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RIPITUP - ROBYN: BODY SHOT
RIPITUP - ROBYN: BODY SHOT
ROBYN: BODY SHOT
06.01.11
Robyn’s fronting on mighty pop moments such as Konichiwa Bitches, U Should Know Better and Criminal Intent have projected the Swedish star as a bad-ass babe big on braggadocio, but her real-life rap sheet is decidedly shorter than these flights of fantasy suggest. Her sole run-in with the police was coincidentally the night she met her main musical collaborator and producer, Klas Ahlund.
“The first time I met Klas we were involved in a fight and he actually went to jail,” Robyn laughs over a London hotel breakfast of tea, orange juice, an omelette, muesli and berries. “I didn’t go to jail, but Klas was in jail for the night, which was totally wrong. We were harassed by these paparazzi who provoked a fight with us and basically called the police so they could get pictures of us. It wasn’t our fault at all. It was in Sweden, which is really weird because that never usually happens in Sweden and we don’t have paparazzi.”
Robyn has previously told Perez Hilton that paparazzi aren’t a problem at home in Stockholm: “I’m from a little country called Sweden where even though a lot of people know me here, I still can go to the store and buy milk in my underwear”.
“Yeah!” she cackles. “I still do, but that’s in the daytime. I guess in the evenings when people are drunk it’s a different story.”
The last 12 months have confirmed Robyn’s position as a pop queen marching to her own beat. Robyn’s 2010 culminated in a polished December compilation that distilled her three Body Talk EPs into 15 cracking tracks. The strong-willed songwriter suggests that she’s now set to have a short breather after her big year.
“It’s been great, but it’s been a full-on year. I’m going to have January off and be at home, although I will be back in the studio too. Being in the studio is never energy-consuming for me – it’s the touring that wears me down. Being in the studio is great, but I like to do both. Going back into the studio while I’ve been touring has actually been great, since it means I get breaks.”
The Body Talk trilogy arguably perfected the formula of Robyn’s eponymous album of 2007: commercial pop corrupted by clever hooks, danceable beats and a cheeky dash of humour. Alternating between heartbreaking and arse-kicking, Body Talk also featured former collaborators Royksopp, Kleerup and Snoop Dogg. Originally guesting on a remix of Snoop’s 2007 single Sexual Eruption, Robyn’s latest collaboration with the in-demand Doggfather on U Should Know Better saw her share a studio with him for the first time.
“Yeah, I was in the studio with Snoop for about three days and we tried out some ideas. I had a song that I had started in Stockholm and recorded with Klas Ahlund’s band The Teddybears for their new album, but I called Klas and asked if I could try it with Snoop instead and he really liked it. Snoop wrote his lyrics in the studio and recorded his vocals while I was there, so it was really interesting to watch. He was a really nice guy and is a really cool, down-to-earth person. He’s really generous and just likes music, so it was a good experience.
“He was also smoking in the studio, of course, but I’ve been around smoke before!”
So who booked in their Snoop collaboration first last year: Robyn or Katy Perry?
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Robyn laughs, giving a fairly obvious indication of her feelings for Mrs Brand. “But I think the song Gorillaz did with Snoop is great. I also really like the Gorillaz song called Stylo, which was the single with Bobby Womack.”
Robyn has also performed alongside Gorillaz collaborator Madonna, supporting her on European dates of the 2008 Sticky And Sweet tour. Despite a mutual admiration, the Material Girl and the Fembot only spent a short amount of time together backstage.
“We just said hi and she told me she liked my album,” Robyn shrugs. “She said she was happy I was on tour with her, but we didn’t have a really good talk – it wasn’t that sort of situation.”
Although cancelling her Australian appearances at Stereosonic due to her workload, Robyn suggests she’ll be back Down Under in early 2011. This time she’s hoping to make an earlier Rip It Up promise to cuddle a wombat come true.
“It never happened last time I was there! Can you sort it out for me please? Awesome.”
FOUR THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ROBYN:
A childhood job dubbing cartoons into Swedish means she has a large collection of animated videos featuring her work.
“Yeah I do. I have some old Swedish kids TV stuff that I did and some commercial cartoons I dubbed as well. I got paid well for that.”
Her chipped left tooth is a workplace injury.
“It’s just happened over the years that my tooth has been chipped down by hitting too many microphones. It started when I was really young, before I was even on stage, and I haven’t done anything about it. I don’t know if it’s good or bad not to have perfect teeth, I’ve just never had the energy to deal with it.”
As well as covering Dancing Queen at gigs, Robyn is a big fan of ABBA’s darker, ‘80s synth productions that pre-empted Swedish electro.
“I love ABBA and I think they’re awesome. I’ve always liked them and I go back and listen to them every year. I wouldn’t say their later stuff is electro, but it’s definitely disco. You’re right about it being really melancholic sometimes and not just sweet and happy stuff.”
Robyn makes tasty meatballs.
“When I’m on the road I don’t cook at all but back home in Sweden I cook all the time and I cook all kinds of things. I don’t just have one special dish as I’m very versatile, but I do really good meatballs though.”
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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