Robyn

    There is a good reason why everyone is falling over themselves to jump on the Robyn bandwagon. Put simply - the bitch is fierce! In a world of talentless trolls who get record deals by sucking cock, Robyn is something of an outcast. She writes her own material, has more attitude than Courtney Love, embraces a hip-hop sound without looking like a complete imbecile and still finds the time to manage her own record company. With the international release of Robyn's sublime self-titled album, fans are working themselves into an absolute frenzy. Leaked tracks are flooding the internet, bloggers are falling over themselves to pay tribute and Robyn is rocking the UK with a series of incredibly well received performances. Robyn is the undisputed queen of Swedish pop.

Robyn Is Here

While there is no disputing the brilliance of Robyn's recent output, it’s high time that her older material also received some loving! Robyn was famously discovered at school by fellow Swedish diva, Meja. After scoring a record deal, Robyn was fortunate enough to hook up with super producer Max Martin. "Do You Know (What It Takes)" was Robyn's first big international hit, reaching #7 in the US . The song represents one of the best urban/pop hybrids of the mid-90s and remains something of a classic. "Show Me Love" was an even bigger international hit and is probably the song that Robyn is best remembered for. “Show Me Love” is a glorious pop moment and still holds up more than a decade later. Both anthems appear on Robyn’s debut album, “Robyn Is Here”, which went top 10 in Sweden and sold over a million copies in the US . Robyn appeared to be on the cusp of global superstardom.

My Truth

In a stunning reversal of fortune, Robyn’s American company was so displeased by her second album that they simply refused to release it. Their decision is really quite baffling. “My Truth” is a profoundly richer in both sound and substance than “Robyn Is Here” but it contains more than its fair share of pop gems. The fabulous first single, “Electric”, represents Robyn’s first collaboration with The Knife. The song is stunning and boasts some truly exceptional production. This tune positively crackles! “My Truth” produced several other singles such as “Play” and “My Only Reason” but the real highlights are the album tracks. Robyn’s abortion anthem, “Giving You Back”, is gorgeous and brilliantly constructed, while “Underneath The Heart” is one of her loveliest ballads. The title track drips with attitude in true Robyn style.

Don't Stop The Music

"My Truth" was followed by the equally wonderful "Don't Stop The Music". It is hard to believe that “Don’t Stop The Music” failed to generate greater international interest. The album is an exquisite collection of pop gems, which holds up as one of the best pop releases of the decade.  The first single, “Keep This Fire Burning”, is an insanely catchy, urban flavoured pop masterpiece. The single reached #3 in Sweden and was later butchered by an ugly British troll, who scored a top 20 hit with it in the UK . The song was bizarrely released under the title “By Your Side” in Australia but failed to make any impact. The album’s other big hit was the sublime title track, which is an injection of pure pop fun. Other highlights include the haunting “O Baby” and majestic “Blow My Mind”. Robyn was starting to find her own unique sound and was about to take her career to the next level with her uncompromisingly brilliant “Robyn” album.

Be Mine

The first time I heard “Robyn” my jaw dropped in amazement at what was coming through the stereo - track after track of flawlessly original pop music. It’s hard to describe what makes "Robyn" so unforgettable. The answer lies in the album's humour, brilliant production and killer melodies. Basically, "Robyn" is the kind of pop album that gets everything right - from the music, to the cover art, to the video clips and singles choices. “Be Mine” was an inspired first single. The song grabs you by the balls from the very first listen. Pop music is rarely as lovely, fragile and melancholy as this. "Be Mine" is a pop gem of the highest order! The video is also suitably fabulous, with Robyn taking on various personas from a rich bitch to a cleaning lady. Robyn looks adorable in her rubber gloves!

Pop Gems

My favourite video, and possibly favourite song, from "Robyn" is "Handle Me". It shouldn't work at all. “Handle Me” is basically Robyn trying to be Eminem but with a killer hook and sweet chorus. I find "Handle Me" insanely catchy and the video is nothing less than genius. The styling is particularly amazing. Robyn riding a bike in a red cocktail frock is one of my favourite music video moments of all time. The genius continued to flow with the amazing “Crash And Burn Girl” and its stunning video clip, which looks like it was made for $25 using someone's mobile phone! Other favourites include the trippy “Robotboy”, the fierce "Who's That Girl", the romantic “Bum Like You” and Robyn’s funky re-worked version of “Should Have Known”. The album was a #1 hit in Sweden in 2005 but is only just being released internationally in 2007 with a slightly different tracklisting.

Crap-amonie

In the lead up to the international release of “ Robyn ”, Sweden ’s pop queen released an EP, “Rakamonie”, as a taste test for the UK market. Although interesting in theory, the “Rakamonie” project was a massive waste of time. It is painfully obvious that Robyn was trying to market herself to the cool crowd. If she wanted to impress the 5 journalists at NME who get off on live duets with Jenny Wilson, then I'm happy for her. If she wanted to impress the people who might actually buy her album, she missed the mark but a massive margin. The EP is still worth buying for the beautiful artwork, the track "Cobrastyle" (previously leaked as "Girliestyle") and the amusing "Konichiwa Bitches". Forget the rest. Thankfully, Robyn pulled her socks up and has since released a string of essential collaborations.

Collaboration Queen

Christian Falk and Robyn make a fabulous team. “Dream On” is one of Robyn’s most demented pop offerings and is rumoured to have interested none other than Dannii’s older sister. However, I can’t really imagine Kylie singing an electro-lullaby to “thugs and snitches”! Robyn then hooked up with a Swedish band to provide vocals for “This One’s For You”, which has an organic sound and harkens back to the music of the 1960s. It’s an interesting experiment but pales in comparison to the genius of Robyn’s collaboration with Kleerup. “With Every Heartbeat” is an unforgettably bittersweet electro ballad and surely ranks as one of the best songs of 2007. “With Every Heartbeat” has even brought Robyn back to the UK Top 5 and her album has now gone Silver!

- Mike