The Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp aka Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland is touring the states and making an appearance in DC tonight at the 9:30 club. Unfortunately, the concert is sold out.
The band was formed in the late 1990s as part of the wave of fresh-sounding house and electronic artists coming out of the West Coast Norwegian music scene in the town of Bergen (though both Svein and Torbjørn originate from the Northern town of Tromsø).
Other amazing Bergen artists are house producer Bjørn Torske (another northerner), electric pop diva Annie (who used to be the girlfriend of Norway's infamous Satan worshipper Bursum, the Count), electronic indie pop duo Kings of Convenience (consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe) and electro funk post punk group Datarock (who recently visited the states, including the SXSW in Austin, Texas).
Röyksopp released their first album Melody A.M in 2001 on Wall of Sound, a highly esteemed British electronic dance music label. It made it to top ten on the UK album chart, resulting in instant fame for Svein and Torbjørn. The single Poor Leno features the vocals of Erlend Øye from Kings of Convenience.
Röyksopp - Poor Leno
Röyksopp has kept themselves busy, producing two full albums during the last couple of years - Junior (2009) and Senior (2010). The first single released from Junior was Happy Up Here. It comes in several repackages as well, including remixes by Breakbot and Holy Fuck.
The single This Must Be It features the lovely vocals of Karin Dreijer Andersson from the Knife and Fever Ray.
Their latest album Senior was released in 2010 and contains the singles The Drug and Forsaken Cowboy.
