Brundtland and Berge were schoolmates in their hometown Tromsø, experimenting with electronic instruments in the early 90s and being a part of their city's techno scene. As they grew up in northern Norway, they listened to local artists like Bel Canto and Biosphere. The band has also expressed their interest in the music of Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder, Art of Noise, Vangelis, Erik Satie, and Francis Lai. They were members of various electro acts in their youth, such as Alanïa, Drum Island and Aedena Cycle. After recording as part of Aedena Cycle, Berge and Brundtland left the group to form their own band, Röyksopp.
In 8 October 2001, Röyksopp released their debut album Melody A.M. on Wall of Sound label. This critically acclaimed downtempo album reached #1 in Norway charts, #9 in UK Albums Chart, #18 in US Top Electronic Albums. Melody A.M. spawned five singles: "So Easy" (released in 1999, re-released in 2002), "Eple" (released in July 2001, re-released in 24 February 2003; #16 UK), "Poor Leno", featuring Erlend Øye (released in 3 December 2001, re-released on 18 November 2002; #38 UK), "Remind Me", featuring Erlend Øye (5 August 2002; #21 UK), and "Sparks", featuring Anneli Drecker (2003; #41 UK).
The band became famous for their original music videos (the infographic-styled video by French company H5 for the track "Remind Me", won the 2002 MTV Europe Music Award for best music video). The single "Eple" (meaning "apple") was used by Apple Inc. as the music for the startup video for Mac OS X 10.3.
In 4 July 2005, the band issued their sophomore album The Understanding on Wall of Sound. The album was preceded by the hit single "Only This Moment", featuring Kate Havnevik (27 June 2005; #33 UK). Another four singles followed: "49 Percent" (26 September 2005; #55 UK), "Curves" (non-album single; 3 October 2005), "What Else Is There?", featuring Karin Dreijer of The Knife (5 December 2005; #4 Norway, #32 UK) and "Beautiful Day Without You" (26 June 2006).
Röyksopp's Night Out EP was released in 27 February 2006 and it contains live recordings from a concert in Norway, Rockefeller (Oslo) in November 2005. The album contains a new dance version of their single "Sparks" and a reinterpretation of the song "Go With the Flow”, originally by Queens of the Stone Age. In 5 March 2007, the group issued Back to Mine: Röyksopp, a compilation album from the Back to Mine series, compiled and mixed by the band.
On 23 March 2009, Röyksopp released their third album Junior on Wall of Sound. Röyksopp have invited several guest artists, like Robyn, Anneli Drecker, Karin Dreijer, Lykke Li, to perform on various songs from Junior. The first single "Happy Up Here" was released on 19 January 2009 (digital)/16 March 2009 (vinyl) and peaked on #3 in Norway and on #44 in UK. Another two singles supported the album' sales: "The Girl And The Robot", featuring Robyn (15 June 2009; #2 Norway) and "This Must Be It", featuring Karin Dreijer (2 November 2009).
Since 2010, the band started posting on their official site new exclusive songs available for free download (usually a song every month), known as Röyksopp.com Track Of The Month.
In 13 September 2010, Röyksopp released the fourth album Senior, the atmospheric counterpart of Junior. The first single from the album, "The Drug", was released on 9 August 2010.
Official site: http://www.royksopp.com
Miss It So Much feat. Lykke Li
Röyksopp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No button to touch
No dial to turn
No key to hold
Days turn to nights, turn to weeks
Turn to paper, into rocks, into plastic
My material heart how it keeps us apart
Watching days turn to nights turn to weeks
Turn everything I got into techniques
My mechanical heart how it tears me apart
I miss it so much
No button to touch
No dial to turn
No key to hold
I miss it so much
No button to touch
No flick of the switch
Hand on my heart
Days turn to nights, turn to weeks
Turn to paper, into rocks, into plastic
My material heart how it keeps us apart
Watching days turn to nights, turn to weeks
Turn everything I got into techniques
My mechanical heart how it tears me apart
I miss it so much
No button to touch
No dial to turn
No key to hold
I miss it so much
No button to touch
No flick of the switch
Hand on my heart
The song "Miss It So Much" by Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li is a melancholic reflection on the loss of a loved one. The singer misses the physical and emotional connection that they used to share, represented by the absence of buttons to touch, dials to turn, keys to hold, and switches to flick. The days turn to nights, then to weeks, as time passes, and the singer laments how their hearts, once so entwined, are now separated by the material world, represented by paper, rocks, and plastic. The singer's mechanical heart, which may symbolize a lack of emotional depth, tears them apart from what they long for. The singer yearns for the simplicity of the past, when everything felt more authentic, and there was no need for techniques to keep their love alive.
Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on the fleeting nature of human connections and the way that technology and materialism can stand in the way of real intimacy. The haunting melody and sparse instrumentation add to the sense of loss and sadness that permeates the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I miss it so much
The singer feels a strong sense of longing for something lost and unattainable.
No button to touch
The absence of a physical control represents a deeper sense of powerlessness and lack of agency in the singer's life.
No dial to turn
The lack of a dial to turn symbolizes a desire for simplicity and control in an ever-complicated world.
No key to hold
The absence of a key represents a feeling of being locked out or excluded from something important.
Days turn to nights, turn to weeks
The passage of time is inevitable, and each day seems to blur into the next for the artist, highlighting the monotony of life.
Turn to paper, into rocks, into plastic
The world around the singer is transforming and increasingly artificial, emphasizing the loss of natural beauty and meaning in their life.
My material heart how it keeps us apart
The singer's focus on material things is causing them to feel disconnected from others and the world around them.
Watching days turn to nights turn to weeks
The artist is passively observing life rather than actively engaging with it, feeling like a spectator in their own existence.
Turn everything I got into techniques
The artist is attempting to find meaning in life through mastering skills and techniques, but realizes that this is ultimately unfulfilling.
My mechanical heart how it tears me apart
The artist's focus on efficiency and logic is preventing them from experiencing true emotional connection and fulfillment in life.
No flick of the switch
The lack of a switch to control something represents a loss of control over the singer's own life.
Hand on my heart
The artist is searching for a deeper level of emotional and spiritual connection, despite feeling trapped in a material and superficial existence.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: SVEIN BERGE, TORBJOERN BRUNDTLAND, LYKKE LI ZACHRISSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dmatthews7423
Everytime I rediscover this song I listen to it 5 times
@TheOceanlab
I truly believe that the Nordic people make the best music of a not so mainstream style.... The vikings must have been very spiritual to. Now-days Trentemoller, Lulu Rouge, Mikael Simpson, Darkness Falls, Marie Fisker, Royksopp, Likke Li and many others... promote tasteful sounds, amazing beautiful original music.They are big artists for me!
@chilezp
Takes me back when life was so simple
@vancour
10 years later and I still find their sound amazing -
@konoyarobakayaro6120
Royksopp and many other brilliant minds were there with me when I made many realizations and grew. They will forever be in me.
@s4t4n96
Vancourt so what ? people still listen to mozart hundreds of year after his death... and he never made an album
@Rocabear
some_username That's right. Good music never dies. I feel you though, Vancourt.
@NostalgiCrazy
Vancourt Um... 2009 was not 10 years yet lol...
@s4t4n96
***** the album came out in 2001
@joonho854
I must thank Royksopp to introduce many great musicians to me by featuring them in their music.