Royskopp - shit or heaven

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Im thinking its pretty cool with one listen so far.

― Poops McGee, Thursday, 21 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Röyksopp's 'Eple' was one of my favourite singles of last year. Not heard the whole LP yet. Revered in France: I am currently ploughing (slowly) through a cover-feature in last week's Les Inrocks.

― Jeff W, Thursday, 21 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have heard one song on mp3. Don't know the title. The singer sounds so much like Beth Gibbons from Portishead. And even the music is quite portisheady. Only less gloomy and more relaxed, more open and wide, not so cramped. It tends towards ambient muzak a little but is quite pleasant.

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

really shit

― bob snoom, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

why really shit?

― Poops McGee, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

maybe it's great if you want something so chickenshit it's frightened to be as full on bland as BREAD or the carpenters. nah - what upset me most about this critically lauded album is that i heard it and every time i thought they were about to expound upon a sonic skew- whif- ism they retracted back to their mildly whimsical triphoppop confection. riskless easy on the ears whimsy and while that may not be bad - i didn't like it at all . ELO did it better.

― bob snoom, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Poops, you are not allowed to praise this record while simultaneously dissing the new Boards of Canada one on a different thread.

― Clarke B., Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Its just my opinion the BOC was too videogame like. Not saying that Royskopp is great, i just think its better for my tastes thats all.

― poops mcgee, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

Ok, Royskopp are fab at what they do - elevator music. But have you seen the video for "Remind me"? It's the most amazing imaginative video I have seen in a hell of a long time.

― Graeme C, Monday, 19 August 2002 20:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Exactly what are they doing in the top 10? Who's buying it? Is there a fanbase?

― Graham (graham), Monday, 19 August 2002 20:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Some of it is boring as hell. But then you come along to such gems as their remix of Mekon "Please Stay"...

― Siegbran Hetteson (eofor), Monday, 19 August 2002 20:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Royksopp = very cool...music to design web sites to, atmospheric and well produced (perhaps too much but not enough for that to be a real criticism)

Unfortunately they've done a Moby and licensed all the tracks out to advertisers - now 'Melody AM' is in the Top Ten for the first time since its release and everyone's getting sick of being peddled the automatic chill-out album you simply have to buy if you wish to be seen as trendy at your next dinner party/coffee talk....but i suppose i only resent that cos i've been listening to it for a year and it makes me all smug like

― blueski, Monday, 19 August 2002 20:46 (twenty-three years ago)

"Melody AM" is suddenly in the Top 10 because it's been cynically deleted for ages to build up ad-led demand. It is brilliant, though, there's nothing wrong with music whose only purpose is beauty. You'll be telling me you don't like Morcheeba next.

I saw Royksopp this weekend (at V2002) and incredibly they're a blistering funk monster live, not to mention unmentionably cool. Their next album will be astonishing, trust me.

― Mike Ratford, Monday, 19 August 2002 21:26 (twenty-three years ago)

glad to hear it MIke...and seriously Morcheeba werent too bad for their first 1 album (even the second seemed OK in parts) - maybe that deserves its own thread

i recorded the 'Sopp live on r1 earlier in the year and they did sound great....i do like the moody funk guitar wrangling throughout 'Royksopp's Night Out' and the general dramatic vibe of that track, plus obvious highlights 'Eple', 'So Easy' and 'In Space' - roll on the next album

― blueski, Monday, 19 August 2002 21:31 (twenty-three years ago)

I wasn't joking about Morcheeba, blueski! Their latest is seriously good. But yes, another thread, another time...

― Mike Ratford, Monday, 19 August 2002 21:59 (twenty-three years ago)

check out the Ernest St Laurent Moonfish mix of "Remind Me"!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 21 August 2002 02:07 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

Astonishingly fluent, unambiguous in its purpose to make you actually think about how the minds behind its production came up with such poetry to the ears. Cliched or not in reply to Blueski's analysis, maybe it is, but then arguably Aphex Twin has become exactly the same in his own right. Still, both are masterful!

― Mark Loveday, Friday, 8 November 2002 09:54 (twenty-three years ago)

my mate's got me a ticket for royksopp in manchester in december. they're the epitomy of 'o.k.'. the support comes from tom middleton, f.c. kahuna and miss kittin and it's these i'm most looking forward to.

― michael wells (michael w.), Friday, 8 November 2002 09:58 (twenty-three years ago)

i think you may be pleasantly surprised by royksopp live tho, well maybe

― blueski, Friday, 8 November 2002 10:59 (twenty-three years ago)

how are they different, blueski?

― michael wells (michael w.), Friday, 8 November 2002 11:02 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the Streets - Weak Become Heroes(royksopps memory lane) is absolutely amazing. It deserves to have the same kind of life as the Everything but the Girl's Missing - Todd Terry mix.

I haven't been able to listen to anything else since I first heard it a couple of days ago...

― snowballing from paris, Friday, 8 November 2002 11:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Indeed, it's unbelievable it's tucked away somewhere on a B-side. Tune of the year contender.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 8 November 2002 12:03 (twenty-three years ago)

from what i heard they use effects a lot more - they whacked all kinds of weird filters and feedback on the intro to 'Eple' and throughout 'Royksopp's Night Out' and both sounded a lot more powerful as a result...overkill maybe, or i just remember it in my head better than it actually was - this was only on radio as well tho, i was not actually there!

― blueski, Friday, 8 November 2002 12:29 (twenty-three years ago)

i couldn't think of anything more hateful to say than "music to design websites to"

― bob zemko (bob), Friday, 8 November 2002 12:33 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the Streets - Weak Become Heroes(royksopps memory lane) is absolutely amazing

indeed, it's unbelievable it's tucked away somewhere on a B-side. Tune of the year contender

don't think this is on the "WBH" single I bought grrr. perhaps those nice gabba/AMP people could upload it to their site? hmmm?

― Jeff W, Friday, 8 November 2002 12:56 (twenty-three years ago)

It's on the Don't Mug Yourself vinyl. Probably on the CDS too.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 8 November 2002 13:23 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm glad this thread was re-hashed... I've been listening to Melody AM for the past couple weeks and really liking, but for some reason (how polished it is?) I've been feeling guilty and not wanting to tell anyone.

― Aaron W, Friday, 8 November 2002 13:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually in fairness Michael, I saw them support Basement Jaxx last Christmas and promptly bought the album. (fool that I was) The live show is tremendous, I really thought it was top drawer. As for the album, well it's ok. I took it out again recently, there's a really pristine icey feel to Poor Leno which I love, the cowbells in the background, it's just a fantastic winter dance track. Same goes for Royksopp's Night Out, Eple is a bit dull to be honest but overall I'd consider them fairly good.

However you have got to, absolutely got to give them huge respect for their remixes, the Mekon one which Siegbran mentions above, not to mention the What Does It Feel like one. The latter is close to the best remix I've heard, especially if you've got a strict definition of remix. I mean we're talking feelings from one song being flipped on their head totally.

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 November 2002 13:59 (twenty-three years ago)

whats wrong with 'music to design websites to' anyway - tho i think 'elevator music' is a bit more of an insult. its soundtrack music for my ordinary life/ordinary tasks...meaning so much more as result because its honest and realistic whilst retaining a lavish execution and imagination to match what you may think about while living your ordinary life. my life is merely punctuated by the occasional burst of excitement and significant event - they do not dominate it so listening to garage punk, euphoric trance, drill n bass, epic bollywood soundtracks or whatever music is SUPPOSEDLY more exciting/interesting/passionate all the time makes no sense to me...in any case the perceived view of mediocre/bland music (Starsailor, Zero 7, Aesop Rock, Atomic Kitten, whatever) should logically be of indifference rather than hatred.

― blueski, Friday, 8 November 2002 14:06 (twenty-three years ago)

"what does it feel like" is ace, i'll give them that. i want to hear the "weak become heroes" mix because i think the source material would bring out the best in them (melancholy) but there's just so much better happy/sad-electropop out there at the moment. ronan, put aside your FUCK MICROHOUSE JUST FEEL THE VIBE thing and get hold of "immer"/"total 4"/"digital disco"/etc.. i'm convinced you'd love it.

― michael wells (michael w.), Friday, 8 November 2002 14:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Agreed blueski. I think what I like best about it is that I can put on my headphones at work and it just sort of lulls me... which is also why it feels like a guilty pleasure.

― Aaron W, Friday, 8 November 2002 14:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh I never mocked Micro-House really, I just haven't listened to any. Yeah I will get one of them, I think I have to at this point, but I bet they'll be hard to find here. Don't tempt me, I've got 280 euro in cash beside me now but it's all I own in the world, the car is outside, the record shop ten minutes drive away.

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 November 2002 14:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Plastikman's Artifakts is great music for mundane tasks... a few weeks ago I was trapped in Excel spreadsheet hell, and for some reason I thought that the way to alleviate the endless monotony of the job was to sountrack it with more endless montony. For some reason, it worked. I had successfully aligned the elements. It was like audio feng-shui.

Royksopp have some great moments but overall I find them a bit too slick to really move me.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 November 2002 14:29 (twenty-three years ago)

One great thing about that WBH mix is that they don't play the electro card this time, it's just "disco groove + piano + spanish guitar" rolled into one blissful house tune.

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 8 November 2002 14:41 (twenty-three years ago)

i still struggle with the idea of slickness being dentrimental...but i guess a lot of stuff is laboured and over-produced and can lose something in the process - should Royksopp be trying to be dirty and technically not always so correct? to do that on purpose (i.e. making something sound lo-fi using loads of expensive equipment) is a greater crime then overproduction i think! i remember having an argument with a friend about this years ago and I said that meant FSOL's stuff was over-produced (maybe The Orb too?) but he didnt agree because they had more unpredictability and randomness and their sounds were extraordinary. perhaps he was right as Royksopp do sound 'safer' than FSOL or The Orb - i'm sure there's something in 'Melody AM' you wouldnt find in 'Lifeforms' or '...Ultraworld' too though

― blueski, Friday, 8 November 2002 15:32 (twenty-three years ago)

It's not that they should be TRYING to sound dirty, it's that the album (especially the second half) strikes me as being very over-polished, especially anything with dreadful synth-strings.

Of course, some of the time the slickness just doesn't seem to matter because the tune is so great - Eple being a case in point.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 November 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

i love the strings (probably synthey) on 'In Space'

― blueski, Friday, 8 November 2002 16:33 (twenty-three years ago)

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