Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. So Easy
2. Eple
3. Sparks
4. In Space
5. Poor Leno
6. A Higher Place
7. Royksopp's Night Out
8. Remind Me
9. She's So
10. 40 Years Back/Come

Disc 2:

1. Remind Me (Someone Else's Mix)
2. Poor Leno (R�yksopp's Istanbul Forever Take)
3. Remind Me (Ernest St. Laurent Moonfish Mix)
4. Poor Leno (Silcone Soul Hypno House Dub)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46861 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-15
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Enhanced

Album Description
This special US version of their 2001 album features the addition of a bonus disc with 4 extra tracks (2 mixes of 'Poor Leno' (Royksopp's Istanbul Forever Take & Silicone Soul Hypno House Dub) and 2 mixes of 'Remind Me' (Someone Else's Mix & Ernest St. Laurent Moonfish Mix) as well as three incredible videos 'Poor Leno', 'Remind Me' and 'Eple'). Astralwerks. 2002.

Amazon.com
Arguably one of the best releases of 2002 and unquestionably one of the most original, the filmic, dreamy and mostly instrumental Melody A.M.--from Norwegian duo Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland, or Röyksopp--finds uncommon beauty in the study of contrasts. At once frosty and lush, austere and joyful, ambient and wildly detailed, Melody A.M. is equal parts classical, electronica and film score, but with way better optics. Yes, optics--or at least that's how it feels. Opening track "So Easy" lulls with a gently whispered chant casually draped over what sounds like plucked harp strings while technicolor gurgles and bloopy keyboards sputter in the background. The sweeping, beatbox-damaged "Eple"--its cascading piano notes exploding into tiny white flashes of light--is as panoramic as the Nordic vistas that inspired it. Cinematic strings flood through "In Space," creating a real sense of velocity. Like Philip Glass or Boards of Canada, Röyksopp are minimalists who wring every bit of juice out each note without ever losing sight of the emotional core. Melody A.M. is music as painting, in watercolor, and destined to be a sleeper classic for the ages. --Kim Hughes

From URB Magazine
With its blippy aesthetics and irresistible momentum, Röyksopp’a 2001’s Eple EP caused a minor scene to erupt around the Norwegian duo Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge. It was called a version of Boards of Canada you can dance to. Really though, the not-so-secret appeal of the track (as well as this brilliant full-length) is in the warm ‘70s synths that float melodies into the druggy stratosphere, giving the band’s shifty downtempo rhythms and vaguely experimental production a retro-sexy touch. Brundtland and Berge know how to drop a beat, making it feel like cold water thrown in your face on the Underworld-like track "Poor Leno." There’s also an unmistakably Parisian quality to their sound, not as light as Air’s Moon Safari, but with a similar theatrical edge. The forlorn saxophone sample that opens "She’s So" or the ‘20s-era lounge vocal that sets off "Sparks" are the sort of postmodern cabaret tricks that Serge Gainsbourg might be trying right now in the afterlife. The fey songwriting touch of "Remind Me" also makes it clear why Scottish mopers Kings of Convenience felt comfortable letting Röyksopp rearrange their material on last year’s tasty Versus record.

Whether sitting half naked on a beach or looking up at the Northern Lights in a parka, Melody A.M. would be a fine listening choice, and that distinguishes it from reckless Boards comparisons while also saving it from the Ibiza wanker pile.

Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

A Frosty Soundscape with a Sunny Outcome!
So a new Norwegian group called Royksopp (aka, Torbjorn Brundtland and Svein Berge) have arrived in the states with 'Melody A.M.', which was earlier released overseas. And while many foreign newcomers come into the united music scene every year as a sweet release from mainstream's wannabe punk acts and candy-pop dress dolls who turn naughty the next day because they claim to be "all grown up now", Royksopp rightfully and respectfully deserves the hype!

In a breathless slur of words I guess I'd label this band as being downtempo electronica with a chilled-out culmination of so many different styles that it's nearly impossible to describe! "So Easy" may be a funky song to open up with but it's great to wind down to, which is essential when it comes to healing your aching bones after listening to such songs as the 70s dance influence of "Poor Leno" and the heavy dub pounding of "Royksopp's Night Out", which is gonna get your adrenaline pumpin' as the mind grows delirious and turns your body into an all-night dance machine! It wasn't until I realized that Anneli Drecker from Bel Canto (another Norwegian group) was a guest vocalist on the laid-back grooves of "Sparks" that the coffin was sealed, so to speak, and I went out and purchased the darn thing!

I find this album great to loosen up to when I'm feeling stressed and long to escape from that shadowed veil of pain... The lush tapestries of beautiful synths, strings and keyboards with electronic, almost cinematic space blips drape themselves over heavenly melodies, which are quite soothing to this moonlit_stardreamer so I'm praying that Royksopp is here for the rotation of many moons to come! :-)

Great "Chill-Out" music with cool rhythms
I bought this CD because I heard the excerpt in the Geico Caveman commercial. After listening a few times I find that the rest of the music is well worth it if you are into Chill music. My favorite is "Poor Leno". Mainly since I saw the video on Royksopp's website. All of the tracks, the slow ones and the fast one are smooth combination of synths and percussions that blend perfectly. One thing you must know, is that the tracks other than "Remind Me" (the caveman song)are not the kind you would hear on the radio, but you will hear the remixes at you local dance club. The other albums by Royksopp are equally good. I recommend this to any one who like to relax, even when stuck in rush hour traffic. I will make the wait enjoyable. Oh!. . you will problably rush to hear this cd again every time the caveman in the airport comes on.

What electric Vikings listen to
Besides it's funky name which is a word for flufball in Norwrgian, Royksopp is an extraordinary group that really stops anyone who's ears grace the sound waves the music rides on. The Norwegian duo is well known for their quirky electronic music that is focused on soft and fuzzy sounds mixed with computerized melodies. If I play it at work, it's almost a guarantee that someone who comes to my office asks what I am listening to.

Eple is my favorite song, and after hearing it once on internet radio I had to track down the creator of it, thus finding all about Royksopp. The song makes me think of electric rain, dripping with illuminating sounds. Poor Leno is another fantastic song, dreamy, and sparkling with originality. It's hard to pick favorite songs are they are all magical in their own light and each one is just as memorable as the last.

Also the song "Eple" which means "Apple" in Norwegian was used as welcoming music to the MAC OS X Panther operating system. Röyksopp's first single "So Easy" became very well known in the UK after it was used in an a T Mobile advertising, so this is the kind of music people stop in their track to listen to yet they have no idea what it is.

Similar artists that can be grouped in Royksopp's category would include Tiga, Deep Dish, Paul Oakenfold, Massive Attack, Orbital, Groove Armada, Faithless, Mylo, Bjork and Telepopmusik.

The music definitely brings in some of it's Nordic roots, where people are so uniquely different as it's fun, catchy and definitely unusual, for lovers of new age, electronica or anything that is off the beaten path.


- Kasia S.