You probably don’t remember Robyn from the ’90s pop explosion that smothered us with sloppy sexual innuendo and an endless procession of bare-midriffs. She never squeezed into a red latex body-suit nor did she date an overly-coiffed member of a boy band, after all. At the time, music execs insisted that Robyn, then just a teenager, dumb down her music to a sugary hook and chorus, something easily digestible and radio-friendly. The resulting songs (most memorably, “Show Me Love” and “Do You Know What It Takes”) were palatable enough, but were quickly forgotten once Britney Spears and her ilk strutted onto the scene.
Robyn fell off the radar for a good while, still releasing an album here or there, but with no traction in the US music market. That is, until 2005’s self-titled LP that was released on Robyn’s own label, Konichiwa Records, and produced on her own terms. The bubblegum pop mold was set ablaze and out of the smoke came a sassier and liberated Robyn armed with newly-minted electro beats and some heavy-hitting producers in tow, most notably Swedish duo the Knife. Being true to herself proved profitable, as the new album became a global smash and demand had Robyn touring on the same set of songs for years.
After a brief hiatus, Robyn is back with the first installment of a three-part series, all to be released in 2010. Taking note of our culture’s obsession with immediacy, Robyn had the idea to eschew conventional album-making, which often takes years, and instead release songs in small groups as they came to her. And audiophiles couldn’t be happier.
Body Talk Part 1 starts with an attention-grabbing anthem for the overworked called “Don’t F*@!ing Tell Me What to Do.” Robyn enumerates all the irritants that are “killing her:” her PMS, her mother, her diet, her label, her ego, the TV, and even her heels. Breaking from her past of giving into outside pressure to be something she isn’t, Robyn is making it abundantly clear: she’s running things now so don’t get in her way.