The Swedes make the best pop music and Robyn updates the tradition with a fresh taste of electro. Known in the US for her '90s hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What it Takes)," Robyn's made a huge comeback in Europe with the emotionally-charged "With Every Heartbeat." With incredible songwriting and production (Teddy Bears, Bjorn from Peter, Bjorn and John, and Kleerup), Robyn's latest CD is due for US release in April.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: You were in the U.S. a few weeks ago. How did it feel to be back?
Robyn: Well, it was amazing to be back in the U.S., especially the
way I was received by the audience. I wasn't expecting that kind of
reception at all. It's been ten years since I was there working the last time, and yet everyone knew my songs, even the ones from the
latest album. I was really surprised. You can never expect something
like that, especially not after all these years, so I was very, very
happy.
RS: Very cool. When you recorded "With Every Heartbeat," did you
have any idea it would become as big as it did?
Robyn: It's the same thing as with a crowd – you can never expect
anything. I think whenever I do something, whether it's a live show or
when I'm recording in the studio, I'm always doing my best, and of
course I love it and I think it should be a hit. I think lots of
people should come to my shows, but you never know. I think it's
really important not to expect that. You have to just kind of do it
because you love it and not because you want lots of people to buy
your albums.
When me and Kleer wrote "With Every Heartbeat," it was just something
that happened in an afternoon. We were really happy with the result,
and we thought it an amazing song. But if you were asking for my
professional opinion, it's not your typical number one record in the
sense that it doesn't really have a chorus, it has this weird string
part in the middle. I think that's why when it went to number one was
a really special thing – it was actually requested so much. It wasn't
pushed by any label, it was released by me on Konichiwa Records. We
didn't have any money to do TV commercials or anything like that. It
was just something that happened very organically because we loved
this song.
RS: Do you feel more satisfied as an artist that your independent
music is doing as well, or better than, your major label music did?
Robyn: My first album sold a million records in America and at this
moment in time has been more successful than this one. But maybe for
you this is an album that's easier for you to get into. I think the
process I've been through, and the changes I've gone through as an
artist, have all been important to me, whether it's making this album
and starting my own record company, or working with the major labels
for ten years, and finding my way to deal with that kind of situation.
I don't feel like I have to divide my career into then and now. I feel
that it's all a part of who I am. The latest album came out after I
have worked for ten years in the industry and I don't think I would
have been where I am now without that experience. But of course I'm
happy about where I am as an artist and I wouldn't want to work with a
major label again. I'm really happy about my independence, and I think
this album is the best album I've ever made.
RS: I would agree with you on that. What was the inspiration to
go so electronic with your music?
Robyn: For me this is a pop album. I still make pop music, that's
always what I've done. I think on this album, because I was making it
on my own label and there was no management and no record company, I
was very independent and free in my creative process. I could take the
time out to really find the people I wanted to work with. That meant
working with the Knife and it meant working with Klas from the Teddy
Bears, and Kleer, who are all people who kind of push boundaries and
are very progressive in the way they think about producing music.
That's something I really wanted for this album.
But at the same time, I'm raised in the Swedish tradition of
songwriting, and I think you can make the coolest record in the world,
but if you don't have the songs, you're going to be f*ked basically.
So it's a mix between me wanting to develop my sound, and be braver
and be more simple, but also letting the songs kind of take theirs.
Really focus on the songs and the melodies, and not be afraid of
making pop music. I grew up in the '80s and the '90s and that's a time when pop music could have been anything – it can be Kate Bush, it can be Cyndi Lauper, it can be Madonna, it could be Prince, or even Bob Marley. That's the kind of pop music I grew up with, and that's still how I look at pop music. I don't see it as being this one-dimensional thing that I think is a perspective on pop music today.
