Do It Again
Robyn may be an international pop star, but she hasn\'t forsaken the more underground (or unlikely) artists she’s befriended and admired over the years. She’s collaborated with The Knife, Teddybears STHLM, and Snoop Dogg, to name a few, and her old pals Röyksopp make especially fine musical partners. Her pop-flavored EDM energy combines effortlessly with Röyksopp\'s more downbeat, mood-inducing style. That\'s apparent from the get-go on “Monument,” a tune that starts with a comfortable heartbeat wrapped in a samba, only to slowly morph into an ultra-mellow, warmly hissing synth note that keeps time for a slithering saxophone. It’s 10 minutes of bliss, kept alive at times by the sparest layering of percussion and synth whispers, and it’s sublime. “Do It Again” and “Say It” are dancefloor polishers, with the latter hinting at Röyksopp’s Kraftwerk influences and the former a frothy celebration of doing what we want (and doing it again). (A remix collection with versions of “Do It Again” was released shortly after the EP.)
Robyn and Röyksopp's collaborative mini-album has the epic sweep of a proper album, with contemplative instrumental passages helping frame the more conventional songwriting. The freedom they've given themselves on Do It Again is both what makes the record refreshing and what keeps it from satisfying listeners as a more streamlined full-length would.
The Swedish pop icon and Norwegian electro duo release their much-wished-for collaborative 'mini-album'.
Ever since "The Girl and the Robot," it's been clear that Röyksopp and Robyn bring out the best in each other in a way that stands apart from each act's other collaborations: Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge help ground her flights of fancy, while she enlivens their sophistication.
The pairing of Röyksopp and Robyn first happened with Röyksopp's 2009 album, Junior and "The Girl and the Robot."
Album review: Röyksopp & Robyn - Do It Again. A collaboration that falls short of high expectations…
An unusually restrained Robyn is ultimately unleashed to thrilling effect in this excellent collaboration, says <strong>Killian Fox</strong>
Röyksopp and Robyn’s sounds share so much sonic DNA that their team-up is almost self-defeating.