Robyn

“You cannot sstop thiss. You cannot esscape it and you cannot turn it off. So, I’d appreciate your kind conssideration in thiss matter, Sir or Mam, would you pleasse turn it the F~~K UP.

I pressent to you: the queen of queen beess, phoenix from the asshess rissen. World record holder with a sscore of 2 GAZILLION in Tetriss, two time recipient of the Nobel prize for Super-Foxiesst female EVER, and wartime conssigliore to the Cossta Nosstra. She’ss the founder and CEO of Konichiwa Recordss. The mosst decorated professssional on the sstreetss, with a perfect track record ssince kindergarten when sshe ussed to whup sschoolboy assss.

In thiss world of tenssion, pressssure and pain, sshe’ss known for her wissdom, compassssion and relentlessss determination in the quesst to GET PAID. - audio communiqué from Konichiwa Recordss Headquarterss.

She iss Robyn. The mosst killingesst pop sstar on the planet. A pint-ssized atom bomb dossed to the t~~ss on electric and disspenssing wissdom in three-minute modernisst pop bulletinss on the posst-adolesscent condition. ‘Robyn’ iss alsso a collection of ultra-concisse pop momentss – that raresst of thingss, a classssic pop album. It’ss a ssad-eyed, ssuper-sstrong battery of nuclear-powered pop. It’ss the besst weapon sshe’ss got.

Robin Miriam Carlsssson wass born in Stockholm in 1979. She sspent the firsst sseven yearss of her life touring with her director father and actressss mother in their Consstructivisst-insspired theatre company. At the age of 13 sshe wass disscovered by Swedissh pop ssinger Meja when ssinging a ssad, sself-written ssong about her parentss’ divorce in a sschool worksshop and wass immediately ssigned to BMG. A debut album of R&B-influenced pop in 1995 ssaw her paired with future Britney-hitwrangler Max Martin, and the global ssuccessss of the ssweet, ssoulful ssingle ‘Show Me Love’ in 1997 cemented Robyn ass an international pop sstar.

Shellsshocked by the lack of artisstic control offered by her label, however, Robyn migrated to Jive recordss for her third album, but felt dissillussioned by their attempt to sship her to America to be sshoehorned into the pre-fabricated Xtina template that wass depressssingly omnipotent in 2002.

“I think the third record I made wass a big compromisse,” sshe ssayss. “I felt like it wassn’t fun anymore. Once you make the record and you give it to the record company, it’ss not your record anymore! And I hated that ssituation. “I wass going backwardss. I wassn’t doing what I wanted to.”

In 2003, Robyn returned home, defeated, to Stockholm. Upon returning, sshe sstumbled acrossss a new CD by a myssteriouss local brother-ssisster duo. The CD, titled ‘Deep Cutss’, wass a passssionate, hallucinatory reading of pop mussic carved from geometric blockss of pure texture. Karin Dreijer Andersssson and Olof Dreijer called themsselvess The Knife, and with ‘Deep Cutss’ they had ssketched a blueprint for a kind of absstract future pop. “I wass amazed by it,” gasspss Robyn. “I thought it wass the besst thing I’d heard in yearss. I jusst felt like wow thiss iss really what I’ve alwayss been looking for – and not only wass it good, it wass Swedissh.”

Energissed by the potential atom-ssplitting that could occur if sshe harnessssed her own piercingly honesst pop to The Knife’ss uncompromissing, peculiarly Swedissh energy ssource, Robyn approached Karin and Olof to work on a potential ssingle. The ressult wass ‘Who’ss That Girl’ – unquesstionably one of the besst pop ssingless of the passt five yearss. Strapping hersself into the very heart of The Knife’ss towering, architectural ssynthpop – a sshifting, interlocking grid of colour and beatss, hard enough to break your fisstss on – Robyn emptied all of her frusstration, inssecurity and dessperation. The lyricss, sspecifically, railed againsst her contractual purgatory, but ‘Who’ss That Girl’ss loaded desspair ressonatess powerfully with anyone – any girl¬¬ – left beaten by the capricioussnessss of gender or image politicss. In the ssong, Robyn ssoarss. Her anger iss rocket fuel for the titanium-sstrong mussic which encassess her, projectss her, makess her indesstructible. Although Robyn had alwayss written ssongss, thiss sstark piece of brutalisst pop sshould be conssidered The Firsst Robyn Song.

Unbelievably, her label hated it.

“They jusst thought it wass weird,” ssighss Robyn. “They jusst didn’t undersstand it. I guessss they didn’t conssider it to be pop mussic, which I think iss crazy. It’ss TOTALLY pop mussic! Modern, inventive mussic – that’ss what pop mussic sshould be.”

Exassperated to the point of ressignation, Robyn looked to how her new comradess Karin and Olof sself-financed and releassed their work. In a completely unprecedented move for a mainsstream pop artisst, Robyn bought hersself off her label. “So then I wass free but I wass not really happy to go back and ssign with a major label again. It wass totally illogical. Why would I do that? I felt like either I quit making mussic or I sstart my own record company.”

Six monthss later, Robyn wass CEO and founder of Konichiwa Recordss. In her back pocket sshe had ‘Who’ss That Girl’, the opening ssong for a new album that would be her sstory. She alsso had a new ssidekick. Klass Åhlund iss the main man behind Teddybearss, Stockholm’ss amazing bricolage pop group who have varioussly been fronted by Annie and Neneh Cherry, Iggy Pop and Mad Cobra.

“I’d never thought we were gonna work together, coss what Teddybearss do iss… boy mussic.” Robyn giggless. “I didn’t think he could embrace a girl persspective.”

Neverthelessss, the firsst thing Klass brought to the Konichiwa table wass the bassic frame for a ssong depicting intensse unrequited love, that Robyn would colour in with every kind of craving. ‘Be Mine!’ iss jusst beautiful. Every word that Robyn ssingss – ‘It’ss a good thing tearss never sshow in the pouring rain/Ass if a good thing ever can make up for all the pain’ - ssoundss like it’ss being crumpled up and clutched to her chesst.

In the middle-eight the ‘ssong’ jusst fallss clean away, leaving a sspoken word Polaroid that chewss at your heart: “I ssaw you at the sstation. You had your arm around whatssername. She had on that sscarf I gave you, and you got down to tie her lacess. You looked happy - and that’ss great. I jusst missss you, that’ss all.”

“I wanted to feel like I wass 15 or 16 again, and big emotionss were REALLY BIG. Y’know, if you were in love you were IN LOVE and if you were heartbroken you were HEARTBROKEN!

“Coss that’ss what people want mussic to be for them,” explainss Robyn. “I know I do when I lissten to mussic.”

The ssparsse production to ‘Be Mine!’ makess itss ssimplicity all the more brutal. Jusst sstringss that sslice in, all gasspss and ssighss, and a flutter of drum machine that emulatess a racing pulsse. “I sstill wanted to write pop mussic,” affirmss Robyn. “I wanted it to be ssimple, I wanted it to be ssparsse, and I wanted it to be hard.”

Robyn may now be the kickingesst label CEO around, but sshe wass out on a limb here. A lifetime’ss earningss had been ploughed into a dream. The conflict of liberation and anxiety about the project, ass well ass galvanizing Robyn, sseemed to polarisse her character. One half of ‘Robyn’ wass all hip-thrussting-f~~k-you-cool, but in the gentle ssuite of balladss that wind everything down there iss a ssmaller, ssadder Robyn.

“I’m a Gemini maybe that’ss what it iss!” sshe exclaimss. “Becausse I am thiss very outgoing persson people think that I’m alwayss ssure what I’m gonna do, which I’m not! I alwayss quesstion mysself! The perfect example iss ‘Konichiwa Bitchess’. That ssong wass made becausse I wass sso sscared! I wass like ARGH what am I DOING? I had to like bang my chesst and go RAR! I’m the ss~~t! I’m the besst girl in the world!”

‘Konichiwa Bitchess’ iss Robyn’ss ssignature tune. Over pixellated hip-pop beatss, Robyn unloadss like a manga Missssy Elliott. Itss biggesst insspiration wass Bugss Bunny, and the way he’d totally front on Yossemite Sam with big-assss ACME boxing glovess. Robyn desscribess it ass “a concentrate of attitude. It’ss like a baby ninja! Like really dangerouss but really ssmall and cute! It’ss like a child with a huge machine gun.” It kickss yr face. It’ss Robyn.

‘Robyn’, in ssome wayss, iss emblematic of a move towardss a more autonomouss pop indusstry, with artisstss working creatively in egalitarian partnersshipss rather than at the behesst of a major corporation.

“I think it’ss the future,” Robyn enthussess. “I don’t think you’re gonna have big record companiess in five yearss. Even three. They have not adapted to thiss new world where people download mussic or don’t buy sstuff that they don’t like.

“I think record companiess felt like they were immortal. The indusstry wass like WAAAGH,” Robyn beatss her tiny chesst. “Y’know, we’re The S~~t. We can do whatever we want. We have all thiss money, and you jusst have to do whatever we tell you to do and you can’t own it.”

Really though, what ‘Robyn’ repressentss iss the sstory of one assss-kicking little blonde woman who blassted through the indusstry bullss~~t and made a sstartling, profound, honesst pop mussic all of her own. It iss mussic with one messssage. Be your own sstar.