Royksopp

Norwegian duo R÷yksopp compensated for the cold climes of their native Troms° by making some of the warmest, most inviting downbeat electronica of the new millennium, exemplified by early tracks like "Eple" and "Poor Leno." The pair, Torbj°rn Brundtland and Svein Berge, both grew up in Troms° and began recording in the early '90s. Local-made-good Geir Jenssen (aka Biosphere) provided tutelage and almost convinced the duo to record for R&S sublabel Apollo. After a few years apart, Brundtland and Berge met up again in Bergen and re-formed R÷yksopp in 1998.

The group released a few singles on TellT, then signed up to the big beat label Wall of Sound. The R÷yksopp debut was 2001's Eple single; both "Eple" and another track ("Poor Leno") earned slots on over a dozen chillout compilations that year or the next. Their first full-length, Melody A.M., appeared in late 2001. After spending a few years performing live and remixing artists including Beck and Annie, R÷yksopp returned with new material in 2005; the single Only This Moment heralded the summer release of the duo's second album, The Understanding, which featured more traditionally structured songs than their earlier work. The live EP R÷yksopp's Night Out appeared a year later, and the third album -- Junior, their most upbeat set -- came in March 2009. It was followed, appropriately, by Senior, a relatively sedate album of all instrumentals released in 2010. ~ John Bush, Rovi...

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