There always one of those iconic dance records that comes along envy so often, that’s so good, it gets people who aren’t, or weren’t into that sort of music to take it on board, to give it another chance, to allow themselves to be converted, if you like. Your me, it was A Guy Called Gerald and his Voodoo Ray, closely followed by Altern 8 and Activ8 and Pacific State from the mighty 808 State. That triple whammy had me hooked.
More recently, one of those tracks which brings you across to the dance side, was Eple by Norwegian duo Röyksopp, aka Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland. But look a little deeper and you will find that Röyksopp have an impressive armoury in their collection, including four albums that have proved massive worldwide hits, including reaching number one every time in their home country. They have received Brit and Grammy nominations, and have remixed artists like Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon, Depeche Mode and Beck, and written for the likes of Robyn and Lykke Li.
Now they’re back, with a new single ‘Running to the Sea’ getting a worldwide release following its Norwegian number one, coming out on December 16th. It’s a sweeping, emotive piece of electronic pop, and features the beautiful vocals of platinum selling Norwegian singer, Susanne Sundfør.
The b-side, ‘Something in my heart’ is equally as beautiful. It’s the sort of thing a-ha (and I’m not saying that purely down to the Scandanavian thing, either) might have been doing if they were still making music, all luscious pop with a beautiful serene vocal provided by Jamie of orchestral pop ensemble The Irrepressables. Underneath there’s this smart pop sheen that manages to pull the heart strings without the need for, well, actual strings.
Looks like on either side of their new single, Röyksopp are going to be converting people to their kind of sound.
www.royksopp.com
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