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
Monument
Röyksopp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For my body
Dead or whole
Push this side apart
This is what I'm controlling
It's a mold, the inside that I cart
This will be my monument
When I'm gone gone gone
When I'm gone
Soon when that moment comes,
I can say I did it all with love love love
All with love love love
All with love
Make a cast of my body
Pull back out,
So that I can see
Make a world
Are you ruling?
Make a world
That I used to be
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life life life
Of my life life life
Of my life
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life life life
Of my life life life
Of my life
Make a cast of my body
Pull back out,
So that I can see
Make a world
Are you ruling?
Make a world
That I used to be
The lyrics to "Monument" by Röyksopp and Robyn explore themes of creation, control, and legacy. The singer is commanding someone to make a space for their body, whether dead or alive. They want to control the molding of their body - the inside that they carry - suggesting that they want to be remembered in a specific way.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of this monument, this beacon that will represent them when they're gone. They want it to be a symbol of their love, and a reflection of a moment in their life that they find significant. The repetition of "all with love" reinforces this idea that everything they've done in their life was motivated by love.
The second verse repeats the first, with the added imagery of "making a world" and questioning whether the listener is ruling. This can be interpreted as the singer grappling with their own legacy and the impact they've had on the world. They want to see a representation of the world they used to be in, possibly indicating a nostalgia for a past that has faded away.
Overall, "Monument" is a poignant reflection on the desire to be remembered and to leave a lasting impact. It's a reminder that we have control over our own legacies and that everything we do should be motivated by love.
Line by Line Meaning
Make a space
Clear a space for me to exist
For my body
For my physical being
Dead or whole
Whether I am alive or dead
Push this side apart
Separate this space
This is what I'm controlling
I have control over this aspect
It's a mold, the inside that I cart
The interior of my being is what I carry with me
This will be my monument
This will be a structure that represents me
This will be a beacon when I'm gone gone gone
This will serve as a guiding light after I am no longer present
When I'm gone gone gone
When I have left this world
Soon when that moment comes,
When the time arrives
I can say I did it all with love love love
I can say that I accomplished this with affection
All with love love love
Entirely motivated by love
Make a cast of my body
Create a physical representation of my body
Pull back out,
Remove the cast
So that I can see
So that I may view it
Make a world
Construct a reality
Are you ruling?
Do you hold power?
Make a world
Create another reality
That I used to be
That I visited in the past
I will let this monument
I will allow this structure
Represent a moment of my life life life
To symbolize a moment in my existence
Of my life life life
Of my life
I will let this monument
I will allow this structure
Represent a moment of my life life life
To symbolize a moment in my existence
Of my life life life
Of my life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Robin Miriam Carlsson, Svein Berge, Torbjorn Brundtland, Adam Bainbridge, Busiswa Gqulu
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@simonadebisi1174
Lyrics
Make a space
For my body
Dead or whole
Push this side apart
This is what I'm controlling
It's a mold, the inside that I cart
This will be my monument
This will be a beacon when I'm gone gone gone
When I'm gone gone gone
When I'm gone
Soon when that moment comes,
I can say I did it all with love love love
All with love love love
All with love
Make a cast of my body
Pull back out,
So that I can see
Make a world
Are you ruling?
Make a world
That I used to be
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life life life
Of my life life life
Of my life
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life life life
Of my life life life
Of my life
Make a cast of my body
Pull back out,
So that I can see
Make a world
Are you ruling?
Make a world
That I used to be
@brucefogarty334
I'm dying of renal cell carcinoma. I'm currently on Opdivo, and it shows promise, but like the other chemos (votrient and afinitor) that I've been on, it too will stop being effective one day. I cried uncontrollably when I heard this song.This is a death song. An end of life song. I hope that it's playing in my head in my final moment. I want my two sons to know that they are my monument. Make a space
For my body.
Dig a hole.
Push the sides apart.
This is what
I'm controlling.
It's a moat
The inside that I carve.
This will be my monument
This will be a beacon when I'm gone
Gone, gone
When I'm gone
Gone, gone
When I'm gone
So that when the moment comes,
I can say I did it all with love
Love, love
All with love
Love, love
All with love
Make a cast
Of my body.
Pull back out,
So that I can see.
Let go of
How you knew me.
Let go of
What I used to be.
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life
Life, life
Of my life
Life, life
Of my life
I will let this monument
Represent a moment of my life
Life, life
Of my life
Life, life
Of my life
Make a cast
Of my body.
Pull back out,
So that I can see.
Let go of
How you knew me.
Let go of
What I used to be.
@robyn
We started writing Monument after playing around with a software that can stretch short bits of music into billions of years of sound. It made total sense to me that Max wanted to explore this floating feeling and mediation in the video...
@marianoxparamore
Thank you for SO MUCH
@jeremynowakowski5254
It's fantastic! it definitely evokes emotion
@TimOliver
Paulstretch ? I love it too.
@8782kc
Impressive! It's as beautiful and captivating as the song! Stunning harmony... stunning visuals!
@TheJtjensen
Hey, I just want to say good job, and that the black and white structure reminded me of a book written by Dean Koontz, Brother Odd, where there is a monster that constantly changes shape, beautiful and scary at the same time, the monster turns out to be an expression of vanity, arrogance and insanity.
good music, good voice and good video, thx for your excelent work over the years.
@christamickelsson9918
I was 33 years old when I had a massive stroke. I could not talk, walk or use my right hand. This is the soundtrack of my life. Life gets better every day, but it will never be the same. Thank you Röyksopp & Robyn!
@meriembendarhal11
Music can have this magic power to help humans heal ... Send u love ❤
@timothykangethe7700
1 day @ a Time. Protect your Mind in the Journey ✊
@dougraddi908
I was 34 when I had cardio myopathy. It means my heart is enlarged and the muscles on my left side of heart is damaged. I am now 52 and refuse to let this disease beat me. I'm not the same, I get tired easy and there are days I just stay in bed. Praying has helped me a lot. Stay young and live free.. life is short, enjoy it