‘Tis a beautiful thing when an electronic producer finds an unusual pop voice for the perfect electro-pop pairing.
And perhaps no one does it more magically than Röyksopp, the supremely talented Norwegian electronica duo responsible for roughly a billion amazing collaborations–from their Robyn-assisted 2009 smash “The Girl And The Robot,” to “What Else Is There?” with The Knife‘s Karin Dreijer Andersson, to one of my very favorite songs of all time: “Only This Moment” with Kate Havnevik.
Earlier this week, the band teamed up with acclaimed Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør to perform a brand new track on the final anniversary show of NRK’s Lydverket. (I don’t know…it’s something Norwegian.)
Beginning with a solemn piano melody, the track quickly fills out into a chilling moment of teardrop-laden brilliance: “I remember running to the sea, the burning houses and the trees,” Sundfør cries out above the melancholy, oh-so-Scandinavian electronic pulsations, recalling the troupe’s other broody masterpieces, like “Vision One.” Susanne sounds absolutely phenomenal on the track throughout–she’s quite a powerhouse vocalist! There’s a killer beat build towards the end of the song–no doubt a slight nod to the big breakdown trend du jour on Top 40 radio–yet the production remains as mesmerizingly Röyksoppian as always.
The boys spoke a bit about the upcoming song on their official website (and not without a healthy helping of their brand of dry humor):
The song “Running to the Sea” was written and recorded in two days, just in time for the TV performance. Susanne possesses a unique combination of distinctiveness and international talent, unique far beyond the borders of Norway. In addition, she has insightful knowledge on cooking inside a pit dug out of the ground. Susanne delivered gold on her first vocal take. We still asked her to do another 58 though. These were never used, however, having these unused vocal takes available created an atmosphere of luxury in the studio.
If “Running to the Sea” is any indication of things to come from Röyksopp we’re looking at yet another massive record for 2013.
The song will be made available soon to the public according to their website, so keep your eyes peeled on their official mailing list.