positive reactions from the press and fans.[40]

In January 2013, Röyksopp released a song called "Running to the Sea", a collaboration with Norwegian artist Susanne Sundfør. According to the band, the song was written and recorded in two days for a televised performance.[49] The single was released on 16 December 2013,[needs update] with a B-side containing a song called "Something in My Heart", featuring Jamie McDermott from The Irrepressibles.[50] Röyksopp and Sundfør also collaborated in creating a cover version of Depeche Mode's "Ice Machine" for their Late Night Tales compilation album, Late Night Tales: Röyksopp.[51]

On 14 April 2014, Röyksopp announced a collaborative EP with Robyn titled Do It Again to coincide with their joint tour. A snippet of one of the five tracks set to be released on the album, "Monument", was released the same day. The album was released on 26 May through Dog Triumph, Wall of Sound, and Cooking Vinyl.[52] The duo stated that a re-worked version of "Monument" would form a part of their next album. On 29 September 2014, Röyksopp announced that their next album, titled The Inevitable End, would explore "darker subject matter with emphasis on the lyrical content", and would be their last LP, though they will not stop making music.[53] The album was released on 7 November 2014 by Dog Triumph. The special edition of the album includes new versions of the previously released tracks "Running to the Sea", "Do It Again" and "Monument" as well as the original version of "Something in My Heart". Some singles did precede the release of the album: "Skulls", "Sordid Affair" and the new version of "Monument". "Skulls" and "Monument" were accompanied by two new video clips. The video for "I Had This Thing" was shared on 11 May 2015.[54]

In early 2015, it was announced that the band had composed a musical accompaniment to a comedic work based upon the novels of Franz Kafka. The project debuted at the Bergen International Festival in the same year.[23] Also in 2015, the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK introduced a series of new jingles by Röyksopp for the TV output of the NRK Nyheter news division, as part of a comprehensive redesign of the sub-brand. The same year's summer, they won The Best Cinematography category [55] during the Berlin Music Video Awards with the music video Skulls.

On 8 February 2016, Röyksopp announced that a new track titled "Bounty Hunters" would be included on the Star Wars Headspace compilation. The album was released on 19 February 2016.[56] On 9 September 2016, Röyksopp released a new song, in collaboration with Susanne Sundfør, called "Never Ever".[57] Additional remixes of the song have been released between February and April 2017, including Röyksopp's own club mix.[58][59]

In February 2019, the band announced that they would be releasing B-sides, exclusives and previously unreleased tracks through the Lost Tapes playlist, starting with "I Wanna Know" and "Rising Urge".[60] The tracks have been released for free on music streaming services, including Spotify and YouTube, but are also sold in digital stores like Amazon and the iTunes Store. In August 2019, Röyksopp released a collaborative single with Lars Vaular, called "To minutter".[61][62] The band kept releasing new Lost Tapes until 25 January 2021, when they announced the project has come to a halt for the time being.[63] In August 2021, the physical edition of Lost Tapes was announced for release on 17 September 2021. It contains the first 10 tracks from the series and is available on vinyl, CD and cassette.[64][65]

A notable component of Röyksopp's song repertoire relies on the use of multiple lead vocalists. For instance, Melody A.M. features the vocal talents of Anneli Drecker and Erlend Øye,[72] The Understanding features Kate Havnevik, Chelonis R. Jones, and Karin Dreijer,[26] and Junior features Robyn, Anneli Drecker, Karin Dreijer, and Lykke Li.[73] 041b061a72